“Just relax.” Has that ever helped anyone relax?
In the first class of my 300-hour online training, I did not teach a single pose.
I opened with one question:
Today, is your body whispering — or shouting?
The whole class grew from that question. Here are four moments from it, each under half a minute.
1Listen while the body is still whispering
A little tired. A slightly stiff neck. That is the whisper.
Everything is “a little”, so everyone ignores it. A restorative class starts by listening to those small “a little” signals.
Read the clip in English
- Is your body whispering or shouting? Usually, these are symptoms inside us, right? Inside the body. For example, today just feeling a little tired, just a slight headache. Or a slight ache in your back. Or a slight ache in your neck. Or feeling a little unable to manage your emotions.
2What I can cope with is not what you must cope with
My limit is not a ruler for someone else.
Each person has their own window of tolerance: the range they can cope with. What feels light to me can be too much for the person next to me.
A restorative teacher does not grade who is weak and who is strong.
Read the clip in English
- The window of tolerance is what we can cope with. How can I compare my window of tolerance with Hảo’s? It will be too much for Hảo, but within what I can cope with. But that does not mean I have the right to judge them. People use their own standards to judge others, expecting others to cope just as they do.
Try one reply before clip 3
C walks into class and sighs: “I’ve been so tense this week.” (A practice example, not a real student’s words.)
3“Just relax” — why can’t anyone relax?
Saying “just relax” does not make the snow settle.
Stress comes from circumstances pushing us around. “It’s only a small thing” shakes the globe again.
You need to find what is shaking it. Some problems need help from another professional. A yoga teacher cannot replace that.
Read the clip in English
- Stress is like a snow globe being shaken. External circumstances push us around. And then someone says, “Oh, it’s only a small thing. Stop complaining and relax.” But can you relax? We need to look for a solution, find the root cause and a way to address it. Only then will it go away.
4Without support, where do you let go?
To let go, you first need something to lean on.
Standing in Mountain Pose, you still tense up to stay upright. Lean your back against a wall: same pose, much softer.
That is the job of props in restorative yoga: the wall, bolsters, blocks and blankets hold you, so you don’t have to hold yourself.
Read the clip in English
- With support, you can let go more easily. Without support, how can you let go? You still have to tense up to stand. Do you tense your muscles in Mountain Pose? Now lean against the wall. You are still in Mountain Pose, standing upright, ready to fight, but with the wall’s support, do you feel much more relaxed? Does it feel much more comfortable?
The first class in four lines
- Listen to the body while it is still whispering.
- Don’t measure others with your own limit.
- Don’t say “just relax”. Find what is shaking.
- Offer support first, then invite release.
Long-lasting pain, many sleepless nights or sadness that does not lift: see a doctor or a mental health professional. Restorative yoga does not replace treatment.
Teaching restorative yoga is teaching how to listen
My 300-hour online restorative yoga training teaches you to lead a class like this: listen to the body, use props, and invite instead of command. It is harder than teaching poses. Slower too.
Support. Release. Time.
Sources and limits
The four clips come from the first class of Giang’s 300-hour online restorative yoga training on 11 October 2026, a theory session on Google Meet. The audio is Vietnamese. The English subtitles are adapted from machine transcripts checked over several passes; no one has re-listened to them line by line. Unclear lines and learners’ private stories were left out. Each clip joins a few short parts of the same teaching segment. C and the reply options are a practice example. The snow globe picture is from the current Module 01 slides. This article is not a self-practice plan and does not replace medical advice.
Giang Hoang
Yoga teacher, E-RYT 500 & YACEP (Yoga Alliance)
Giang Metta Academy: RYS 200 & RYS 500 (YA ID 442630)
Based in Da Lat, Vietnam. Teaching online worldwide.