If your yoga practice is mostly about effort — holding, engaging, building strength — a bolster is the prop that flips that entirely. Restorative yoga is about doing less, not more, and a bolster is what makes that possible: it fully supports your body’s weight so your muscles can stop working and actually let go.

What a bolster actually does

A bolster is a firm, supportive cushion, usually cylindrical or rectangular. Instead of stretching into a pose using effort, you rest your body onto the bolster and let it take your weight. That shift — from active stretching to passive support — is what allows restorative poses to calm your nervous system rather than simply working your muscles.

4 restorative poses to try with a bolster

• Supported reclining bound angle pose: Place the bolster lengthwise behind you, sit at one end, then lie back so it supports your entire spine. Bring the soles of your feet together and let your knees fall open. Stay for 5–10 minutes.
• Supported child’s pose: Place the bolster between your thighs and lower your torso onto it, arms relaxed alongside or in front. This takes pressure off the knees and lets your chest and shoulders fully release.
• Supported fish pose: Place the bolster horizontally under your shoulder blades so your chest opens and your head tips gently back. Excellent after a day spent hunched over a desk or phone.
• Legs-up supported twist: Lie on your side with the bolster supporting your top leg and arm, letting your spine gently rotate. Hold for a few minutes on each side.

No bolster? Improvise

A firmly rolled blanket, a couch cushion, or even a rolled yoga mat can approximate a bolster’s support if you’re just starting out. The goal isn’t the exact prop — it’s giving your body full, passive support so it can actually rest.

Restorative practice is also where what you’re wearing matters most, since you’ll be still for long stretches. Fabric that digs in or bunches up will pull your attention away from relaxing. Our leggings are built with a soft, wide waistband and flat seams specifically so nothing presses or distracts, even when you’re lying still for ten minutes at a time.