As an antidote to life’s hectic pace, certified yoga teacher Angel Curtin provides the space and time for physical and mental recovery with her new restorative yoga class. Hard Core Restore is a pre-paid (limit 10) class that meets once a month at Curtin’s yoga space in Fairhope at 368 Commercial Park Drive for 90 minutes and provides a relaxing, meditative yoga experience suitable for all people, including those with physical limitations and busy lifestyles. The class involves no movement, rather it focuses on breaking down the walls of stress and muscle tension by relaxing in poses with the aid of props, without pain or strain. By holding poses that gently stretch for an extended amount of time, space is created in the body and the nervous system switches away from “fight or flight” and toward balance and restore.

Curtin believes that through having the “courage to look” at the fears that create habits we don’t want, we can gain the “wisdom to see” what needs to be done at a sustainable pace. Self-care is often not prioritized until pain and consequences appear, but “courage doesn’t have to be these big, grand gestures or resolutions. It can be small actions, too. We need to remember to try not to take on too much change too fast. Often, it’s the little consistencies that bring about the greatest desired changes,” says Curtin. “Restorative yoga not only remedies the physical toll stress and overexertion can do to our bodies, but those 90 minutes also help cultivate the skill of conscious relaxation that can be carried with us wherever life takes us.”

Along with her new Hard Core Restore class, Curtin also teaches weekly classes at 8 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. on Tuesdays, Thursdays and at 10 a.m. on Saturdays at the Fairhope location. Since 2001, Curtin has been a licensed realtor and currently works in this area with Baldwin County Properties out of Fairhope. She also offers private yoga lessons and life coaching services, specializing in recovery coaching. Through all her endeavors, Angel hopes to help her clients achieve balance and move through life with ease, both on and off the mat.