I love Yin yoga. I didn't expect to at all as I enjoy physically challenging activities that make me sweat and my limbs tremble but Yin... Yin is the ultimate in relaxation for me. I still feel like I'm doing something for my body but it's main benefit is absolutely for my mental health and mood. I always, ALWAYS, feel great after Yin. Blissed out, happy, calm.
Instead of the more physically challenging nature of a dynamic yang yoga practice, yin offers us a challenge for the mind. It can be difficult for many people to stay still for a longish period of time without distraction. In Yin, we stay in postures from 2 to 10 minutes (although, as a teacher, I tend to take holds to 5 - 6 minutes max). There are no devices to keep our minds busy, there's no tv to watch, no books to read. It is just us. Being still. Being quiet. Being completely internal. And that can be so hard to do. Sometimes you may be unable to not fidget. And that's ok. Part of the nature of yin is acceptance, yielding, surrendering and nurture is very much a yin trait. So when you can't be still, be compassionate to yourself. Show yourself some loving-kindness. Be gentle and patient with yourself.
And coming from a yoga and marital arts influence, yin has benefits for the body too. In yin, we search for a stretch into the deeper tissues of the body by trying to release the fascia, the tendons and the ligaments and so we need to bypass the muscles and we do this with lots of props. These props in themselves feel nurturing and add this factor to the loose comfy clothing, soothing music and ambient environment we might choose for our practice (winter evening yin is the absolute best - pjs, candles, darkness outside - it feels luxurious and decadent to practice yin in the winter) and you can't help but feel soothed and looked after from the very beginning.
The props are there to hold the body up where needed but not in a restorative yoga way. We still want to feel something happening in the body, a sense of stretching into particular areas of the body and we call this the Edge. We aren't looking for our full of range of motion but more like 50-60% of our end range. This means we have to stay very connected to the sensations in the body as the Edge can move away from us and we can slip into a restorative yoga vibe or, sometimes, the Edge comes towards us and we feel too much in the body and need to back out of sensation a little. This is great for body awareness and staying attuned to what's happening to us physically. This inward attention can help us tune into our emotions too and aid us in letting go physically, mentally and emotionally.
Of course, breath is key in yin too. And this is where a lot of the magic is. In the breath. In the control of the breath. In the focus on the breath. In the feel of the breath. We can come into a feeling of tranquility just by changing the flow of our breathing. The meditative nature of yin can be useful in our day to day life as we can take this focus and shift ourselves more to the Parasympathetic Nervous System (our rest and digest mode).
So bring some yin into the yangness of your modern lifestyle where we always need to be 'doing' and busyness is glorified as the sign of a successful, productive person. Try to bring some time into each day where you are still with no distractions. Listen to your breath, feel your heartbeat and close your eyes for a few extended moments. Embrace the stillness and enjoy the quietness. Allow yourself to just be.
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