WHY AND HOW TO DO YIN YOGA

“Our goal in life is not to become perfect: our goal is to become whole” –Bernie Clark

So much of western yoga practice revolves around “Yang” practice- intensity, heat-building and sculpting the muscles. Our focus is heavily around results not feeling. Our mindsets sitting in a cycle of forcing the body to get into challenging poses, work harder and faster and comparison to the person next to us.

Yin brings us back the practice of going inward; allowing the body to work the deeper tissues of our ligaments, joints, deep facial networks and even our bones! It’s a different kind of intense from the one we are so used to.

When we are born we are in our highest stage of Yang energy in our life. We are super flexible and very mobile. To build our strength and muscles we focus on yang exercises and movement. In our 20-30s we hit the perfect balance between stability and mobility and then start to slowly shift into Yin energy, becoming more stiff and less mobile as we age. This is an important time to start practicing Yin yoga, keeping our mobility, length and joints healthy.

What is Yin yoga?

Yin yoga is a slower paced practice that builds joint strength through ligament-focused exercises. Yin is often performed in cooler environments (such as A/C rooms) where participants can get deeper into their poses over longer periods of time. This has been shown to release tension in the connective tissues and even some of the deep-layer fascia. This yoga style also incorporates blocks, bolsters, blankets and of course comfy mats. Poses are held for anywhere from 1-15 minutes depending on the goal of the movement and can be a fun way to include everyone from any fitness level.

Yin is the practice of yielding, about learning to allow the process to unfold, and finding acceptance rather than changing everything around us.

How to practice Yin?

1. Come into the pose into an appropriate depth– This means coming to your edge, or 80% of what you feel you can do. You should feel some stress to the ligaments and tissues but not so much it’s painful/tingling or burning occurs. Over time and with consistent practice, by putting stress on the ligaments and joints, our tissues become longer, thicker and stronger.

2. Find stillness in the pose- This includes finding stillness in the breath, the mind, and body. When the breath is calm the mind is calm and vise versa.

3. Hold the pose for some time -Holding anywhere from 1-15 min depending on your intention, target area and the time you have.

Benefits of Yin?

So many benefits! Depending on the intention for your practice you can have both mental and physical benefits from a Yin based practice.

Yin yoga is great way to quiet the nervous system and release stress. It also targets acupressure points that help chi (or energy) become unblocked and move better throughout the body, ultimately releasing blocks and tension being stored in the body, including emotions. It is also a great way to build joint, bone and ligament strength.

When is best to practice Yin yoga?

1. When muscles are cool (so they don’t steal stress away from the deeper tissues!)

2. Early in the morning (muscles are more likely to be cool in the morning)

3. Later in the evening (to help with sleeping)

4. Before an active practice (before the muscles become warmed up)

5. In the spring or summer (balancing the hot yang time of the year)

6. After travel (when we do a lot of sitting)

7. During menstrual cycle (helps conserve energy)

What do I need for a Yin practice?

You just need yourself and a soft surface for your practice! If you want further support for your bones to increase stress in a desired area and let your muscles relax, or to create more length and space for the body to feel comfortable, props are a great benefit!

Props include: Cushions, blocks, bolsters, straps, towels, blankets, sandbags, chairs, stairs, ropes, walls, balls, yoga mats, books and furniture.

3 simple poses to practice:

This mini Forward Fold series can take you just 15 minutes by laying into each pose for at least 5 minutes each.

Benefits: Targets the hips, inner thighs (adductors), entire spine, hamstrings and inner knees. Letting hips open, low back pain relief, and hamstrings stretch. Meridians/Organs Affected: May stimulate liver, kidney and urinary bladder meridians.

Use whatever props you have nearby and get creative! It’s about how your body feels not how it looks. Relax, focus on your breath and let yourself come to a deep calm state.

1.Bring legs out wide while sitting on a folded blanket to help your hips tilt forward. Place a block underneath each knee and fold forward with your hands resting on the ground in front of you (This option is great too do if your hamstrings feel very tight to ease into the pose). Let the neck and head hang forward.

2. Bring legs out wide while sitting on a folded blanket to help your hips tilt forward. Come into a forward fold and bring your elbows to a block or cushion to support your head. (This is a good option to take if the head feels heavy and you want more neutral support to the neck). Another option is to bend the knees and place the feet directly on the floor if the body feels too tight to take the full pose.

3. Bring legs out wide while sitting on a folded blanket to help your hips tilt forward. Forward fold and bring your heads straight down in front of you while straightening the elbows. This is the deepest version of this pose. If you need more help in getting your hips to tilt forward bring a bolster or pillow underneath your tailbone to raise the hips.

Let me know how you feel from your Yin practice!

The light in me sees the light in you 🙂 -K