Yin Yoga
In Yin Yoga, we find a pose, surrender to the shape, find stillness, and stay for a few minutes. The poses are mostly seated, prone, or close to the ground or using the walls to find poses with less effort. Each class is designed and created to clear certain energy paths through the body. This more meditative style of yoga is a good compliment to your other active practices. It’s slower, cooler and reaches deeper than the muscular tissues, keeping the fascial network supple, pliable, more open while stimulating the often-neglected connective tissues, bones, and joints.
Yin creates many interesting sensations, both physically and emotionally. Try to stay open and curious as you try the classes, and accept whatever arises. Pay attention. Once we get in a pose and take an inner inventory of what we are feeling, relaxing physically as much as possible, then turning the attention onto the breath, we begin to notice a background of emotions perhaps, a sensation around the heart area. Thoughts will always come and go, and we are not trying to change our thoughts, not trying to change the experience, we are simply noticing what arises, what passes, and staying with the breath. There will be dramas that arise and the impulse to the sensations on the mat are often how we react at other times in our lives when we face great challenges. Maybe you run away from what is happening, perhaps try to change it, give up and suffer through it, or accept it. In our Yin practice, when we really want to come out, if we pay very close attention, we start to noice how we want something else other than what is happening right now. We notice whether we are mentally hiding (running away), or moving to a different position (changing something)Do we stay still but get upset and begin negative and judgmental self-talk (suffering through), or do you finally decide that at this moment in your life, this is what you are meant to be experiencing?
That’s not to stay that changing a position may not be the wise thing to do. We learn the wisdom of our bodies in these poses. Yin is something that truly must be felt by the individual to fully understand and cultivate the benefits.
After teaching Yin, Poems and Poses for a few years, I’ve come to believe that practicing this ancient form of yoga in harmony with other health related endeavors, creative endeavors, even other strength building yoga practices such as Ashtanga, or endeavors not related to Yoga at all: biking, golfing, martial arts brings balance to the body and the mind. Not even just physically, but mentally slowing down, bringing the body to an edge, keeping a pose at that edge to help the mind stay present, becomes a form of meditation. Meditation can be difficult for those that need a physical cue to stay present. Yin helps.
Our sequences of long-held Yin poses aimed an enhancing meridian and organ systems, combined with a regular yoga practice (Hatha, Ashtanga, Iyengar, etc) balance the physical and pranic bodies, as well as help the practitioner be open to emotional difficulties, work with them, and prepare to deepen and nourish insights into the true self, one’s essential nature, and an awareness that is always present.
Our daily practice of yoga builds a habit, a habit of being present. No matter what life presents, no matter the pain or suffering, joy, elation, we learn to be open, to touch life in every moment, to be truly alive; not just on your mat, but in conversations while you are listening, or when you are working, eating, walking, or exercising. We practice on our mats so that we can fully participate in our life.
Namaste.