Yin Yoga

Yin reduces physical tension in the body

Yin yoga can be thought of as the deep tissue massage of yoga. The poses you’ll move through in a yin class help to release physical tension and unblock stagnant energy being held in the body.

While all forms of yoga promote flexibility and help to decrease tension, yin takes it to another level by allowing for more time to be spent in each pose which promotes a deeper stretch. 

Anatomical uniqueness is the belief that every single human’s body is different and the way we approach yoga poses should also be different. 

While still always keeping joint safety in mind, yin yoga is focused much more on how a pose feels than whether or not the “alignment” of the pose is “correct.” 

Yin is a “workout” for your connective tissue

If you’ve ever experienced any type of sprain or tear in a joint then you know that too much exertion on connective tissues (ligaments, tendons, and fascia) is not a good thing. That’s because these tissues don’t respond to heat building activities, like active yoga classes and traditional forms exercise, in the same way that the major muscle groups do.

Having a way to lubricate and lengthen these areas of the body is key to increasing longevity and keeping joints safe and healthy. That’s exactly what the practice of yin yoga does.

Yin specifically seeks to target the connective tissue of the body through long, slow holds of cooling poses that allow it to expand over time.

One of the biggest misconceptions people have about yin yoga is that if you start practicing yin then you have to commit to only yin and give up other types of yoga, like hatha or vinyasa.

This couldn’t be further from the truth.

Yin yoga has deep roots in Taoist philosophy which puts focus on the need to find balance between yin and yang.

Harmony exists only when both yin and yang are in balance.

Yin yoga, which by nature is a slow, cooling practice, is meant to be a complement to yang activities which focus on building heat and energy through movement. Adding yin yoga into the mix is a way to ensure that the body maintains a sense of overall health and longevity by focusing on creating mobility in the joints.

Taking the time to move through a yin practice creates space to focus the mind and become more in tune with the depth of our thoughts, feelings, and consciousness, which is another key benefit of the practice.

Finding dedicated time to just “be” with our thoughts is a challenge. Modern life is busy – from work, to family, to household responsibilities and everything in-between, we often consider ourselves lucky to just make it through the day. Yin yoga puts us back on manual control and forces us to really take a look at the current state of our minds and emotions.

Human beings have a natural instinct to move away from discomfort as quickly as possible. This is part of our evolution and is related to us craving a sense of safety in order to ensure our survival.

This makes sense during times that we’re in actual danger but as time has moved forward, that’s often not the case. Our lives are not literally at stake when we’re thinking about leaving a job we hate or ending a relationship that’s not working, even though sometimes it may feel that way.

Yin yoga gives us practice with leaning into discomfort rather than backing away and helps us learn to breathe through it until we find a sense of ease on the other side. It exemplifies that all moments, no matter how challenging they may be, are temporary and that we have the ability to face whatever it is that comes our way.

This is true in a yin class in both the physical and emotional sense.

When you first enter a hip opening yin pose it may seem impossible to hold it for another second much less the full five minutes you’ll be in the pose. But, by taking a few breaths and learning to just pause, the mind is trained to move beyond its initial instinct to move away from discomfort and instead to create an opportunity to let go of physical tension and find more space.

True happiness is found through being honest about our emotions and giving ourselves permission to feel them, whether they’re “good” or “bad.” When we bring the mind to a place of quiet or stillness in a yin class, we gain practice with acknowledging our emotions, feeling them, and letting go of them to make room for whatever comes next. Over time, this builds mental fortitude along with both physical and emotional resilience and teaches us that we are capable of handling the challenges that come our way. This has a direct influence on our stress response and leads to another benefit of the practice.

Another aspect of the survival instinct that influences our modern lives is our innate way of reacting with our fight-or-flight response first.

Our fear response is an important evolutionary response that is responsible for our survival as a species. Quite literally there were times when we heard a loud noise and that meant we had to run for our lives. Our brains are therefore hardwired to first react with fear, which floods our bodies with adrenaline and cortisol (our stress hormones) and enable us to quickly move to safety.

The problem is that, again, our lives are not usually at risk on a daily basis. The sound of a book dropping on the floor may make you jump because it activates that fight-or-flight response, but it doesn’t mean you’re in any kind of real danger.

Yin yoga works to move us out of our sympathetic nervous system and activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which is our rest-and-digest response. Spending time in our parasympathetic nervous system response allows for restoration and healing to occur and therefore decreases stress and anxiety.

When the body has more time to operate in this state it can reduce the risk of cardiac disease and stroke, lower your blood pressure, restore metabolism, and aid in the regulation of bodily systems. The steadiness of the Yin Yoga practice combined with its focus on deep breathing allows for the body and mind to drop into the parasympathetic nervous system and create a deep sense of all-around health.

Yin yoga is all about creating balance in the body, the mind, and the emotions. It’s a practice that is rooted in ancient Eastern philosophies that have been practiced for thousands of years.

Students are able to experience the benefits of yin yoga from their very first class. For yoga teachers, this practice provides another offering to serve their students and communities in a more holistic way.

Please call us on 7469752843 7469752843 or contact us directly using our contact form.