Yin Yoga? What The!?
All forms of yoga can help enhance our physical, mental, emotional, spiritual wholeness, through mindfully moving our bodies and breathing. But with so many different names and term and ways to practise yoga, we know it can get really confusing.
Some forms of yoga are very active focusing on stimulating the muscles to make us stronger and flexible. Other forms are more yielding, more passive, targeting our deeper connective tissues, our ligaments, our joints, our bones. This is where Yin Yoga comes in.
Yin Yoga is gentler form of yoga and most of the positions are done lying on the ground with the assistance of props like bolsters, cushions, blocks. We use props to support our bodies and ‘prop up’ the parts of our bodies that need it.
Most Yin yoga poses are held for 3 to 5 minutes, which can be extremely relaxing, reinvigorating but also quite challenging (but in a good way ☺) . The longer amount of time we hold a position allows us to get deeper into our connective tissue and activate a stronger release. In addition, the concept of staying still for this amount of time, is also somewhat challenging and restorative as stillness and rest is not ‘normal’ to many of us.
In an active yoga practice, we resist gravity. We lift our arms we do standing poses, we reach up. In Yin the opposite is true and gravity becomes our friend. We let our body sink down to the earth and focus on the downward pull of gravity to assist with the deep release, resulting in a deeper, better stretch.
So in summary…..Yin Yoga will gently stretch your connective tissue which get all tightened up through out your day/ life…..and can be especially beneficial to your hips and low backs. In addition to this, there are several other benefits you’ll get from Yin Yoga:
- Calming of the mind
- Lowering of stress levels (we all need a bit of that !)
- Increase of mobility throughout your body, especially the joints and hips
- Better lubrication and protection of your joints
- More flexibility in those joints & connective tissue
- Release of fascia throughout your body
- Help with headaches or migraines
- The enjoyment of a deeper relaxation … leading to better, sounder sleep
- A great coping mechanism for those with anxiety
- Improvement of your active yoga practice AND how you walk around in and cope with everyday life.
Remember that each and every one of us is unique. And you might find that you have to try quite a few different types of Yoga before finding the right one for you. And then you may need to play around with the regularity of your yoga practise before you settle on the right mix for you. Don’t give up too soon… and don’t be afraid to try!
So come and check out a Yin Yoga / Stretch Yoga class at Yoga Everyday, Stafford. We offer 6 Yin Yoga classes a week, in addition to the Yoga Flow and Power Yoga (active) yoga sessions. We are committed to helping you become a healthier, fitter, happier version of yourself, while enjoying a laugh along the way. Check out our Timetable and get along to a class! We’ll be sure to welcome you and introduce you to new friends.
