What is Yin Yoga?
A Yin Yoga practice is a style of practice that takes it’s roots from martial arts, yoga and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). One of the purposes of Yin, is to instill balance through influencing the energetic channels (meridians) in the body.
Here’s a few key points describing a Yin Yoga class:
You’ll enjoy long passively held postures for a longer period of time, meant to stretch/stress the connective tissue.
Unlike a restorative yoga class, you’ll place the body in a position to be able to feel the stretch at about a 50-70% maximum of your end range.
Helps to down-regulate the nervous system resulting in feelings of peace and calm.
A deeply nourishing practice for the body and the mind
A Yin Yoga practice is such a powerful way to help you shift your attention away from the more outwardly focused and external things in our worlds like our jobs, chores and other responsibilities, to the more inwardly focused where our minds can begin to rest and our bodies can begin to relax and repair.
Here’s a great short mindfulness practice to help you shift your awareness at the beginning of your practice (or anytime you need a break) from the external to the internal:
Begin by closing your eyes and focusing on your breathing
Take 3 long slow breaths and see if you can draw your attention to your own internal state (like the heart beating, or the lungs filling & emptying)
Following your 3rd exhale, blink your eyes open and draw your awareness to your own external state (like looking at your hands) and take three more deep breaths
After your third exhale, allow your gaze to drift to your periphery (don’t move your eyes or head). Notice the world around you and take three more deep breaths.
Close the eyelids and once again focus on your breathing.
Repeat 2-3 times
We’d love to see you in the studio to experience one of our Yin classes soon, but in the meantime, here’s a class you can take from the comfort of your own home:
Comentarios