4 Tenets of Yin Yoga
Bring your Yin Yoga practice to a deeper level by keeping these intentions in mind.
1. Find an Appropriate Edge
As you enter a pose, move slowly and gently into the suggested shape—without a picture of how far you should go. There's no aesthetic ideal; there's no end result we're looking for. Pause and listen to the body. Wait for feedback before moving deeper into the posture. Many people, especially dancers and athletes, have lost much of their sensitivity to the signals of the body and are used to overriding those messages. Look for an appropriate amount of intensity, a balance between sensation and space. Relax into the body; discover and explore each subtle layer along the way to your deep resting place.
2. Be Still
Resolve not to fidget. Don't try to fix or change the pose, to intensify it, or to escape the sensations. Consciously try to release (or even just imagine releasing) into the shape. Doing that helps you relax the muscles around the connective tissues you are most attempting to influence. In addition, moving can cause unsafe stress on the connective tissue, causing injury: To be safe, hold statically at the edge of your range of motion and engage muscles around sensitive areas or use props when needed.
3. Hold for a While
Hold times anywhere from 1 to 3 minutes for beginners and up to 5 minutes or more for advanced practitioners. Use a timer so you can relax without watching the clock. Substantial holds train the mind to respond skillfully to difficult circumstances. They teach you that you don't need comfort to feel at ease. Instead of contracting around feelings and sensations, invite space and breathe steadily.
4. Release with Care
In Yin practice you put your body into long holds with joints in vulnerable positions—positions that might be dangerous if you move into or out of them quickly or aggressively. As you come out of the poses (for example, Dragonfly), use your hands to support your legs and to lightly contract the muscles that oppose the openings you've been working. It can help to do a very brief, actively practiced counterpose: After doing Saddle (the Yin version of Supta Virasana), for example, sit with your legs out straight and engage your quads.
You are challenging very deep tissues that the body usually protects from lengthening—because if they're stretched suddenly, they're easily damaged. You may experience discomfort, shakiness, and instability when you come out. Don't worry; these sensations will change.
All of our poses are on the floor and deliciously calm. Forrest will guide your chill Wednesday night so you can really let go and let yourself be guided from a brief ‘sugar high’ mediation in the beginning, then flow through your yin poses to your bliss.
Wednesday, November 2nd, 7:30 PM – 8:45 PM MST
Studio 4 (Central Phoenix), 6201 N 7th St, Phoenix, AZ 85014, USA

Comments