What is Yin Yoga?
The practice of turning inwards.
Within a Yin Yoga practice we are invited to draw your attention within to cultivate a deeper awareness: to notice and observe what is happening in us, or for us, at any given time without any addition, suppression, guidance, or manipulation. Put simply, it is the practice of absolute non-interference.
With Yin you learn the art of allowing; we practise the art of embodied surrender. This is a practice of great depth and though it looks simple, it is certainly not easy. Yin yoga is ultimately an embodied stillness practice: an abundance of non-striving and non-contracting, space and silence, little accompaniment to the incessant stillness where all can be revealed….
Are you ready to dive yin?
How does Yin Yoga work?
Yin yoga involves you coming into a pose, finding an appropriate edge or level of sensation, and then holding it in stillness for anywhere between 3-15 minutes. Poses in yin yoga are generally on the floor and focus on one target area at a time. Your muscles soften so your connective tissue can be accessed. This connective tissue or fascia runs everywhere throughout your entire body and is the focus of your yin yoga practice on a physical level.
When you hold poses for a relatively long time, numerous meridian or energy lines in the body can be stimulated, and this facilitates greater flow of qi which we can tune into in rebound. Rebounds are the magical yingredient; they allow you time and space to deeply listen and feel internally, so you can be the observer of any subtle movements and changes in the body.
The Gifts of Yin.
Whoever said ”letting go is the hardest asana” absolutely nailed it. Carl Jung declared that 'there is no coming to consciousness without pain'. Pema Chödrön speaks of our fear as “a natural reaction to moving closer to the truth”. For many years now I have been practising and exploring the hypothesis that our growth is inextricably linked to our ability to hold space for our discomfort. Yin is the space where we see just how true that it.
While it is very likely that some unpleasant sensations or emotions may surface you are simply asked to meet, host, and allow them, to engage with them non-judgmentally. With regular practice we can aspire to cultivate non-attachment, equanimity, and contentment. We can come to realise that we already have many of the elusive 'answers' that we seek. All that we need to do is turn inwards, stay awhile, get comfortable with silence, and learn what it is to truly listen.
Yin yoga is humility and receptivity, acceptance of what is, doing less, to be more. It offers healing on a very deep level; as electrical currents and tingly sensations run through our fascia energy moves, qi flows, and we are reminded of the truly beautiful, miraculous nature of human existence. It is a celebration of our magical bodies with all their idiosyncrasies. It’s the challenge of self-acceptance, resisting judgement, and seeing things as they are and not merely as we are. It’s sometimes excruciating, but always powerfully potent.
“The greatest opportunity for humanity’s survival in the twenty-first century lies not in widening our external horizons, but in deepening our internal ones”.
— Marianne Williamson.
I’ll meet you on the yinside,
Grace x