Do you know anyone who couldn’t benefit from cultivating more patience? We’ve become so accustomed to moving at a breakneck speed in life, from speeding down busy highways to accessing any type of information on our phones in nano-seconds that we rarely hit the pause button. Often we translate that hectic pace into our yoga practice.
While a juicy Vinyasa flow class is wonderful for many reasons, if you are out of balance, this type of Yang or active practice can actually exacerbate feelings of impatience, anxiety, and anger. Sometimes when life is moving too fast, the best thing you can do is slow down to equalize out your energy.
Enter Yin Yoga. What is Yin Yoga? There are three tattvas or principles of Yin Yoga. It is characterized by getting into a posture, becoming as still as you can, and holding it for time, often up to five minutes. If you’re unfamiliar with this style of yoga, read on for all they benefits you’ll receive by quieting down.
In a Yin Yoga class, you will practice a handful of postures, most of them seated or lying down. You won’t sweat or build heat, and that’s the point. Don’t mistake the lack of sweating as a lack of effort, in fact, these deep poses include moments of profound intensity. Holding poses for a longer period of time forces us to tune in to what emotions are coming up for us. There’s nowhere to go.
Different areas of our bodies relate to certain emotions. You’ve probably heard that past trauma or stress sits in our hips. Many Yin postures involve some type of hip opening. If you haven’t held Pigeon pose for five minutes, you haven’t lived! These poses are often uncomfortable and there’s no flowing out of them after five breaths, like in an Ashtanga class.
There is nothing else to do but breathe and cope with whatever comes up for you in the pose.
In addition to digging into your emotions, Yin is excellent for going deeper than the muscular level and benefiting your ligaments, connective tissue, and joints. So, if you’re an athlete and looking to balance out all the work you do training for your sport, Yin can be a great option to help prevent injuries. Physically, emotionally, and mentally, one of the main goals in Yin is to access a sense of surrender in each pose. So, if you are ready to cultivate more patience, lightness, and softness, we’ve got 9 Yin practices with varied lengths and focuses to help you relax.
Treat yourself to this 9-class Yin Yoga package now!