Yin Yoga Training

Back in September, I was on crutches for six weeks. 

My schedule shifted dramatically and so did my practice.

I had already known and occasionally practiced Yin Yoga but not being able to stand made Yin my new best friend. The one class where is didn't matter that I could only use one foot.

This is because all Yin classes are done seated and propped up.

I would get in that room, the lights would go off, I would set myself up and just breathe.

It's very deceptive. 

As a yang (Vinyasa) teacher, I think of progress being achieved through hard work and exertion. But at the end of those six weeks, I was more flexible and balanced than when I began.

This gave me a real testimony of the practice and I added a Yin class to my permanent teaching schedule.

So when Ra announced a Yin Training module, I was beyond excited!

The training was 10 hours over Saturday and Sunday and I learned a lot about the theory of the practice and added some new postures and techniques.

Yin is something that we as a society are screaming out for! Over scheduled, over worked and just all around stressed out, we need Yin in our lives more than ever.

So what exactly is Yin yoga? It is a more meditative approach with a physical focus much deeper than Yang like practices. Here the practitioner is trying to access the deeper tissues such as the connective tissue and fascia and many of the postures focus on areas that encompass a joint (hips, sacrum, spine). As one ages flexibility in the joints decreases and Yin yoga is a wonderful way to maintain that flexibility, something that for many don’t seem to be too concerned about until they notice it is gone.

Yin Yoga postures are more passive postures, mainly on the floor and the majority of postures equal only about three dozen or so, much less than the more popular yang like practices. Yin Yoga is unique in that you are asked to relax in the posture, soften the muscle and move closer to the bone. While yang-like yoga practices are more superficial, Yin offers a much deeper access to the body. It is not uncommon to see postures held for three to five minutes, even 20 minutes at a time. The time spent in these postures is much like time spent in meditation, and I often talk students through the postures as if they were trying to meditate. While in a Yin class you might notice similar postures to a yang class except they are called something else, on a basic level this is to help the students mind shift form yang to yin, active to passive.

For me, Yin has dug deeper than I could have ever gotten otherwise. This intimate practice of yoga requires students to be ready to get intimate with the self, with feelings, sensations, and emotions, something of which I have noticed can be easy to avoid in a fast paced yoga practice. 

Yin yoga teaches you how to really listen, you don’t get the opportunity to go in and out, jump around and find a distracted version of stillness within your practice. Yin is such a great compliment to other styles and your own personal life, because it brings long periods of time in an uncomfortable position, which then asks you to learn to “be” to “accept what is” in that given moment. Something we can all benefit from daily. For me, I did not know how to be in my own company, I did not like to feel or be or anything that required me to have an emotion. There is something so deep about Yin that will tap into a part of you in a way only unique to Yin. And for me a healthy Yin practice has poured over into a healthier Yang practice and a healthier life as a whole. And I wish that for everyone.

My teacher, Melissa Christensen, ERYT 500