Yin Yoga – The Nature of Stillness

The word ‘Yin’ is generally connected with a sense of calm, gentleness and feelings of nurture. At the other end of the scale, we have ‘Yang’  which is associated with dynamic, powerful, energetic behaviour.

Yin yoga is a calming practice that gently targets the connective tissues of our body. Connective tissue is made up of anything that attaches muscles to bone, muscle to muscle and includes all of the layers of tissue that surround our muscles. This is called fascia.

                     “It’s not stressful to the muscles or joints.”

In a typical Yin class, you will hold postures for a few minutes at a time, at the point where your body feels the resistance but it’s not stressful to your muscles or to your joints.  There is a big focus on reconnecting with your breath.

Holding the postures for a while also targets the deeper layers of connective tissue. The benefits of this are that your body will surrender and become relaxed around the areas that are usually stiff or tight  Areas like the hips and shoulders start to ease and release tension, which makes you feel like you have more space within your body.  That feeling gives you the sense of freedom to enable you to move with grace and with ease.

Here is a short video of  Yin Yoga sequence for you to try out.  Hold each pose for 3 – 5 minutes and breathe into your belly.