What is Yin Yoga?

Yin yoga has it's roots in the Taoist tradition ☯ . Yang relates to faster and repetitive movements, the heat and energy in the body. Yin is the quiet stillness, the cooling energy and often passive aspects of the body. In the physical sense, Yang is the muscles and Yin is the dense, fibrous connective tissue and joints.

To find balance in the body, we must cultivate and encourage both aspects of Yin and Yang. We encourage Yang through activities like vinyasa yoga, hiking, running, lifting weights, etc... the big muscle movements. But if we only focus on the large muscles and heat in the body, we can lead ourselves towards overwhelm, inside and out.

Yin Yoga is a passive style of yoga. We utilize various props at times to help us sink into the pose, letting go into gravity and release all tension held in the body. We bring our attention into the meditative state of each posture, focus in on the breath, perhaps even ascribe adjectives to the sensations we're experiencing. Through a Yin Yoga practice, we try to find acceptance in these longer held, and at times difficult, postures. Yin asks you to work through any emotions held in the body* to categorize the subtle differences between physical and emotional sensations and to just BE there, with this understanding that you're not moving, knowing you might be uncomfortable, and instead of adjusting out of the posture, finding this sense of stillness and acceptance.

"Yin yoga is practised sitting or lying on the floor. There are no planks, no warriors, no core work. No dynamic sun salutations. No standing poses. The pace is slow, so you need to wear comfortable, warm clothes and maybe keep your socks on. The classes should be suitable for beginners and more experienced practitioners alike." –The Guardian

I find Yin Yoga very powerful. As a long time athlete and previous NCAA Division 1 Women's Rower I didn't realize how much fear I held in and around my knees. Knee problems run in my family, I've grown up with the awareness of having to be tender to these often overworked joints. After 6+ years of competitive rowing, bouts of attempted running and other Yang type exercises, honestly... certain Yin postures scared me... emotionally. I had become so used to avoiding all knee-to-ground postures that I lost the ability to designate between discomfort and pain, emotional tension and actual physical warnings. It's an amazingly moving practice, it can rock you to your core and help you connect with aspects of yourself that might be deep within.

Yin Yoga is an incomplete practice by itself. It is a complement to Yang activities and together can create a sense of harmony in the body + mind. To learn more about Yin Yoga and how to incorporate the practice into your life, check out our Yin Yoga Workshop going on this April 18th, 2015 in downtown Gwangju, SK.

To sign up now or ask any questions about the workshop, please email me for details.