What is Yin Yoga?
Yin yoga is a slow style of stretching that incorporates body awareness, breathing awareness and control and meditation. Brought to the West in the 70’s by a Daoist yoga teacher, the yin yoga style has developed and changed depending on the lineage of the teacher.
Yin Yoga targets the connective tissues, such as the ligaments, bones, and even the joints of the body that normally are not exercised very much in a more active style of Asana practice. This style of yoga encourages you to listen to the body and to take authority over the mind-chatter (that often tells you “I can’t” do something). Yin yoga asks you to hold postures/stretches for longer periods of time (sometimes 3-5mins) allowing the body to yield or release in its’ own timing.
There are no standing postures and your heart rate does not rise – it slows down. You will feel peace transcend through your body in some postures, whilst in others you will find yourself constantly at odds with the pose (in body and mind).
In our classes we encourage you to observe your responses, to pause before “reacting” and to learn to understand the difference between “pain” and “discomfort”.
In all our classes we offer these guidelines:
There is NO………….
judgement (of yourself or anyone else)
competition (of yourself or anyone else)
criticism (of yourself or anyone else)
striving
negative self talk
We believe that in accordance with these “rules”, you will come to enjoy true freedom on the mat, where you can just be who you are, and allow your body to rest and stretch in the way it wants to on each particular day you practice.
Why is Yin taking the yoga world by storm?
Yin is a total mind and body stress reliever. In our classes we have created periods of breathing practice, mindfulness techniques and stretches that help you to relax. We use bolsters and blocks to support the body. We teach you about posture and breath control, so that you become more in control and aware of your body.
There is so much YANG energy and movement in your day-to-day life. We train hard, we rush around, we work hard, we look after so many others, we are always “doing” something. It is exhausting!
Yin Yoga will seek to give you the rest your body requires to find balance again – mind and body. We focus on deep, controlled breathing in our classes, and we know that this alone has the power to transform your mood, your awareness of pain in the body and your experience of feeling better.
We also teach you about healthy mind-speak, so that you are flooded with “Feel good” moments, whether it is in the form of affirmations, or “mantras” that are intended to nourish your spirit as well as teach you how to speak more positively to yourself.
Who is it for?
Anyone who wants to stretch out, relax and feel less stress in their body. Some people may find this difficult if they are used to more “yang” activity such as running, bootcamps, boxing etc. We have many people in the classes with chronic injury/pain, illness, conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, fibro, chronic fatigue, sore knees/hips/ankles.
