What is Yin Yoga? My understanding and personal reflections of the practice.
Sarah Powers and Paul Grilley were both interested in exploring ‘slow, soft, and stationary’ within their yoga practice. Sarah has a strong meridian and meditation aspect where as Paul has a strong anatomy influence. Together they established this form of practice. The practice is strongly influenced by nature, which is why Paul named each pose after an animal. It was in the early 1990’s the name Yin came around.
The name Yin is important as it comes from the concept of dualism in ancient Chinese philosophy. The theory that opposite energies connect, compliment and balance one another. Yin is the receptive and Yang is the active principle, seen in all forms of change such as the annual cycle (winter and summer) and also as beings; feminine and masculine energies.
In practice Yin is completely developed around this Chinese philosophy. It also explores the meridian lines within the body, another Chinese concept. Yin yoga has been described as a needless acupuncture as they both use the meridians to help unblock energy.
There are twelve main Meridian Pairs. The top three pairs are the meridian lines in the legs and the bottom bottom three are the meridian lines in the arms.
Yin Meridians (feet-Head) (chest-Finger) Yang Meridians (Head-Toe) (finger-chest)
Kidneys Urinary Bladder
Liver Gallbladder
Spleen Stomach
Lungs Large intestine
Heart Small Intestine
Each meridian line has certain poses that help to unblock the energies for example a toe squat would help to stimulate the kidney and urinary bladder meridian lines. As a pair if these two meridian lines are blocked a person may feel depressed and lonely, the symptoms could also develop into a bladder infection. When they are balanced a person may feel wise, have a greater self understanding and compassion.
Every pair of meridians have signs and symptoms to when the Chi (energy) is blocked, there is also foods you should eat to help stimulate each meridian as well as certain seasons where you need to take greater care of that pair.
Another important aspect of Yin Yoga is it relationship with the bodies connective tissue. Practicing Yin Yoga poses offers the opportunity to find profound release of tension in the deeper lying tissues of the body, and significantly increase the range of motion of the joints. These deeper layers of our body are known as our fascia and connective tissue.
Our muscles are surrounded in fascia; connective tissue is a type of fascia that holds specific parts of our body together. Where the connective tissue holds our bones together we call it ligaments. Ligaments are inelastic where as muscles are elastic. Ligaments cannot stretch however during the Yin Yoga poses we gently pull on the ligaments, allowing them to lengthen and their for increasing our range of motion.
Yin yoga is most effective when the muscles are cold, this is because are muscles are short when cold which means it will enable a greater pull on the ligaments in comparison to if you had warmed up. This will help the joints to open up and help us become more mobile.
The muscle tissue also opens and enables us to become more flexible. This is due to finding a stainable stretch in which we can hold, a stretch that’s is manageable and minimal effort. We have to find a stretch we can be comfortable in as we could be holding the stretch for up to five minutes. As we hold the stretch, breath deeply in the relaxed state of body and mind; are muscle fibres will slowly open releasing any toxins that may have been trapped between the muscle fibres in which caused muscular aches and tension.
The opening of the joints and muscles is why you may leave your Yin Yoga practice feeling a couple of inches taller and like you have had a full body massage.
You will notice that in between the long held postures you will go into a rebound pose, this is usually a chance for you to do what every your body feels it needs to; joint rotations, resting (perhaps in child’s pose), or an opposing stretch to the one you have just done. The rebound is a way for the circulation to reach the areas you have just stretched and to help promote lymphatic drainage. This is where the lymph nodes in your body create lymph which is a fluid that carries oxygen and nutrients around the body and also discards of any toxins that have been released. This system of the body is an important component of the immune system that helps fight infections.
The rebound is also a significant part of class where you get a chance to asses your internal on your personal progressions. It allows you to observe the changes in your body, the new space that’s been created, or a shift of your mental state as a result of the pose you just completed.
I describe a good Yin Yoga class should feel like a meditation through out the whole of the session. This is because Yin practice is a very good way to balance the body and mind, it helps us develop the ability to quieten the mind and become more mindful.
Being someone has suffered from mental health issues throughout many years of my life, I believe Yin Yoga has strongly changed my mind for the better. We are taught to be aware of our thought pattens throughout class, to understand where our mind might takes us and to recognise if it becomes a pattern. Becoming aware of these thought patterns is the first step towards changing them and rewiring them towards a more healthy state of mind.
Yin is all about working internally, listening to what your mind and body needs and then figuring out and finding those answers all by your self. Your Yin Yoga teacher is there to guide you but in actual fact during your Yin class your strongest most influential teacher will be yourself, as you will finally have the time to listen to your own inner wisdoms.
In a world full off technology and constant progression our minds are constantly working on overdrive trying to keep up with the rush of society. Which is why I believe many people need Yin Yoga, it is one of the most effective ways to help reach an uncluttered state of mind. And once you have trained, practiced and developed the art of silence you will understand what a clear state of mind feels like. Feeling clouded is a state you will never want to re-enter.
“ We do not practice to become perfect; we practice to recover more quickly from our mistakes.”