FIND YOUR YIN
Find out why practising Yin yoga can improve both your physical and mental wellbeing.
What is Yin yoga?
Photo by Conscious Design
With Yin yoga, the focus is on the deep connective tissues of the body, such as the ligaments, joints, bones, and deep fascia networks, as opposed to Yang yoga techniques (Ashtanga, Vinyasa), which physically target the "superficial" muscles. A typical Yin session includes of many passive floor positions that are held for up to five minutes or more. These positions primarily target the lower body's lower spine, inner thighs, hips, and pelvis. Connective tissues are particularly abundant in certain regions.
If you're exhausted and in need of energy or if you're overstimulated and have too much energy, yin yoga is for you.
Our world continually bombards us with stimuli, keeping our minds occupied as they attempt to digest everything that is being fed to them. It doesn't matter if the information is useful or useless; the mind still needs to process it. Over time, we acquire accustomed to that level of stimulation and begin to seek it when things are calm. As a result, we find ourselves searching and looking for things—anything would do as long as it fills the holes.
Photo by Conscious Design
The yin tissues, sometimes referred to as the connective tissues, are the focus of yin yoga. We hold the postures for a longer period of time because connective tissue responds better to a slow, continuous load. Holding a yin stance for a prolonged period of time in this manner can gently stretch the connective tissue, causing the body to respond by lengthening and strengthening it slightly—exactly what you want.
The myofascial meridians in the body are stimulated and unblocked by various Yin yoga postures, which in turn balances the body's internal organs and systems. Not all yoga poses can be performed safely or efficiently when practising Yin style yoga because Yin yoga requires the muscles to relax around the connective tissue in order to obtain a stretch.
Yin yoga allows you the time and space to let feelings, ideas, and emotions that you have repressed come to the fore.
In a Yin yoga session, you will often be urged to acknowledge all of your feelings without identifying with them. You must keep an eye on them without becoming sucked in.