By: Jessica Proulx
Yin Yoga is one of those “things” in the yoga practice that my students are always afraid to try. As soon as you explain it as a “practice of long holding of gentle expressions of postures” they give you the look, and you know you have just turned them off. But how else do you explain it to someone in a way that they will understand its benefits without thinking about the fact they will be in pigeon for 5-7 minutes on each side. So, putting all that aside, here are my top 7 reasons why everyone should try Yin Yoga.
- The Mind-Body connection and then separation. At first, settling into a pose that you are holding for such a long period can be super uncomfortable and the mind can start to take over. “Hold long will I be here?”, “Has it been three minutes yet?”, “I have an itch, will my teacher notice if I scratch it?”. But, after a moment of being with those feelings, allowing yourself to be uncomfortable, there is a moment of release and ease in the body and a clearing of the mind- sometimes greater than I have even found in meditation (personal experience there). The deepest sense of surrender comes over the body and the mind and you are allowed to just be. Beautiful.
- Balance. We live in a world of, go…go…go…and often times the yoga practice can mimic that. Vinyasa, hot yoga, power yoga- where is the ease? To truly delve into a yoga practice, even if for you it is purely on a physical level, you have to find balance; balance of effort and ease. Yin will get you there.
- There is more to the physical body than just the muscles and yin will get to a deeper level. Increasing your joint mobility and lubrication, working through the fascia and connective tissues of the body, yin will help keep your body healthy on a level that goes beyond just muscular strength and flexibility.
- Truly Letting GO. Unlike many other forms of yoga where the effort and strength and high and the letting go only happens in savasana- in yin, the letting go happens throughout the entire practice. A continual stream of settling in and letting go, and often the emotional associated with this can be amazing.
- Energy. Yin Yoga has a deep connection to the meridians and Qi (Chi)of Traditional Chinese Medicine, as well as the yogic connection of working with Prana or life force energy. These connections can have a profound impact on the internal workings of the body and leave you feeling invigorated and refreshed.
- Learning that the act of doing nothing can really be something. In our culture, the act of doing nothing is frowned upon and we reward the overworked, over tired, and over-stressed. We are taught that we need to continue, well after our body and mind have exhausted, and often do not take the time to care for ourselves. You learn very quickly through things like meditation, that what looks like doing nothing can actually be the biggest “something” in your life. Yin works very much in the same way. Some much happens in that stillness, that when you are ready to move and you take the time to notice, you can feel the changes on such a deep level.
- Being comfortable being uncomfortable. We live in a world where discomfort is avoided at all costs. We take ibuprofen the moment a headache settles in, turn on the AC to be sure the house never gets above 72 degrees, and are compelled to be sure that we are as comfortable as can be most of the time. And let’s face it, being in a deep lunge for 5 minutes in not comfortable- BUT, by learning to get comfortable in this uncomfortable situation, you take that off the mat, and like dominoes, you will see a chain reaction throughout your life. Suddenly things that were uncomfortable before, don’t seem so bad anymore. And poof- the best lesson of yin yoga comes to life!
Jessica Proulx is the owner and director of The OM Center and the lead teacher for The Om Center Yoga Teacher School.
