Yin Yoga is a soft style of yoga that promotes meditation, bringing awareness inwards and a release of the connective tissues that surround our muscles. It differs from the popular yang style yoga classes that focus more on strengthening muscles and focusing ones attention externally using Drishti’s. Both styles of yoga come under the umbrella of Hatha yoga which quite literally represents the Yang energy ‘Ha’ and Yin energy ‘tha’.
How does yin differ to yang? It is important to understand in more detail how yin style yoga compares to the popular yang style mentioned above. Yin is the opposite to yang, and yang is the opposite to yin. These styles surround us in everyday life. Yin styles can be associated with business, darkness, cold, inside, night, moon, and earth, while yang styles are associated with their opposites, calmness, light, warmth, outside, day, sun, and heaven. Since balance is a central theme throughout all yoga practice, it is believed that harmony manifests when the yin and yang are in balance. It is therefore logical that yin compliments the right balance of yang, and yang compliments the right balance of yin. If somebody is feeling unmotivated and struggling to find energy, they will likely benefit form a more yang style class to help create fire and energy. If somebody is struggling with a busy hectic life and is on the go a lot, they will likely benefit form a more yin style yoga class. One style is not better than the other, they are each necessary for our mental and physical well-being to find equilibrium and thrive. The yang style classes are commonly known as vinyasa style classes with dynamic flows of movement, ashtanga with powerful asana sequences. These classes create heat and work the muscles of the body. Yin style classes are commonly associated with restorative yoga, meditation and holding poses for longer periods of time. These classes create a calming cool energy and look to stress the connective tissues – muscles should not be activated in yin.
Where does yin originate from? Despite some yoga styles being more popular than others, there is not one style of yoga that all other styles have stemmed from. Hatha Yoga does however have roots that go back thousands of years with many of the ancient lineages of yoga incorporating some basic physical poses and sitting in meditation. To sit and meditate in stillness may sound simple but certainly in western cultures, this can be incredibly challenging both physically and mentally. Nowadays to sit upright in stillness for even a minute can be rather challenging. For ancient practitioners of yoga, who were able to sit for hours or even days on end, it is understood that they must have practiced yoga and trained their body to do so. One theory believes a yin style of yoga would have best prepared the physical body to sit for long periods of time, by stressing the connective tissues within the body for longer periods of time. While muscles play a factor in one’s mobility, the connective tissues play a more vital role in the range of motion and mobility a person has. Holding poses for longer periods of time therefore would help to train the body physically and mentally, as it would help release tension from the connective tissues, enabling someone to sit in meditation or access different asanas without pain or discomfort, but also mentally, by building one’s ability to still the mental and emotional fluctuations of the mind. One meaning of yoga means ‘discipline’ which yin embodies by focusing on holding poses for longer, creating more mental and physical resilience for the body.
What are connective tissues? Yin focuses on stressing the connective tissues in the body which include bones, ligaments that connect the bones, tendons that connect muscles to bones, cartilage, and fascia. Fascia surrounds and interpenetrates all organs, muscles, bones, and nerve fibres, providing structural integrity and enabling all bodily systems to be interconnected. Of the main contributors to tension in the body, a study found that over 50% of the causes for joint restrictions was down to connective tissues. Combined with the fact that fascia makes up 30% of the body’s muscle tissues, an insight into how significant this part of the human body is able to be painted. Fascia restricts a person’s range of motion when tension is present far more than muscles. Yin focuses on stressing connective tissues to relieve tension, which consequently can help improve a person’s range of movement. This is done by holding poses for an average of three to five minutes, using the breath to help draw the intension inward and calm the nervous system. Yin poses tend to be on the ground to enable the body’s muscles to relax, and in turn helps keep the focus on the surrounding connective tissues. Since yin is a calming style, although the connective tissues are being stressed, this does not require active effort to engage them. One needs to simply relax into the chosen asana, which allows the tissue to be stressed. People who struggle with limited range of movement are therefore likely to benefit from yin yoga.
In modern day society, with western culture seemingly inherent with hectic lifestyles, more people are being drawn to yoga to help manage their physical and mental wellbeing. Yin yoga in particular helps with this as it calms the body and mind by holding poses with longer periods than the yang style. This encourages one to draw their awareness inwards, letting go of the external pressures and allowing one to settle into an internal state of stillness and awareness. Anybody looking to access their inner truth, or looking to become more familiar with their authentic self would benefit from yin yoga. In a world where the focus seems to lie on what people have, rather than who they are, people are becoming more and more disconnected with themselves which can manifest in psychological and physical ailments. When people do not know who they are, or why they behave they do, they are arguably not in control of their life. Yin helps a person reconnect with their higher self, helping them to assess their inner truth, allowing them to make smarter choices in regard to their wellbeing. Rather than following the taken-for-granted rules of society blindly, yin yoga enables one to bring conscious awareness to their behaviour.
What are the asanas of Yin yoga? The different asanas of yin yoga can be used with a focus on anatomical areas or TCM meridian networks. These meridian networks stem from the Chinese understanding of energy networks running through the body, each correlating to different organs. It is the belief within traditional Chinese medicine that the life energy, or ‘chi’ as the Chinese call it, is stored in different organs. When this chi is either deficient or stagnant, it is believed that illness can manifest. The meridians are networks running from each of the organs, linking different body parts. Yin, therefore, can work with these meridians and body parts to help restore or strengthen the chi in the organs, necessary for optimum health. Other than the squat and standing forward fold, all other yin poses require one to not be on the feet, which is another key difference to yang style yoga with a lot of standing poses. Yin generally works with body parts between the navel and knees, which is often linked to the hips and lower spine.
In general Yin yoga helps calm and regulate ones nervous system, by stilling the body and mind. It physically helps release tension from the body and teaches one patience and about themselves. Interoception is embedded within each asana – asking the yogi to ask questions about how they are, how they feel and what sensations bring up. All of this helps prepare one for meditation, which again help one to clear a busy mind in a very busy world.
I can't wait to offer this to you all in the New Year when the stuido officially opens - WOO HOO!
Updates to follow on launch date and opening.
Sending you love and light,
Jade
Comments