Not too long ago I received a copy of the magazine “Yoga Journal” and was excited to see an article in it about Yin Yoga. It presented Yin Yoga in the light that I was taught. It separated Yin Yoga from Restorative Yoga. It mentioned some science even as to why Yin Yoga is important, so not just talk about energy and meridians, but something that could be measured and shown to those that really need to see some science behind yoga. I will share that post later. Right now I just wanted to do something quick to help give people a quick idea of what Yin Yoga is. When I tell people that I teach Yin Yoga their first question is, “What is Yin Yoga?” This is just a quick bulleted list to help answer that question.
• Yin Yoga is a passive practice.
• Yin Yoga has LONG holds.
• Yin Yoga is about connective tissue and meridians.
• Yin Yoga is about being in a pose and not using muscle to get into a pose.
• Yin Yoga is not “Restorative Yoga.”
• Yin Yoga has poses that may seem familiar, but the hold is longer and therefore the intent is different.
• Yin Yoga is primarily an on-the-floor (seated, lying prone, or supine) practice.
• Yin is a cooling practice.
• Yin Yoga is the counter practice to a yang practice.
• Yin Yoga is a still practice.
In some of my previous posts regarding Yin Yoga, I have addressed some of these points in more detail, but in addition to a post with the information from the Yoga Journal article, I might just do a post expounding on each bullet point. We will see.
What do you think? Have you ever taken a Yin Yoga class?
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