Yin yoga is an emotional body practise. The focus is to work through a healthy about of challanege in the body as you hold stretching yoga poses for a duration of time… anything from 3 – 10 minutes. As we hold yin poses we get a real opportunity to stop being so busy and confront day to day issues that keeping busy and active stops us from facing. So, we are teaching our body to meditate in small intervals. This is why yin is such a powerful practise because if you are drawn to being really active and busy as you get the opportunity to stop, slow down and listen to your body.
Yin yoga is slow-paced practice of letting go. Yin calms the mind and nervous system, stretches the joints and connective tissues. The practice enables you to turn inward, focussing on the breath and stillness within. Beginners to very experienced yogis will find yin yoga a wonderful addition to daily life as we tend to live in a more Yang lifestyle.
Yin yoga is about finding stillness, self care, peace and quietening the mind while putting a healthy amount of challaenge on the connective tissue and joints to release stress and tension in your body as you calm the nervous system. Postures are mostly down on the floor or while sitting up or lying on your back using blankets or props to aid the asana/posture.
I teach yin yoga to a live cello (Yocella) monthly and yin yang yoga classes and pop-up workshops in Littlebird yoga studio and other yoga studios around Dublin.
In other forms of yoga exercise the body by working the muscles. Building strength, fatiguing the muscles and or getting the heart rate up is the focus. Yin yoga is the opposite. With yin yoga we focus on the connective tissue/fasia. This is like a web that covers the muscles. Our stress and trauma becomes held in the bodies webbing. So not focusing on moving and challenging the web and tendons we are in a still state. Yin complements all other physical practices. No previous yoga experience is required to attend a yin yoga class.