![]() ![]() It’s deep and energetically abundant – even though it seems like the practice is still. The goal is dropping below the level where we spend the majority of our day. ![]() In my experience, it is relaxing, but that’s not the goal. But its not easy, or lazy, or all that interesting sometimes. This breath technique draws students out of their Yin fog (which is a pretty nice place to hang out) back toward an alert, grounded place where they can do things like walk down the stairs from my 3rd floor studio and drive. After Savasana, we come up to sitting (either in a chair or on the earth) and practice a balancing breath called Alternate Nostril Breathing. Instruction here is minimal – an opportunity to absorb the practice on all levels of being. The Mindful Yin Yoga practice ends with Savasana or Deep Relaxation, just like in a Hatha Class. It’s noticing what emotions are hanging around and coming back to the present moment, which is the heart of Mindfulness It’s a time to notice where our thoughts tend to go –what we worry about – ruminate about - not why. I include a Mindfulness technique each week to frame the meditation time. ![]() Paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally. Poses are held for 3-8 minutes and in Mindful Yin, we fill the time with Mindfulness. And often the only way to know how to do that is to feel, to listen, and to adjust. Modifying for sciatica, for hip replacement, for injury, is essential. ![]() The sensation doesn’t last very long – and if it does, it means a modification is necessary next time – perhaps a prop that doesn’t allow you to go that deep, or a platform that lifts the foundation higher so you can actually feel the pose at the point where the meridian flows through the body. “I feel like I’m about 100 years old”, said my 38 year old client as she released Butterfly pose. Yin yoga isn’t just laying around on the floor and breathing. It can be uncomfortable, Physically students often report feeling challenged by sensation as they hold the pose and fragile as they release them. The practice is one of allowing – and it can feel pretty challenging. When you gently stretch connective tissue by holding a yin pose, the body responds by making those tissues a little longer and stronger – nourishing and hydrating the connective tissues and joints and improving bone health. In Mindful Yin Yoga, the student is encouraged and invited to feel sensations of stretch and compression as the body drops below the surface of the muscles into the YIN tissues of the tendons, ligaments, fascia, and bones. Then the target area is invited to soften, to drape. Setting the foundation is key whether it’s a groundedness in the pelvis or stable shoulders. The cues are based on setting a foundation from which to drop into the target area – hips, inside of the spine, outside of the spine, feet, ankles, sides of the body. There are cues, but they’re different than structural alignment. There are no standing poses and the focus is on the lower body. The body of the class consists of 6-8 poses that all take place directly on the earth. Along with the Mudras and Breath, these practices prepare the body for the Yin Yoga Sequence. This practice clears the energy pathways, or meridians, and comes from the Bihar School of Yoga in Northern India. We then flow into simple movements from the Joint Freeing series. My Mindful Yin Yoga classes begin with Mudras (hand gestures) and Breath that are cooling, calming, and receptive- getting students out of their busy thinking minds and into their body and the moment. And it also takes a willingness to show up and feel – something that we all need in this busy, over-stimulated culture. We DO the pose and then we DO another one. Hatha Yoga – the more Yang, physical practice, doesn’t really give us time to do this. Sounds like the marriage of the Body and the Mind to me. With Yin Yoga, we have time to learn how to pay attention to sensations, to our edge.” We learn what an edge is, which is something that can be missed entirely in our yang practice. Yin Yoga gives us a chance to learn what sensations are, where they are, whether they are healthy, albeit challenging, or too much. “In Yin Yoga we literally marinate in the juiciness of the pose, and pay attention to the flow of sensations. Why do yoga and check out when you can check in? (that’s a rhetorical question, BTW). Well, in my humble opinion all yoga should be Mindful. ![]()
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