Yin Yoga: Shannon's Thoughts

I'd been practicing yoga for over a decade the first time I sat down in a yin class.  An hour and 15 minutes later, I left class and said to my friend Claudia, "I've never felt so good in my life... That was the best yoga class, ever."  She agreed.  The next week I had the same reaction, and the week after that, and the week after that.  Fora long time after that Yin was my primary form of practice and it helped me make a big jump in my flexibility - especially in my hips.  

Yin is the perfect practice to balance our very hectic and stress-riddled lives. Stillness of mind naturally follows stillness of body, so when you sink into the stillness of the yin expereince, you open the door to a quiet we seldom get to experience in modern life.  So if you've been wondering what this Yin-business is all about, or if you noticed the workshop and want to give it a try, but aren't sure what to expect here is an introduction.  

The main thing to know is that the practice is goverened by three basic principles:

• Find your edge

• Become still

• Hold for time

Simply put, this means that you go into a pose to the place where you begin to feel resistance and sit with that, moving slowly deeper.   You are able to deepen gradually because in Yin you hold the poses, sometimes for as long as 10 minutes.  This can be very challenging both mentally and physically, but it creates a deep stretch that leaves you feeling softer througout your whole body.  Most Yin poses are seated poses - nothing crazy.  The challenge is psychological - holding yourself at an edge of discomfort as the body opens.  There is magic in meeting your edges this way, come find out for yourself!  Wherever you are in your personal practice, Yin will meet you there.

Give it a try, there is nothing to lose! ------Shannon