Diving deep with yin yoga

As I wrote in my last post I haven't been feeling so well lately, last week I suffered from a terrible headache and it was a challenge to stay mindful and to take care of myself. I feel better now though and I'm slowly getting back to my 'normal' routines (whatever that look like since my life doesn't really have much structure at the moment, but that's different topic and also something I usually don't really find challenging).

So well, I have rested a lot. Something I really needed. I had no idea I was this exhausted! And I also decided to practice yin yoga, something I used to do a lot but not really in the last couple of years. The idea actually came to me after I did a Vinyasa class a yoga teacher friend of mine had published on YouTube. I had never seen her teach before, I felt so inspired, I really liked her very grounded and calming energy (something I often hear people saying about me) but at the time the Vinyasa flow was too much for my body, I needed something more yin, so yin yoga seemed perfect 🙂

I should mention that the yoga style I mostly have been practicing over the last couple of years is quite yin. I'm used to holding each asana for 5-10 minutes and to focus on a specific chakra. It's more of a challenge for the mind than for the body, even though you feel the physical benefits as well. But lately I have felt that I want a change in my yoga practice, I'm actually feeling a pull towards Ashtanga yoga again (definitely more yang). But well, first things first, it was time to really slow down.

For those of you who are not that familiar with yin yoga, I'll say that this yoga style actually has its origin in China and not in India, it's based on the principles of traditional Chinese medicine. The asanas stimulate different meridians in the body and through this system the life-energy Qi flows.

The asanas are performed while seated or in a reclining position and held for 3-5 minutes (for beginners shorter). The idea is to target the deepest tissues of the body, the connective tissues, ligaments, joints, bones, and the deep fascia networks of the body, rather than the muscles. One yin yoga teacher I had years ago said that you can't actually stretch the fascia if you don't hold the asana for at least four minutes.

There are no complicated asanas in yin yoga really, everyone can do it, with some variations of course. You can also use props to help you get into the asana. The challenge is really to find a balance between pain and expansion. Because yes, you will feel it, for sure. It's a very deep stretch and since many of us are storing a lot of emotions in our tissues, it can be quite emotional.

In my experience, some teachers really push you too much into the pain, that's not been helpful for me. I like to get into the asana, not going 100%, breathe for some time, and see if I can go deeper or if I need to be gentle with myself. It's very important to breathe deep, really breathing into the tension. This practice can really release a lot and it's important to take a break between each asana to really feel the effects. This practice is really all about mindfulness and being fully present.

When I practice yin yoga I usually do a sequence of asanas that target one or two specific meridians, that's also usually how a class is designed. Over the last week, I have mainly focused on the Liver and Gallbladder meridians. This is good to do when you feel you need to detox, for instance, if you have been eating unhealthy or been drinking alcohol. It's also excellent to do on your period. I felt an urge to detox and since I was also on my period it felt like a perfect practice to me.

One of my favorite yin yoga asanas is the Eye of the Needle Pose (sucirandhrasana). It stretches the outer hips and lower back. Oh boy, did I have a lot of tensions in my hips! The hips store stress and it became obvious to me that I have really accumulated a lot of stress and anxiety in my hips. I just wanted to practice more and more. Also, the lower back stretch was a big release for the tensions I had there due to my period.

Here are instructions on how to execute the asana from Yogapedia:

To enter the pose, begin lying down on the back. Bring the knees in toward the chest. Cross the right ankle over the left thigh, allowing the right knee to drop gently open to the side. Reaching both hands around either side of the left thigh, bring them into a clasp. Mindfully pull the left knee toward the chest while continuing to drop the right knee open. Hold for several breaths then release and repeat on the opposite side.

I'll finish up this post now, it's time for some more yin yoga 🙂 It's been a time of deep reflection for me and now I feel I'm more and more coming out of my shell and I'll see when it's time to start with more yang practices. I actually went for a short run yesterday for the first time in two weeks. But I'm taking it slow and staying connected to my body. Always listen to your body, it has so much wisdom.

Thanks for reading 🙏

Love and blessings to you all 💚

^{MINDFUL LIFE is a Natural Medicine project which supports meditators on HIVE}
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