It’s all about mobility
In a Yin yoga practice the focus is on keeping the joints mobile. Most styles of yoga are ‘yang’ in nature. This means they focus on improving the flexibility as well as the strength of muscle tissues.
Yin yoga is a slow and static, passive practice whereby the response of the body can be of a strong nature. Postures and are held for an extended period of time, anything from 2 to 5 minutes, and stretch and stimulate the connective tissue rather than the muscles.
The beginning practitioner will experience the impact of a posture as ‘one big stretch or compression’, while over time one will learn to distinguish between impact on tissues and the skeleton. Regular and persistent practice will result in an increased flexibility of the hips, the pelvis – the hip joints, sacrum and SI joint- and the spine whereby we emphasise the lower spine.
Why Yin yoga?
A great advantage of Yin yoga is the fact that it can bring deep stillness to your mind and body. Besides that, it can be practiced to counterbalance every active or dynamic kind of movement, i.e.:
– a dynamic style of yoga
– sports or outdoor activities.
It also compensates for long term or limited physical work strain and its consequences (sitting behind a desk, computer, in a car).
Yin yoga is experienced by many as having a calming and meditative effect. A regular Yin yoga practice is a great ‘steeping stone’ if you wish to build up a meditation practice in (physical) stillness.
A great side effect is the activation of connective tissue to increase immunity and a quick recovery from physical complaints like back and hip issues.
Yin yoga postures
Whether forward or backward bending, twisting or upside down, all postures are held for up to 5 minutes at a time, with the muscles as relaxed as possible and as deep as the joint’s range of motion will allow. In return, this enables you to reach for other, and sometimes more deeply embedded, tissues in your body, in particular the connective tissue.
Most Yin yoga postures focus on the joints in the pelvic area and the spine, in particular the lower spine and sacrum. As you might recognize personally, these are the areas that cause problems to a huge group of the population. Practising Yin yoga postures on a regular basis might relieve some of your complaints and teach your body to grow stronger in those areas, adjusting to the stresses of this practice so that you will feel better when engaging in your daily life activities.
Trial class
Yin yoga is suitable for beginners as the postures are fairly accessible and do not require a lot of the techniques otherwise applied in other forms of yoga. We advise everybody to give Yin yoga a try by joining a weekly class.
(Yin) yoga Introduction
We offer an introduction to a fruitful yoga practice in a private setting only. Only then will you find out how you can get the most out of this ‘quiet practice’. For detailed information please click below.