In November, I completed a Yin & Breathwork course - 4 days of deep, challenging, transformational release. If you haven’t tried Yin yoga, then don’t be fooled: it may be simple but it’s far from easy.
In fact, the more experienced you are as a yogi, the more challenging this practice will feel for you - the reason being that yogis are often already in the process of deep healing and therefore, the deliberate joint and ligament stress caused by the postures will hit in a deeper way.
Our course tutor, Jeff, was yincredible - a natural space holder with such sensitivity and understanding, such trust and vulnerability. He facilitated in a way that both laughter and/or tears moved to the surface for every yogi; and the incorporated power of breathwork (which was a large component of the course) heightened the experience. The music, the smells, the breath and the movement combined to take us deep yinside, exploring profound unlayering. I felt grateful and humbled to be part of it.
Ten of us (eleven including Jeff) upgraded together, finding stillness and surrender in asanas that pushed both body and mind into areas not habitually or comfortably accessed. This is the power of Yin.
During this practice, the physical body needs time to surrender and soften into the passivity, to exercise the ligaments, to regain space and strength in the joints.
The emotional body needs time to explore and surf the waves of feeling that ebb and flow. It’s deep stuff! The yin takes you in… and in… and in. And it can feel triggering in the most healing of ways.
Yin energy is feminine and this takes [most of us - certainly in the Western world] out of our masculine go-go-go lives and into our softer, authentic selves. Note that when I refer to feminine and masculine energies, I don’t mean in the sense of gender, but rather in terms of the qualities that exist in each and every one of us - qualities that are often out of balance. Our culture, quite dangerously, defines extreme busyness as successful and this is one reason why so many of us feel overly saturated in stress. We don’t always need to be in this Yang, masculine state of doing. It’s far better to harmonise this with the Yin feminine state of being; the ultimate goal (of yoga) is to find perfect balance, an equilibrium, a gentle dance of the the Yin and the Yang.
So how do we define the differences?
The Yang energies can be defined with the following notions and key words: daytime, heat, sun, thinking, competition, controlling, in the mind, analytical… Located in the left side of our brain is the masculine force - it is the part of us that is assertive, logical, analytical, doing, controlling, aggressive, striving, projecting, organising, rushing, thrusting, always pushing to survive, it is hard and has its origin in our minds.
Yin, contrastingly, can be described with the following words: nighttime, cool, moon, feeling, heart-centred, personal, reflective, creative, delicate, intuitive, nurturing. Located on the right side of brain, it the part that is receptive, tender, surrendering, synthesising, integrating, soft, feeling, and the part of us that “knows” without explanation.
Yang pushes through whereas Yin allows a gentle unfolding. Both are equally powerful.
A dynamic, active, Yang yoga practice is designed to primarily work one ‘half’ of the body - the muscular, physical half. In contrast, Yin allows us to focus on the other half - the ligaments, joints, deep fascial networks and bones. It is safe and effective to purposefully stress the joints with an intelligent, accurate and skilful technique and approach, inviting an appropriate degree of ‘stress’ to our bodies. Either increasing or decreasing sensation means our tissues benefit from the exercise. Whilst softening the body, we cultivate enough internal awareness and spaciousness to engage with our inner world, reaching places of freedom and understanding, and promoting holistic good health.
By practising regular Yin yoga, contractures (permanent shortenings of muscles/joints) - which are happening constantly - can be reduced, and because of this, our bodies remain youthful and supple, with length and strength in muscles, joints and connective tissue.
Great care must be given to observing the kinds of sensations one experiences in Yin - not pushing or pulling, or striving to go deeper than feels good, but instead practising intelligently, avoiding both pain and ‘dumping into the joints’.
Yin complements Yang, and together they form a beautifully holistic pairing. Yin is our organic, flexible energy, our ability to lengthen our bodies with freedom and grace. The world and our society has been dominated by patriarchal Yang for years - it is important to bring some Yin to this Yang and enjoy their opposing forces and melodic duality.
If we only existed in Yin (feminine) energy we wouldn’t be able to survive in this world; our Yang (masculine) energy provides us with the crucial coping mechanisms that form our ability to deal with pain and sorrow. The yin is necessary. And so is the Yang.
Yin and Yang, therefore, are opposing forces that need to coexist. They are equally powerful and rely on each other for harmony. At times, we need to lean more into our masculine energy to get things done, but without the feminine invitation for softness, we wouldn’t find the flow states required to do them with joy. The two together help us create a balanced and tuneful mind, body and spirit, both on and off the mat.
Since this wonderful course ended, I have been considering how best to pass on this Yin joy and share the love. I’ve got workshop ideas, regular classes planned and also an intention to combine yin yoga with sound meditation.
Keep your eyes peeled for upcoming events.
But in the meantime, here I share some reasons why sprinkling Yin into our very Yang lifestyles is like magic:
We can become both physically and emotionally ‘fixated’ at certain parts of our yoga practice, either due to mental or physical blockages/ granthis. In order to push past these blockages, regular Yin yoga gives the muscles time and ‘stress’ enough (without pain) to sink deep into postures and push past the fixations.
Yin allows us to slow down and gaze inwards.
It promotes beneficial ‘stressing’ of the joints which, in turn, strengthens them.
It helps keep the ligaments, joints and bones healthy.
It satisfies the fundamentals of yoga (sthira and sukham - steady and comfortable) and therefore takes us to the heart of what a yoga practice really means.
To hold the asana for long periods of time requires both a body and a mind that is open and strong.
It lowers cortisol levels.
It provides balance and harmony to the Yang lifestyles we live in in the West.
It improves circulation.
It stretches and targets the deep connective tissue between the muscles and the fascia.
By using the body to access the mind, it invites into the whole being a sense of calm, rest, restore and repair.
It alleviates stress and restores energy levels.
It works to slowly release pent up emotion held in the connective tissue of various parts of the body.
And it feels indulgent - like a massage for the soul.
So come and massage your soul. It’s just so beautiful on the yinside.