What Is Yin Yoga?
Yin yoga is a long-hold, deep-stretch practice that effectively rejuvenates the joints and surrounding tissues of mainly the hips and low back.
It complements the more active, rhythmic, and repetitive endeavors — flow yoga, dance, martial arts, swimming, cycling, running, weight-lifting, and such — with postural stillness. Yin yoga is an athletic balance, not just another workout. It’s the real yoga for athletes! But, you don’t have to be an athlete to do it.
Physically, Yin yoga is easily accessible. If you can sit and lie, you can enjoy the practice. Deference is to your bony architecture, not the line of the asana. That is, Yin yoga’s magic is found in its explicit respect for students’ individual skeletal realities. Postural correctness means simply, stimulation.
In selectively stimulating fascia, ligaments, and even the joints themselves — the Yin tissues — through stillness, a more complete fitness is realized. Stimulation, by the way, means stress, and here stress is beneficial. It’s what sparks positive change.
What positive change?
Specifically: Refreshment of collagen, inclusive of a favorable lattice-like orientation, and inherent resilience. Hydration of connective tissues, and lubrication of joints. Generation of bio-electricity which is protective of the young collagen fibers. And more — see my book, A Righteous Stretch for details.
And generally: Greater ease of movement. Improved health and well-being. Youthfulness at any age. As well, deeper mental and emotional calm, comfort, and serenity. And who knows? Maybe even higher consciousness!
I might add that, on the surface, this cool, quiet practice of Yin yoga might be confused with the visually similar Restorative yoga, but beneath it’s a world apart. Yin seeks to load tissues, Restorative to unload. While you won’t sweat in either class, Yin yoga isn’t all that easy. And, again, that’s the key.
Should You Do Yin Yoga?
Well, if you use your body — and especially if you don’t — you’ll benefit tremendously by doing these slow, deep stretch classes.
So, if you are
- a yogi or non-yogi,
- an athlete or non-athlete,
- young, old, or in-between,
then YES, you should be doing Yin yoga!
Want to learn more about Christopher’s Yin Yoga? Click the gold button to dive deeper into the essential underpinnings of class structure, and more.