Why Yin Yoga?

Everything in life has its yin and yang. This world exists in polarity from night and day, good and bad, life and death — the very act of existence is to be in polarity. When we talk of traditional yoga practices hatha, which the Iyengar style we teach originates from, we talk of a very yang practice. A practice focused on strength, muscular engagement, creating an activating, energising experience. Yang is the active in this world and yin is the stillness and the surrender.

Everything exists in this energetic relation. Spiritual or scientific, the relationship of polarity or duality is ever present: for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. What comes up must come down, and in the context of our practice what is activated must be released. So whilst we teach Iyengar at Tatvabodh studio for the benefits outlined here, yin is a beautiful and crucial part of this unravelling our inner tapestry.

What Is Yin Yoga?

Yin yoga, rather than emphasising strength and alignment like we see in Iyengar or other yang styles, is about a deep letting go, a complete surrender and collapse into stillness. Here we are not trying to be something, to hold something, to create an active alignment within the body, rather it is the opposite; we are trying to unravel and return the body to its natural state of stillness.

We are not focused on forcing, pushing, engaging. Yin is a practice of deep subtlety, of observing the passive sensations of the body, allowing them to reveal the body's intelligence to you. In this way yin can give us a deep stillness that allows us to touch the depths of ourselves which is often harder to achieve in a Iyengar yang practice when we are starting out. Poses are typically held for three to five minutes with complete surrender. No muscles should be active or engage, it is a complete collapsing, a complete allowing, an experiencing of your own existence, your very nature without any forcing.

Reaching the Fascia

Whereas yang practices like Iyengar target the muscles, strengthening and controlling them, yin yoga targets the fascia — the web-like connective tissue that holds everything in place in our bodies. By gently stressing these tissues over time, letting gravity do its work, we reach a much deeper layer of the body, the connective tissues, the fascia, the joints. We give time to listen and nurture the experiences of the fascia, the stories of contraction and tension it is holding, the journey of life that too often has been swallowed and silenced by our muscles.

Long holds of yin and the deep release they allow often stir up emotions deep rooted safely protected and trapped within the fascia of the muscles. By making space for the fascia to talk, to be in complete stillness, nowhere to go, nothing to be, we make way for the truth of our body to speak to us and unravel what has been locked, trapped inside.

The Practice of Surrender

Yin teaches us how to relax, surrender and witness the sensation of our existence. For many yin itself is the great challenge of the journey in. In a world where we are so fast paced, moving from one thing to another, addicted to the endorphins of pain and pleasure, the simple act of holding and observing in complete surrender is a very powerful practice and path of returning to self.

Come give it a try — we have yin every day 5pm–6pm and would love to see you there. First class on us!