Yin Yoga is healing and a very simple practice. We settle into an asana for 3-7 minutes and slowly relax our muscles to allow the deeper tissues–the connective tissues that wrap our muscles and make up our joint capsules–to be safely stretched and stimulated.
The alignment rules of the postures are also simple, but more importantly they are functional and organic: we listen to our bodies and lead ourselves into surrendering to the shape of the natural contours of our pelvis, hips, spine and upper body.
However, bringing ourselves into this simplicity can be challenging. The practice of being still and quiet for minutes at a time can be trying enough, let alone while dropping into a powerful stretch that moves across wide sheets of fascia and drops deep into the ligaments of the joints. Listening to our bodies to find the natural alignment of the pose requires a power of discrimination, and an understanding and familiarity with the ever-changing sensations in the body.
In this training, we will analyse, observe and practice all of these elements of Yin Yoga in depth. We will examine ourselves thoroughly, using meditation techniques or mindfulness that guide us into a steady awareness of the changing sensations in the postures. This is a very experiential course; we will use hands-on study and examine each other with anatomical range of motion tests. We develop in this way an understanding of the infinite variety of human body shapes, clarifying why every posture should be modified to the individual. We learn the basic techniques to help us develop a safe and effective personal practice and if you are a yoga teacher it will help you to lead each Yin Yoga student into a practice that respects their unique skeletal shape guiding them into taking the appropriate asana for each individual.
