Spotlight on-----yin yoga!

Many of you will no doubt have come across some of the many styles of yoga out there - but I thought that it would be useful to focus on one particular style that I teach and explain a little more about it

Yin Yoga is a slow-paced style of yoga as exercise (as opposed to the more yang, muscle stimulating practices, which are faster paced), incorporating principles of traditional Chinese medicine, with asanas (postures) that are held for longer periods of time than in other styles. For beginners, asanas may be held from 45 seconds to two minutes; more advanced practitioners may stay in one asana for five minutes or more. The sequences of postures are meant to stimulate the channels of the subtle body known as meridians in Chinese medicine.

I was so intrigued after my first yin training with the lovely Nadine Watton, I made the decision to deepen my knowledge of the meridians by undertaking The Principles of Chinese Medicine with Dhugal Meachem. Although these lines (jing luo) cannot be seen physically, they exist as spaces between the fascia.

This leads me on to the next fascinating topic - FASCIA.

The way I often explain fascia to my students is by looking at the tough white material which you can often see on a skinless chicken breast fillet. This tough, fibrous connective tissue pervades the whole body, is able to transmit electricity and is now considered an organ in its own right. Fascial tissue separates muscles and organs, and allows muscles to ‘glide’ over one another. However, if muscles aren’t moved regularly then the fascia becomes tighter and less pliable and it can lead to issues such as tightness, discomfort and injury.

According to Chinese medicine there may be a variety of reasons that this can occur, and it is believed that many physical issues manifest from issues in the mind (shen).

There are a variety of ways of working to heal the body using the jing luo, such as acupunture, acupressure, myofascial release, and yes, you guessed it - yin yoga!

As I have mentioned above, the stretches are held for a longer period of time - this is due to the fact that fascia takes longer to yield than muscle, and the postures are designed to work with the meridian lines in the body - regulating the flow of qi (energy), and addressing any blockages. It is not uncommon for emotions to arise when we work through a yin practice - certain tissues hold particular emotions, for example, a posture that stretches deep into the hip, may lead to the practitioner experiencing anger. The channel that this type of stretch stimulates is the liver channel - and if there are any issues here, it can lead to expression of this emotion!

Personally, I find the practice of yin deeply calming, and its a great way to address a very busy (yang) lifestyle!

Come along to a yin yang flow class on a Wednesday at the beach if you are curious!!