More information about Yin yoga

In Yin yoga we do not strive to create strength or stability. There are hardly any standing postures. Most of the exercises are done close to the floor, sitting or lying down. Yin yoga is sometimes referred to as “Liquid Yoga”.

In Yin yoga we gently stretch and relax the deeper layers of our muscles and our connective tissues, the fascia, tendons and ligaments. That’s why Yin yoga postures mainly concentrate on those parts of the body where a lot of connective tissues are present: the trunc and the (upper) legs. The rhythm is slow, and we hold the postures for a relatively long time, sometimes for up to several minutes. The purpose is to let go slowly. Your flexibility wil gradually improve, not by active stretching, but by abandoning yourself and by feeling how your muscles and tendons little by little release their tensions to attain a deeper level of relaxation.

Yin yoga is the perfect opposite of “doing”.

Mental awareness

Keeping up with it with your full attention is probably the biggest task. Yet it is essential in yoga practice. And especially in Yin yoga.
That’s why we encourage practicing with our eyes closed. In order to stay focused on all physical sensations in the body more easily.
One can really speak of a true mental effort.

Breathing

In Yin yoga there are two options for the breathing:

• You can either breathe slowly in a natural way, without using the ujjayi breathing technique, with some more emphasis on the exhale.
• Or you can breath with a gentle ujjayi breath.

Posture

The physical effort is light, and rather passive. The intensity is created by the duration of the posture.
In Yin yoga, the most important functions of physical yoga are addressed. The tool to support and strengthen these functions is the yoga posture or asana.
The asanas in the Yin yoga classes are chosen from a basic set of 25 different postures and their variations.

How is a Yin yoga class structured?

The sessions are generally as follows:

• We start with a moment where we strive for presence in the here and now and physical sensation of the body.
• Then we concentrate on our breath before starting the posture sequence.
• Then comes the sequence of postures composed of mainly sitting and lying postures.
• We end with a deep relaxation, lying on our back or in a resting position of your own choice.

A Yin yoga class lasts for one hour.