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Interview-excerpts on YIN YOGA
Joy Burch from Inward Bound and Annette, March 2009

JOY: Who could benefit from Yin Yoga ?

Annette: Yin Yoga is suitable for all bodies, ages, shapes, and sizes.
And, it offers a perfect complement to a dynamic physical workout or other more yang-style yoga practices.

Yin Yoga is a non-threatening yoga, there is never a feeling of having to “keep up” in class. So, it’s really for anyone who wants to step out from a high-wired and 'doing-focused' lifestyle and allow for their bodies and mind to unwind, to nourish themselves, and relax back into stillness.

Yin Yoga is often called "the quiet practice" and naturally evokes a state of contemplation - more than yang-style exercises or power yoga disciplines. In our predominantly "goal-focused" culture we have become habituated to look ahead, to improve, and to demand more from ourselves, and our bodies, and in Yin Yoga we have the opportunity to let go into what is already here, to be nourished by being-ness.

Instead of pushing, we yield and come home into natural Presence. Instead of being concerned with achieving and doing it 'right', we are invited to rest and to re-discover what is here beyond the concepts of right or wrong.

We so often hear the phrase “go with the flow” – Yin can teach us how to put that phrase into practice. Flow, actually, is about moving from stillness, knowing when to PAUSE instead of always rushing into action. In order to be in balance, it is essential for us to recognize the pause, and to let our doing to be informed by this, by this still openness that we really are.

Yin Yoga is also great for people who have injuries but want to do something therapeutic, both mentally and physically, for restoration and healing.

JOY: Tell me more about the physical aspects of Yin Yoga.

Annette: While most forms of exercise train the muscles and the cardiovascular system through repetition and quicker movements, Yin Yoga focuses on the 'slower tissues' of the body. It targets what is usually left out: our ligaments, joints, bones, and fascia – the connective tissues and parts of our body which deteriorate through over-use or degenerate through sedentary live-styles and aging.

As we we hold poses with the muscles relaxed for long periods of time, we effect passive stretches and therapeutic ‘stresses’ on precisely those body-tissues. This stimulates and harmonizes the flow of Chi (or Prana) in our body, and also important, we can reverse and slow the usual aging symptoms.

You see, we don’t age much in our muscles, but a lot of the effects of aging show up in our connective tissues: like our joints get dry, our ligaments shrink, and we feel more brittle and tight. When i.e. stiffness occurs in our hips or back, it is NOT a muscular problem, but because of our ligaments shrinking and contracting. With Yin Yoga we cultivate elasticity and re-create space through a gentle pull and wait. This spurs deep releases in the connective tissues, but also stimulates the production of Hyaluronic Acid, which binds water and keeps for example our joints lubricated, and young.

JOY: Why should people practice Yin Yoga?

Annette: Besides the numerous physical benefits we’ve discussed, Yin Yoga is about including the other part of the equation – the softer more feminine side of life. It’s not like Yin Yoga is much better than the more active styles of yoga, but we can view it as a necessary component in our overly active yang culture and fast paced lifestyles.

The feminine side is about nourishment and restoration. It is about experiencing and celebrating life. The masculine in us is about 'the mission', about getting things done, pursuing goals. But besides this necessary balance of Yang and Yin, of action and yielding, the ultimate aim of Yoga is to know our true identity and to reconnect to a primordial openness. Ultimately, any practice of Yoga is about realizing who we really are; it’s about our timeless essence, the sacred.

I find that more contemplative practices like Yin Yoga lend themselves wonderfully to that spiritual self-inquiry. We are not too distracted by alignments or the form of the poses or what comes next, but have ample space for insight, for stillness, and natural meditation to be revealed.