What is yin yoga?

Yin yoga is a slow, passive practice in which postures are held for an extended period of time (anything from three to ten minutes). This enables a meditative focus and a deep, intense stretch, stimulating and unknotting connective tissue as well as matted muscle fibres. Yin yoga is relaxing and revitalising, and is equally appropriate for beginners and experienced yogis.



What is Jess’s approach to teaching it

My classes are not pure yin in style, but are informed by bodymind principles from Phoenix Rising yoga therapy and somatic movement practice, so there is an emphasis on looking inwards and fostering awareness of what’s happening in the whole person through the body. Classes consist of simple, accessible postures, with the focus on mindful stretching, relaxation and self-reflection. We are not necessarily working towards maximum stretch but rather seeking to witness as fully as possible what happens – physically, emotionally, mentally and energetically – when we take our bodies into different degrees of different types of movement. The intention is to facilitate practitioners in becoming increasingly sensitive to the subtleties of their own experience.

History

Yin yoga was developed by Paul Grilley in the 1980s and is derived from the Taoist yoga of martial arts master Paulie Zink. Paul Grilley taught this new form to Sarah Powers, and these latter two teachers popularised it in the United States and Great Britain. Yin yoga was in part a response to the trend towards more dynamic (yang) forms of yoga practice, such as astanga vinyasa, on the contemporary yoga scene. Paul Grilley says he emphasises yin not because there’s anything wrong with yang but because the yin approach is currently under-represented in the yoga world. We need both yin and yang to make a practice complete.



FAQS

• Is yin yoga suitable for someone who is unfit?

Yin yoga is mostly passive, so it demands little physical energy and can be a good way of re-starting physical activity if you have been ill or out of action for a long time. In the longer term, if you’re looking to gain stamina and aerobic fitness, you will need to combine yin yoga with a more dynamic form (see the astanga vinyasa page for one possibility).

• Is yin yoga suitable for someone who is not very flexible?

The emphasis in yin yoga is on stretching, but most of the postures can be modified, so there will generally be a variation for you whatever your level of flexibility (or not!).

• Is yin yoga suitable during pregnancy?

Yin yoga is sometimes contra-recommended for pregant women because of the potential for over-stretching connective tissue when it is more elastic and more prone to damage than usual. However, if you have experience of yoga and know how to modify postures appropriately, using props and shortening hold times, yin yoga can be beneficial during pregnancy. If you are aware of your edge, you should be fine in my yin yoga classes, in which the emphasis is on mindful opening rather than maximum stretch. If you’re new to yoga and unused to working with your body, you will probably find a prenatal yoga class more suitable.

• Is yin yoga suitable for someone with chronic fatigue or ME?

Yin is a mostly passive form of yoga, so it doesn’t require a lot of energy. It involves focusing inwards and cultivating awareness of your authentic edge (rather than your absolute limit – something quite different), so enabling you to judge more skilfully what your body needs when you are off your mat, and helping you to work with issues around energy and exhaustion.

• I’m hypermobile – will yin yoga overstretch my ligaments?

In my experience, it depends on how you practise it. In hypermobility, areas of over-used and over-stretched muscle and connective tissue often compensate for under-used and contracted areas. If approached with awareness, deep slow stretching can be focused on contracted areas so that your body gradually becomes more balanced. As with any yoga practice, the key is awareness – of your own edge and of what you, and you uniquely, are really experiencing. You can over-do yin yoga, just as you can over-do dynamic forms of yoga, causing yourself all sorts of damage, so foster steadiness in your approach. In general, be mindful of how long you hold the postures. While average connective tissue may need a five-minute hold in order to stretch optimally, one minute may be sufficient in a hypermobile body. Also be aware that the stretch receptors often function differently in hypermobile bodies; this means that a hypermobile person doesn’t necessarily receive the usual signals of over-stretching until it’s too late – so err on the side of caution. Although I don’t know of any scientific evidence for this, my hunch is that inflammatory processes may be hyper-sensitised in hypermobile bodies, especially where fibromyalgia is present. The increased capacity for mindful witness and for recognising authentic edge that yin yoga offers can help to regulate the neurological and other processes involved in pain and inflammation (whereas aggressive practice – of any form of yoga – will hyper-stimmulate them). Bear in mind that we’re all different and that what is helpful to one may be harmful to another. Above all, trust your own experience.