Yin yoga

in yoga, also known as restorative or ‏‏‎ ‎‏‏yoga , is one of the calmest and less dynamic styles of yoga. For me, it is its definite advantage, because it can be performed by anyone, regardless of age, body shape or amount of energy. It is especially suitable as an evening session before bedtime (it makes you sleep like a baby!), but also at other times of the day when we need a moment of calm and centering.

I wrote about the idea of ​​yin and yang here‏‏‎ ‎but let me reiterate - yin is an aspect of the whole that is based on allowing, passivity and grounding,‏‏‎ ‎in contrast to yang, which is active, controlling and causative. These days, so much of what we do on an average day has more yang energy in it - at work and at school we are showered with problems to solve, and at home we usually have a whole list of duties and tasks. Sometimes it's hard for us to get down to it all or be really productive in these areas, and in large part this can be due to a lack of activity (or rather passivity) of the yin type - which we often just don't allow ourselves to do because it can look like laziness, and even make us panic that "we're not doing anything."

Yin yoga is an interesting remedy for this deficiency - productive passivity with the added benefit of stretching the muscles and deeper tissue‏‏‎ ‎like tendons and ligaments. Stretching relaxes and helps to be more resistant to injuries, as well as energy blockages that cause illness or emotional instability. With the help of yin yoga, it's easier for us to achieve a state of meditation‏‏‎ ‎in which we focus mainly on the sensations of our body and breath. Unlike many other yoga styles, here all the active work is done by the gravity. Our task is to let the body relax in often difficult positions. These few minutes of free-flow blockages help the entire system return to harmony.

In fact, only recently have I started to feel discomfort with some previously easy for me postures, and such pushing through the discomfort (but NOT pain) until it passes gives the best results in this type of yoga - it means hitting a blockade ready to be unlocked. We hold most positions for about 3 to 5 minutes, preferably until we feel a change from the state of discomfort to ease. It's extremely important to be mindful of your body's signals and to treat it with gentleness - if we feel a stabbing pain, we lighten the posture until we find ourselves just beyond its edge.

In the next yoga post, I will present some basic postures from which you can start your adventure with yin yoga, and more.‏‏‎ ‎😉