Yin Yoga
Restorative yoga for injury prevention and healthy joints
Martial arts expert and Taoist yoga teacher Paulie Zink in the late 1970s developed Yin Yoga. Zink’s yoga was initially called “Yin and Yang Yoga” but was later shortened to “Yin Yoga.” It consisted of a mix of Hatha Yoga postures (asanas), Taoist Yoga disciplines, and insights from his own experiences. This yoga was not solely yin (restorative) focused, and Paul Grilley and Sarah Powers further developed Yin Yoga.
Paul Grilley studied yoga under Paulie Zink and was also influenced by his anatomy studies and the Japanese scholar and yogi Hiroshi Motoyama. Motoyama had done extensive research on the physiology of traditional Chinese medicine and was especially interested in the passage of qi (the life force) through the body’s meridians (pathways of qi).
Grilley incorporated the meridian teachings into his type of Yin Yoga, focusing on body relaxing yin postures to open these meridians. Then Sarah Powers, a yoga teacher and Grilley’s student, started incorporating Buddhist psychology in her Yin Yoga classes, which Grilley considered a good idea. We teach Grilley’s and Powers’ Yin Yoga at Yogateket.
Yin Yoga is thus a blend of Taoist, Chinese medicine, and Buddhist psychology.
Yin Yoga aims to surrender to the body postures and “rest into shape” to open and restore the flow of energy in your body. With aging and physical activity, the elasticity of the connective tissue decreases. Keeping it subtle is essential to avoid injuries and improve joint health, making Yin Yoga great for injury prevention. Furthermore, it provides an opportunity to practice mindfulness and to be relaxed and calm. It is energy restoration for both body and mind.
To do this, you need to release tension in your muscles and make supple that which is tight. Therefore, Yin Yoga focuses on postures that lengthen the muscles and the connective tissue, especially around the hips, pelvis, and lower back. All poses are performed sitting up or lying down and are held for 3-5 minutes. The length of time in the postures is necessary to properly lengthen and increase the elasticity of the connective tissue surrounding the joints.
1 Program
Whole30 Yoga Practice Program
Want to bring more movement into your life? This program gives you 30 days of yoga, movement, breathing and mindfulness, one class a day. It started as a companion to the Whole30 timeline, but anyone can start it on any day.
The classes come from across Yogateket's library and teachers, so you get to try a bit of everything:
- Week 1 mixes a steady Vinyasa flow like A Well Rounded Class with an evening wind-down in Halftime: Winding Down, the Loving Kindness Meditation and your first Simple Breathing Practice.
- Week 2 brings standing work in Yoga 20: Stand Tall, passive backbends in Lean Back and Relax: Passive Backbends, the first strength workout, Let's Begin, and Yoga for the Face.
- Week 3 goes from the gentle Easy Flow to Short Ashtanga Practice and Deep Relaxation Practice.
- Week 4 builds strength with 15 Minute Core and Strengthen Your Hamstrings, and slows down with Meditation for A Restless Mind.
- Week 5 ends with Jump into Malasana and Hips and Shoulders.
The classes are 10 to 60 minutes long, mostly level 1-2. Keep a pair of blocks nearby.
1 Challenge
Step Out Of Your Yoga Comfort Zone
This one week yoga challenge is a tool to grow and to step out of your yoga comfort zone.
If you don't try new classes and teachers regularly, this might be a challenge, and a rewarding one. In seven days you try six teachers and five different styles of yoga:
- Slow Strength, slow Hatha strength with Daniel Scott.
- Varying Variations, a playful Vinyasa flow with Lauren Matters.
- En-light-enment, the air element with Linnea Ahlgren.
- Ashtanga Vinyasa Intro, your first taste of Ashtanga with Sofia Soori.
- Yin Hips Practice, long Yin holds with Sofia Soori.
- Lower Body Love, legs and balance with Lizette Pompa.
- Back to Balance with Pranayama, a breathing practice with Guy Powiecki.
The classes are 20 to 45 minutes, level 1-2. "When was the last time you did something for the first time?"
