x FOREWORD
its ability to adapt and respond. The more active yoga practices, like vinyasa
and ashtanga, feed the SNS-controlled parts of the body, and yin yoga feeds
the PNS-controlled parts. If we’re only doing physically demanding forms of
yoga, we’re only accessing half of yoga’s potential. Yin helps us create the
balance that is essential to our health and wellness.
Yin yoga—as well as pranayama breathing and meditation—helps to tone
the precious PNS, allowing us to more easily access the peaceful, quiet, and
restorative part of our nature, even in the midst of everyday madness. Taking
time to rest in this state serves as a powerful antidote to our stress buildup,
helping prevent stress-related health problems; it also helps us develop the
skills to minimize our own stress response during challenging moments. Being
able to access this stillness during times of emotional strain can improve our
relationships, our parenting, and even our careers—and those moments can
have a ripple effect throughout our communities.
In this book, Travis highlights the three key points in a yin yoga practice:
finding our edge, finding the stillness, and letting time flow. The beyond-time
state of meditation he refers to is, in my opinion, where we find a lot of the
internal physiological effects happening. This is where the nervous system
gets to recalibrate and the effects of the practice are magnified. The stillness
is essential—not only to relax the muscles but also to target the deeper con-
nective tissue and create space for the nervous system to soak up the effects
and translate them to the rest of the body. Yin yoga gives us permission to
completely relax and to surrender to a practice that gives our body the space
it needs to rest, recover, and heal—allowing connective tissues to become
stronger and the internal body to become more resilient. The simplicity we
find in the stillness and silence of yin practice just might be the most potent
medicine for our modern lives.
This book gives you the tools you need to begin this potent practice and
reap the benefits for many years to come. In this book, you have access to
instruction and inspiration from a world-renowned teacher who can help you
find your path to strength of body and mind. You are in good hands with
Travis as your yin yoga guide.—Tiffany Cruikshank, LAc, MAOM, founder of Yoga Medicine