OmYogaMagazineFebruary2019

Exploring how yin yoga ties in with

elements of mindfulness and other

ancient wisdom. By Paula Ahlberg

O

ur nation is struggling to keep up with technology,

people are bombarded with social media...throw in the

impact we are making on our planet and the need for

practices that embrace returning to our true nature

has never been greater. The effects of yoga are in the

undoing rather than the doing. Too much of the rest of life is about

being so productive and multi tasking. Stress has become

an epidemic.

Yin is a more grounding and slower paced style of yoga, which is

growing in popularity. It teaches us how to slow down and stay with a

sensation for much longer holds than in our faster-paced practices.

Yin yoga teaches us a deeper sense of conscious awareness and

is a great preparation for meditation. It aims at cultivating awareness

of the inner silence.

Postures are held for between 3-5 minutes, sometimes longer. This

is due to the nature of yin tissues, which lay closer to the centre of

the body and are tighter and thicker in nature. These connective

tissues are fascia, ligaments and tendons.

The purpose of these long holds is to apply moderate stress to

the connective tissues to increase circulation to the joints, improve

flexibility, and stimulate a free flow of energy through the meridians

of the body, which can improve organ health and overall wellbeing.

Yang tissues are more moveable and lay closer to the surface, such

as muscles and blood.

The nature of yin is more static and grounding. Postures are

practiced with the muscles remaining passive, so props are often

added to achieve this. The postures are floor-based and work on the

hips, spine, thighs and stomach.

Yang is more dynamic and muscles are continually active,

shortening and lengthening. The practice is warming, energising

and strengthening.

Being present

Together with the practice of mindfulness, yin yoga teaches us to

be present to sensations and to stay with them. This can be difficult,

as our tendency is to try to change a movement which presents

challenge. This is the same concept as mindfulness, finding an

anchor to keep us present. Therefore, the practices are, in many

ways, one and the same.

Mindfulness training stems from the teachings of the Buddha

more than 2,500 years ago. Kings were bowing before him and

those who were transfixed by his messages, asked Buddha: “What

are you? A god, a saint?’’. Buddha replied; “I am awake’’. This is what

his name became, as ‘Buddha’ means ‘the enlightened one’ or ‘the

awakened one’.

Buddha contemplated the meaning of true wellbeing and

described how we are caught up in a state of craving happiness.

We believe happiness is only achievable when conditions are as we

would expect them to be. He said that there is a form of happiness

available to everyone who is willing to take up a path of enquiry. We

hold on to things, which are favourable and avoid the things that we

do not want.

Yoga and mindfulness

Mindfulness involves four levels of experience, which are interrelated

and are known as the four spheres of introspection. These are: the

body, feelings, mental formations, and the objects of the mind, or

our thoughts.

Dr Jon Kabat-Zinn brought mindfulness to the forefront, working

with patients suffering from terminal illness and chronic pain. He

put together the famed stress reduction clinic in Massachusetts,

which is essentially based on the teachings of Buddha. The pain that

we experience is often according to our perceptions. When we can

change our perceptions of pain, we often change the experience

of pain. Kabat- Zinn defined mindfulness as: ‘’Deliberately paying

Yin yoga with

mindfulness

“Yin yoga teaches us a deeper sense

of conscious awareness and is a great

preparation for meditation. It aims at

cultivating awareness of the inner silence.”

yin yoga