220 A JOURNEY INTO YIN YOGA
you’ve been traveling in a car or airplane all day and your back is tight, then
you can do the flexible-spine sequence. Continue to do the sequences that
you tend to avoid. Try to figure out the source of the resistance and be open
to exploring the discomfort and challenges. This is often where the biggest
breakthroughs come from.
After a year or two of regular practice, you might find yourself beginning
to create your own sequences. This is natural and a sign that your relationship
to your inner guidance is strong. At this point, go with the flow. If something
doesn’t work, then you will shift things the next time. Your practice is your
laboratory, and exploration and experimentation is a beautiful process. One
day you might even find yourself creating a brand-new pose.
When it comes to selecting the length of your practice, 60 minutes should
be the target. If you have time to go longer, then by all means indulge yourself
with a 90-minute or more practice. I’ve taught special yin workshops that go
two or even three hours. Talk about being blissed out! Those long yin prac-
tices will put you into a whole other dimension.
With that said, some days you just don’t have time for a long practice. On
those days, try for 30 minutes. If 30 minutes is too long, then try 20 minutes.
If you are really strapped for time, sneak in a 10-minute yin yoga quickie,
choosing four or five postures of about two minutes each. Just make sure that
in your shorter practices you do not rush mentally. Whatever your allotted
time is, shift into that Taoist state of being and allowing. Sometimes it is more
about quality than quantity. Even 10 minutes of quality yin yoga can shift the
entire trajectory of your day.INCORPORATING PRANAYAMA AND
MEDITATION INTO YOUR PRACTICE
Bringing pranayama and meditation into your yin practice can take it to a
whole new level. In the previous chapter, Pranayama and Meditation, we
covered the basics of yoga breathing. In this section, we take it a step further
as we incorporate conscious breathing into your regular yin yoga practice.
Let’s first explore breathing within the actual yin practice. Different teachers
hold different perspectives on how to breathe within a yin posture. Some
teachers believe that you should leave the breath alone and let it remain nat-
ural and effortless. This is similar to the mindfulness meditation in which you
observe the breath without changing its quality. Other teachers support the
idea of using a stronger ujjayi type of breath. Deep diaphragmatic breathing
can accelerate the process of opening the body. Because the body tissues
lengthen during exhalations, emphasizing exhalation will create more space
and increase flexibility.
I don’t think there is one right way to breathe. It depends on how you feel
and what your intention is. If you have had a stressful or emotional day, then
it could be helpful to work with big, deep breaths. This will help to release