240 A JOURNEY INTO YIN YOGA
JOURNEYING INTO YOUR
YIN YOGA PRACTICE
This is where it all comes together! Are you excited? I’m assuming that if you
made it this far in the book that you are. I know that I am. I can’t wait for
you to put your yin pedal to the yin metal!
In this section, I share 10 powerful and thematic practices. This is where
we take all the poses from chapter 5 and put them to good use. My hope is
that this section provides you tremendous value and variety so that you will
experience the magnificent practice of yin. Each sequence is specially crafted
to explore different areas in the body. You can hold the yin poses in these
sequences for 90 seconds to 5 minutes, depending on your needs. Typically,
the longer you practice, the closer to five minutes you should hold. Keep in
mind that the counterstretches, which are more yang in nature, are usually
held for about five breaths. Also, poses like legs up the wall, supported bridge,
and corpse pose can easily be held for more than five minutes.
I recommend that you start with sequence 1 and take your time working
up to sequence 10. Enjoy the journey, there is no rush. It is yin yoga after all.
Like Lao Tzu says, “Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.”
After you have completed the entire rotation, you can go back and pick
sequences a la carte, depending on what your needs are on any given day.
Once your practice space is set up, grab this book, take it to your mat, and
let’s go yin deep!“It is not the daily increase but the daily decrease.
Hack away the inessentials.” —Bruce Lee