yin yoga techniques, help

Check this forum for suggestions on Yin Yoga flows, sequences and postures, as well as HOW to practice Yin Yoga.
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ara
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Feb 05, 2010 4:04 am
Location: Spokane,WA

yin yoga techniques, help

Post by ara »

I am new to yin yoga, I would like to practice this yoga regularly, I haven't found any yin teachers in Spokane yet so I ordered Yinsights and Paul Grilly's dvd Yin Yoga.

So after reading a lot of wonderful information and watching some of the dvd, I am left a little confused....maybe this is because I am originally an Iyengar practitioner, (I now practice Bikram) I am always careful to find exactly which muscles should be relaxed and where I should be contracting if needed and where I should be feeling the stretch. I noticed there was some advice on modifications and on some advice that a posture was a little more yang and would need some muscular energy but I would like some specifics. I am guessing that the authors assume prior knowledge of yoga, I have been practicing about six years and I have learned that each lineage has a different approach and that it is important to follow that approach for said lineage.

Is there someplace i can find more in-depth discussion on the yin asana?
Bernie
Posts: 1293
Joined: Sat Sep 23, 2006 2:25 am
Location: Vancouver

More discussion about Yin Yoga Asanas

Post by Bernie »

Hi Ara

Your question is, "Is there someplace i can find more in-depth discussion on the yin asana?" You have tried Paul's DVD, and that is a great resource. Have you checked out YinSights as well? It is all online and you can read about each asana in more detail there. (Click the button on the left called Yin Asanas.)

However, I must assume that you have done that and are still left wanting. I am not sure where else you can go, other than ask here about specific postures. But let me try a general response.

You mentioned your Iyengar background and the emphasis on which muscle to engage/relax. That is great for a yang (ie: muscular) practice, but in Yin Yoga, we are not so concerned about that. Instead, in Yin Yoga we generally try to relax into each pose precisely so that the muscles are not engaged. Engaging the muscles takes the stress off the deeper connective tissues. (See this page for a deeper explanation of this point: http://www.yinyoga.com/ys2_1.1.1_cold-warm_muscles.php )

Yes, for some Yin Yoga poses, we do need to engage the muscles in order to hold the pose, such as the Swan. In the Swan, we engage the upper body muscles to help us stay upright, however the intent of the pose is to sink into the lower body tissues. We only use the upper body's muscles to help us get more weight above the hips, so we can sink passively through the hips and the thigh in a yin manner. Our targeted area is the lower body, so we are not concerned so much over which muscles we are using in the upper body. Just engage whatever you need to allow you to stay upright. Since this is a bit more yang-like than say Butterfly, we wouldn't stay in Swan as long as the more yin-like poses. After a couple of minutes in Swan, we may slowly lower down into Sleeping Swan to continue working the hips.

There is another time when we may choose to engage the muscles: when the engagement of the muscle deepens the stress on the connective tissues. Here are two opposite examples of how/when not to engage and when it is okay to engage the muscles. Think of a forward fold posture, like Caterpillar, where we are targeting the connective tissues (ligaments) along the spine. If we engage the back and arm muscles to help pull us deeper, then those muscles will get more of the stress from the stretch than the deeper connective tissues. In this case both the muscles and the connective tissues are on the same side that we are targeting. Thus, in this case, we strive to relax the muscles so that the stress of the pose can go deeper into the tissues.

Now consider a backbend, like Seal. Here we can either try to work the front side of the body by stretching those connective tissues (and thus we want to relax all the frontside muscles) OR we can try to compress the lower back and stimulate/stress the bones in the lumbar spine. In this case, engaging the back muscles to help deepen the back bend may be okay, for a little while. Engaging the back muscles may help to increase the stretch on the front side of the body, and increase the amount of compression in the lower back. Thus, in this case, it would be okay to engage the muscles on the opposite side of where you are intending the stretch to be, or on the same side where you intend to increase compression.

As always, since we are holding Yin Yoga poses for a long time, we don't want to keep muscles engaged for a long time. That is a yin exercise of yang tissues and is not a healthy way to stress them. It is okay to engage the muscles for a minute or so, but not for 5 or 10 minutes.

Hope this helps! If not, ask again.
Cheers
Bernie
ara
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Feb 05, 2010 4:04 am
Location: Spokane,WA

Post by ara »

Wow Bernie, thank you for your thoughtful and in depth reply! i have since listened/watched the first disc on Paul Grilley's Yin Yoga DVD and it was really great, it does a good job of simplifying and solidifying the ideas behind why you would want to stress a joint/connective tissue and why it is important to apply yin pressure to yin tissue. On the second disk of practices, Paul does a lot of explaining why one would benefit from Yin yoga but not a lot of nuts and bolts of the asana.

What I was mainly looking for was a little more discussion on the action of the asanas and you did just that with three examples you provided. I love subtlety and could write probably pages on triangle pose (after practicing it for years and observing), so I look for that kind of thing. I think that I will just be patient, practice and when I can, practice with a Yin teacher who can help me workshop the asanas. I will ask here when I have some specific questions. I have also been in touch with a teacher by email and she has offered advice too.

I think this is one of the great things about yoga, it gives me the tools and presents situations in which I can learn and grow, for example, my need for lots of knowledge balanced with being patient and practicing! :lol:
Bernie
Posts: 1293
Joined: Sat Sep 23, 2006 2:25 am
Location: Vancouver

More insight to yin poses

Post by Bernie »

And, Ara, when you do go deeper and discover more, please share your observations here!

Enjoy the journey
Bernie
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