Présentation de l'éditeur
An introduction to the practice of Yin Yoga that emphasizes its meditative roots and provides balance to our modern, yang lifestyles
• Offers an alternative to the outwardly oriented yang-style yoga practices in use today
• Contains a deck of posture cards that assists users in designing a personalized practice and a 75-minute audio CD with a guided routine led by the author
Yin Yoga is known as the quiet yoga. Many of the most popular forms of yoga, such as Ashtanga and Power Yoga, are fundamentally yang in nature, based on rhythmic movements of the muscles and focused on the need for change and attainment. Yin Yoga, in contrast, does not concentrate on the muscles but on connective tissue and bones, the parts of our body that are closest to our core and critical to our physical well-being and range of motion. The postures are all practiced on the floor and each is held for a lengthy period, usually three to five minutes. This intense non-movement allows us to experience the poses in a deeper way that enables the muscles to relax, the nerves to calm, and the surrounding connective tissue to remain healthy and supple. This meditative approach is more akin to those found in the earliest Hatha Yoga traditions.
In The Yin Yoga Kit Biff Mithoefer presents 14 poses used in Yin Yoga and explains each posture’s benefits, including which chakras and meridians will be most positively affected. The individual posture cards included illustrate the poses, provide advanced and modified variations, and assist users in designing a personalized practice sequence. The 75-minute CD contains a sample guided routine narrated by the author, with each pose presented on a separate track so listeners can rearrange them or shorten the routine as needed.
Extrait
The Practice of Yin Yoga
The practice of Yin Yoga addresses the more yin parts of the body. These are the parts of ourselves that lie closest to our core, specifically bones and connective tissue above the knees and below the navel. Unlike the muscles, which are the more yang parts of our bodies and which like movement and repetition, the connective tissue needs to be worked in a yin way. Yin practice is done with an attitude of quiet acceptance. The postures are all practiced on the floor and each is held for a long period, usually three to five minutes. By putting ourselves in safe and controlled positions, we can let the muscles around the areas that we’re working relax, allowing the connective tissue to be gently and safely maintained.
Because yin doesn’t exist without yang, yin practice also affects the yang tissues of the body, stretching and strengthening the muscles. However, because of the way Yin Yoga is practiced its primary effect is on the more yin tissue. Yin Yoga is not a replacement for more yang forms of yoga or exercise, but a compliment, helping to bring balance in our lives.
For me, the practice of Yin Yoga is important for three reasons:
1. It encourages the increased flow of qi or prana in the six meridians of the body that pass through the area of the hips.
2. It helps to maintain the health of the connective tissue.
3. It helps balance the yin and yang aspects of ourselves.
Guidelines for a Yin Yoga Practice
Assume the suggested or chosen posture and allow yourself to go to a bearable but challenging edge. You will probably feel some intensity of sensation and that’s fine as long as it feels safe to you and your breathing remains free and smooth. It is most important to be able to ultimately be at ease in the posture--allow the muscles to relax without striving to get deeper in the pose, accepting where you are in your body at that moment.
Allowing your muscles to relax and feeling them melt around your bones, stay still and hold the pose for the determined time. For most people five minutes works well. If you fall deeper into the posture as you hold it, that’s fine, but it’s important to be sure that you’re not striving to get deep
