A Yin Yoga Practice to Help You Slow Down

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One of many many advantages of yin yoga is that it presents us an opportunity to take a seat with our bodily rigidity in addition to our troublesome and uncomfortable feelings.

We retailer feelings in our our bodies. When the sympathetic nervous system—our fight-or-flight response—is activated by a harmful or annoying scenario, the physique experiences an involuntary bodily and emotional response. This typically occurs so shortly that we might not notice it has taken place.

After we don’t course of these feelings, the biochemical and physiological results can linger within the physique, even after the perceived menace has handed. It’s a sophisticated course of that occurs over time, and though scientific researchers proceed to discover how the body feels and stores emotions, it’s not but absolutely understood.

What we do know is that yin yoga helps us discover stillness by means of lengthy held stretches. By beginning to hearken to our our bodies and quiet our ideas, we will coax the physique and thoughts into an area of quiet. Because the physique shifts into the parasympathetic nervous system, we discover ourselves in a much less tense and reactive emotional state. As we study to expertise nervous system regulation, we will start to really feel troublesome feelings with much less volatility and maybe work by means of them.

We don’t all the time perceive the reason for our feelings. We will not be certain why we’re offended, unhappy, or depressed. The reply could possibly be that we want time and area, whether or not to permit feelings to floor or to dissipate. When you’re experiencing troublesome feelings or trauma from previous or present conditions, chances are you’ll wish to search therapeutic assist as feelings come up reasonably than rely completely on yoga.

When the physique continues to be, the thoughts usually wanders, which might make practices like yin yoga difficult. When you expertise this, deliver your consideration again to your senses and what’s occurring for you within the second. Take stock of the best way your physique feels. Discover what’s occurring in your thoughts. Be the observer.

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A Yin Yoga Follow for Slowing Down and Working Via Feelings

The next sequence of yin yoga postures is designed to assist quiet the nervous system. Deliver your consideration to any discomfort, and reasonably than resist it, sit with it for a second and create some area by means of your breath. Though a part of the observe of yin yoga is sitting with gentle discomfort, it’s not supposed to elicit ache, so be at liberty to regulate your self to discover a extra comfy place. A number of of the poses embody restorative choices, which characteristic much less stretch and extra assist.

Collect all of the props you’ve gotten out there (blankets, bolsters, and blocks) and permit your self about an hour for this observe.

1. Stomach Respiration

Lie down or discover a comfy seated place. Shut your eyes if that feels comfy. You’ve gotten the choice to put your palms in your stomach or you possibly can place one hand in your stomach and the opposite in your coronary heart.

Begin by bringing your consciousness to your breath. Usually once we expertise nervousness, our breath turns into very shallow and centered in our higher chest. I invite you to see if you happen to can decelerate your breath, which can assist calm the nervous system. Deliver intention to your navel as you inhale and breathe deeply into your belly, after which slowly exhale. Proceed this respiration sequence for 3 minutes. See if you happen to can really feel the stomach transfer as you inhale and exhale. Possibly you don’t fairly really feel it, and that’s regular. However strive to hook up with your respiration and spot if the standard of your inhalations and exhalations really feel completely different as you observe.

Proceed respiration at your personal tempo, merely noticing it. If you’re prepared, return to your pure breath.

2. Reclined Certain Angle Pose

Be at liberty to observe Reclined Bound Angle with or with out props. I choose to relaxation my backbone on a pillow or folded blanket, which helps make it a heart-opener along with a hip-opener. You’ll be able to relaxation your arms alongside your physique, palms up, though I like to put one hand in your stomach and the opposite in your coronary heart to really tune into two components of my physique which might be innately linked to feeling and storing feelings. Keep right here for five minutes.

3. Sleeping Swan

This pose, which has similarities to Pigeon Pose, is among the deepest hip openers we observe in yin yoga, and infrequently probably the most bodily and mentally difficult. Use as many props as you’d like so you possibly can really feel supported and discover some ease within the pose. You may take a block or a folded blanket beneath the hip of your bent leg for assist. You may as well deliver a block beneath your brow, or a bolster, pillow, or folded blanket beneath your chest.

As you discover your method right into a model of Sleeping Swan that lets you expertise a stretch with none pressure, embrace that feeling of assist as a possibility to be held. Really feel secure to permit no matter must floor to take action. Keep right here for two minutes. Repeat on the opposite facet.

4. Baby’s Pose

This pose is so precisely named. It permits us to twist up and embrace the virtues of being childlike. As we flip inward, we actually permit ourselves to turn out to be small. On this form, we’re allowed to simply be, with out the necessity to impress, act, or reply in any sure method. It’s an invite to be susceptible and let our feelings circulate freely.

This pose is commonly taken with broad knees to encourage opening within the hips. Bolsters, pillows, and folded blankets are useful helps. Mess around with completely different modifications to see what feels finest in your physique. You’ll be able to deliver a blanket beneath your knees for cushioning, take a bolster or pillow lengthwise beneath your chest for assist, situate a pillow or folded blanket in your calves to assist your backside, or deliver a pillow or folded blanket beneath your brow. When you flip your head to at least one facet, change instructions about midway by means of the pose. Keep right here for five minutes.

5. Legs Up the Wall

This pose is such a candy launch. A delicate inversion, it bodily encourages the legs to let go of previous power, and mentally permits any heaviness that has come up throughout this observe to slide away.

Technically, the yin yoga model of Legs Up the Wall is practiced in the course of the room along with your legs prolonged towards the ceiling in what’s usually known as Waterfall. However the extra acquainted restorative model, through which you permit the wall to assist your legs, could be a pretty aspect to incorporate towards the top of any yin observe. You’ll be able to strive the pose with no props in any respect, or experiment with a bolster or pillow beneath the hips and a folded blanket beneath your head. You may as well drape a blanket over your physique for heat as typically our physique temperature lowers as we start to loosen up extra deeply.

No matter you select, when you’ve discovered your model of the pose, take a second to watch, observe non-judgment, non-attachment (aparigraha), and self-compassion as ideas or feelings floor. Deliver your consciousness again to your breath or the sensation of assist beneath your physique. Keep right here for at the very least 5 minutes.

6. Savasana

The ultimate pose is a very powerful piece of any observe. Any time we will foster full stillness and disengage from the hectic tempo of life, we do ourselves a useful favor. The thoughts wants stillness to course of and replicate. It wants the absence of stimuli to make sense of the entire issues it takes in every day. Savasana is the place we combine what has occurred throughout our observe—and our life.

However as important as Savasana is, it may be difficult to quiet our ideas. Relatively than spend your time right here mentally making your grocery or to-do record, attempt to stay conscious of what’s happening in your physique and thoughts. Within the quiet and stillness, merely discover what comes up. It is likely to be your solely probability to stay current all day.

Discover a comfy place in your again, taking a bolster, pillow, or rolled blanket beneath your knees if that’s extra comfy, or any other variation that works for you. Attempt to keep right here for 10 minutes, respiration naturally.

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About Our Contributor

Lua Briceno is a author, artist, and trauma-sensitive licensed yoga and meditation instructor specializing in hatha and Yin yoga. She is obsessed with serving to college students develop a useful yoga observe that’s nourishing for all our bodies and backgrounds. You will discover her at www.modernmoonchild.com.