The Power of Yin

I’ve been practicing yoga for several decades and touched upon lots of styles in that time.

My teacher training programme in 2018 had an Ashtanga practice at its core. Although I knew what I was letting myself in for, I still found it very difficult at first to finish my classes, let alone practice with any flow. Then it was suggested I try a Yin class. My over-riding thought was, it can’t be as uncomfortable as Ashtanga. I was wrong!

Where I’d attacked the Primary Series with gusto and tenacity, in Yin I had to stay in the same posture for 3-5 minutes without fidgeting. I’d think I had been in a posture for ages and then my teacher would announce “…another 2 minutes to go”!

Yet I kept coming back to Yin yoga as almost a counter-practice to my Ashtanga experience. After a while I found I could be still in postures for longer.

After a while I could see my Ashtanga practice evolve. My Mysore practices have become a bit more Yin-like. If I’m working at deepening a particular posture, I will stay at my edge for longer than the 5 prescribed breaths. Sometimes I will repeat postures and find it easier to get into these the second time around.

In Yin I’ve learned that everything is an option - and that option can change from practice to practice. I’ve let go of the image of a perfect posture. Or rather, I’ve let go of the expectation that some postures will forever be out of my reach.

Now, when I come across a challenging posture - and believe me there are many - I started to approach this as if it was a Yin posture. Where is my edge? How can I work with this? What props could I use?

At one point I practiced Ashtanga yoga exclusively and even (I hate to admit) questioned the validity of Yin yoga. However, there’s a saying that the posture you struggle with the most is the one you should do. Similarly, I think I didn’t understand what Yin yoga could give me, so that was the path that I needed to be on.

In the past I’ve practiced Qi Gong and Tai Chi and always felt that Yoga was on a different track to those ancient arts. For me, it feels like Yin yoga ties all of these practices together.

There’s lots still to learn and explore. Yin yoga has provided a balance to my more Yang practice. It’s challenged and changed how I approach my existing practice and it’s allowing me to blend Ashtanga and Yin yoga traditions in a way that benefits me and those I teach.

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