Let me to dedicate this post to introduce Yin Yoga and give you a few tips how to deepen your practice Yin Yoga in an effective and safe way. Yin Yoga is in harmony with Taoism, the philosophy based on living in the harmony with nature and our true self.
TAOISM VIRTUES
Reverence for All Life - loving all forms of life, including one's own
Natural Sincerity - living life as authentic self and speaking our own true
Gentleness - treating ourself and others with kindess and compassion
Supportivness - helping others without expecting anything in return
YIN AND YANG
It is important to live in the harmony and balance. The Taijitu symbol is reminding us, that always there is a yin in yang and otherwise. Together, they create one wholeness. There are Sun and Moon, warm and cold, light and dark, up and down, left and right..... In the human body there are Yang tissues presented by blood, muscles and skin. And Yin tissues as bones, joints, ligaments and tendons. These are also our targets when comes into Yin Yoga practise.
YANG YOGA
As known in the modern Western World, there are many types of Yoga. The majority is focused on the Yang movements, which are active and dynamic. The asanas are focused on the muscles. Yang yoga will include Vinyasa, Hatha, Power, or you name it... There is an enormous number of benefits which you gain by inviting a yoga practise in your life. You will improve the flexibility, strenght and focus. This directly leads into self awareness, self confidence and highly increasing the quality of life and health in general.
YIN YOGA
Whereas Yin Yoga works with deeper connective tissues of fascia, ligaments, tendons and joints. The poses, or rather calling them shapes, are held somewhere between 2-5 minutes. Thanks to accessing to deep tissues we stimulate Chi, the vital energy which became more fluid. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, we work with energy channels in the body called Meridians. At this point I will mention only 10 main meridians, directly connected to our vital organs, plus 2 conceptional meridians.
FIVE ELEMENTS
In Traditional Chinese Medicine there are actually 5 seasons associated with 5 elements. TCM believes, that we can observe these 5 elements in the nature, in the world around us but also within our own bodies and personalities.
The 5 elements have fascinated and logic relationships with each other
The Shen cycle, which is nurturing and brings growth. : Wood burns and thus nourishes Fire. Fire produces ash, creating Earth. Earth contains minerals which condense into Metal. Metal heated and cooled creates condensation of Water. Water nourishes the growth of trees, creating wood.
The Ko cycle, which is overcoming : Wood breaks up the Earth, as in the roots of a tree. Earth controls Water, as a dam or river bank. Water can dampen Fire, controlling its spread. Fire can melt Metal Metal can chop down Wood
HOW TO PRACTISE YIN YOGA
If you are new into Yin Yoga, let me give you a couple of basic guidelines
Yin is slow practice, just be patient and observe any sensation. It is easy to get distracted by your thoughts, so gently bring your mind back through your breath.
Make your movements mindul and kind, use mindul breath, lengthen the exhale.
To get into your shape, you slowly and gently go to your edge and then pull back by 10 %. Make sure the shape is comfortable as we are going to hold it for certain time.
In the order to completely relax the muscles, make the floor come up by using the cussions, bolsters, blocks or blankets. Be aware that in the order to press meridians to get the full benefits of our Yin practise, the musless needs to be soft and relaxed.
Listen to your body if it talks to you. Feel free to align the shape, or deepen it when needed. Observe your thoughts and emotions - emotional pain.
Getting out of the shape with slow and mindul movements is as important as the shape itself. Take appropriate time for renound and enjoy the bitterness.
Remember, we use body to get into the pose, but we use pose to get into the body. Namaste.
For all my knowleadge of the Yin Yoga, I would like to thanks to my lovely teacher, inspiration and shining lady Claire Green from Akira Yoga, click here for more details.
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