Jennie Dodd If you’ve been coming to class recently you may have noticed the inclusion of slow, deep positions and a focus on breath allowing us to sink a little deeper for a little longer. These moments in our practice are based on principles of Feldenkrais and Yin Yoga and are designed to give us an experiential understanding of our anatomy and a release in the body that continues off the mat and into our daily life.
Yin Yoga is a gorgeous somatic pratice that has a suprisingly powerful postive effect on mind and body. Using gravity and weight to unwind fascia and release connective tissue is a perfect complement to the yang aspects of Yoga such as sun salutations and balances that concentrate more on strengthening and increasing the flexibility of muscles and joints. During Yin Yoga we can drop down into our parasympathetic nervous system which is deeply healing and nuturing for our entire system.
Yin Yoga has all the qualities, rhythm and essense of the female archetype, the softness of water, mystery of the moon, diffusion of light, the rich darkness of fertile soil and deep silence of the night.
Yin Yoga overides the need to keep on moving which can feel like we running away somehow. Sometimes just being still, being as we are and turning down the chatter is what we crave. However, don’t be mislead into thinking that this is Yoga for the lazy! It is not complete relaxation like Yoga Nidra it can feel uncomfortable sometimes to hold an asana for more time than we would normally but, staying with it, settling in and down, quiets the mind and allows the body to reorganise itself to serve us in the best way it can. This practice teaches us many things about ourselves, our bodies and as Sushil Ji would say ‘many more things’!
