What is Yin Yoga: benefits and poses of Yin Yoga.

 

Yin yoga practice is a form of Yoga loved by the batch of lazy people who do not want to move much yet perform Yoga. It is a new style of Yoga that focuses on holding poses for more extended periods to improve its effectiveness. This concept has been inspired by the traditional Hatha Yoga practice that too focuses on holding poses. However, this time modification was made by Swami Vivekananda when he started practicing Hatha Yoga. Yin Yoga targets your underlying connective tissues, including ligaments, fascia joints, and bones. Holding a pose for a more extended period helps stretch and lengthens the tissues within and open all the blockages so that energy can flow freely. Postures can be held for as long as 20 minutes.

Benefits of Yin Yoga

Let us now discuss Yin Yoga benefits:

l  Lengthening the connective tissue will ensure its proper stretching, strengthening, and lengthening of underlying tissues.

l  Improves flexibility: Fascia requires some time as long as 120 seconds of sustained stretching for it to become elastic, and the Yin Yoga style provides this.

l  Reduction in stress levels: This Yoga style works wonders on the parasympathetic nervous system, which calms your anxiety and stress levels.

l  Instills clarity and mental stability: When you hold poses for longer, you require the power of patience and concentration, and this is improved while you practice Yin Yoga.

Poses of Yin Yoga:

All the poses are based on five archetypes, and each archetype is responsible for targeting a specific region of muscular activity. Let us now discuss the five Yin Yoga postures:

Archetype Shoelace: This comes in four main variations of tight, loose, untied, and broken. It mainly focuses on the glutes and thora columbar fascia that opens your hips and stretches your knees and spinal ligaments. This posture requires you to sit on your knees and slowly slide one leg over the other leg such that it touches your opposite hip. Bend forward after attaining this posture.

Archetype Saddle: This mainly targets your quads, hips, and rectus abdominis such that it stretches and stimulates the action of hip flexors and quads. Start with sitting on your knees first. Then, slowly, shift the weight of your buttocks from the knees to the floor and stick your upper body to the ground. Next, lift your hands and join them above your head, touching each other's shoulders.

Archetype Caterpillar: This focuses on hamstrings, glutes, and thoracolumbar fascia. It helps in stretching spinal ligaments and glutes as well as improves digestion and kidney functions. This posture requires you to sit on the ground with your legs stretched outward. Breathe in and raise your arms slowly. As you exhale, slowly bring your arms to touch your toes while your face points downward. The aim is to touch knees with your nose.

Archetype Dragonfly: This mainly targets your groins and hamstrings. It helps in opening hips and adductor muscles as well as stretches the hamstrings. This pose requires you to sit in a posture such that both your toes point outwards in opposite directions. Then, all you have to do is walk with your hands forward as far as possible and then walk them back when you finish your pose.

Archetype Twist: This posture strengthens and lengthens your abdominal muscles, quads, and hips. It requires you to lie down sideways with your leg that is not touching the ground cross your other leg. While the other leg remains glued, it is brought to meet its adjacent hand such that it is folded and pointing towards your upper arms.

Every piece of detail you need to know about Yin Yoga postures and their benefits has been discussed above. This is mainly carried out by people who do not want o move much and still perform Yoga. You can even apply for the Yin Yogateacher training program if you further want to explain this section of Yoga with perfection and excellence.