Yin Yoga: The Perfect Yoga for Functional Fitness
Yin Yoga is a slow-paced style of yoga with postures, or asanas, that are held for longer periods of time—for beginners, it may range from 45 seconds to two minutes; more advanced practitioners may stay in one asana for five minutes or more.
Yin Yoga is a lot less popular style of yoga in the West. It is also known to require a few sessions to warm up and understand the practice since it targets the deep connective tissues of the body as well as the fascia that covers the body. Spiritually it is also known to regulate the flow of energy in the body.
Yin Yoga is also quite unique because you are asked to relax in the various postures. This leads to softening of the muscles. Postures can be held for three to five minutes and even upwards of 20 minutes at a time. Utilizing Yin yoga can drastically increase your range of motion when practiced daily.
Yin yoga conceptually has been around for thousands of years. This meditative approach has a physical focus that is much deeper than other types of practices. The focal point resides more with deeper tissues. With age, flexibility decreases within the joints. Yin yoga is a great way to maintain that flexibility.
One must connect deeply with one’s self. This includes feelings, sensations, and emotions.
Known benefits of Yin yoga are:
- Calming and balancing to the mind and body
- Regulation of energy in the body
- Increased mobility
- Increased lubrication of joints
- Increased stamina
- Lower stress levels
- Better flexibility.
- Release of fascia throughout the body
- Deeper flow state and relaxation
Yin yoga also teaches you how to really listen to your body. This is due to the fact that you focus intently on positions without going in and out. Jumping around to multiple positions quickly takes away from the focus. Yin is also a tremendous compliment to other styles of yoga.
It also helps strengthen you both physically and mentally since you’re spending long periods of time in an uncomfortable position. It teaches perseverance. With that being said, Yin is essential to anyone interested in Yoga. If you are looking to step up your yoga game, try signing up for an online subscription program like ROMWOD, which you can do at home.