Embracing Discomfort, The Importance of Yin Yoga In A Yang-Dominant Society

Welcome to our exploration of Yin Yoga, a profound practice that offers a sanctuary of stillness. As a dedicated yoga teacher and passionate advocate for holistic well-being, I am excited to delve into the transformative power of Yin Yoga, drawing from my own journey and experiences.

You may have heard of Yin Yoga, and perhaps some of you even practice it. It could seem like a slower, less energetic style of yoga. Indeed, it involves holding poses for extended periods, which might seem uninteresting to some. However, it's well worth your time to explore further. I would like to delve deeper into its practice and explain the benefits, drawing from my personal experience with Yin Yoga.

We've been conducting yoga teacher trainings for about seven years now, five of which I've been leading as teacher together with my kindred spirit, fellow yogi horse woman, Johanna Holst. Each year, we conduct five to six 200h yoga teacher trainings. In addition to that, we teach the equine yoga programs and host retreats. So, after all that time, one might wonder why Yin Yoga was the first thing we chose to add to our regular yoga teachings. The answer is balance.

Finding Balance

In the dynamic world of western yoga, where vigorous styles like Ashtanga and Vinyasa dominate, Yin Yoga emerges as a beacon of balance. While Yang practices ignite our fiery energy, Yin invites us to embrace the calming embrace of stillness. Just as life requires balance between action and rest, Yin Yoga harmonizes our body, mind, and spirit.

The Science of Yin and Yang

Intriguingly, the principles of Yin and Yang mirror the functioning of our nervous system. Yang energy, akin to the masculine, fiery force, aligns with our fight-or-flight response. In contrast, Yin energy, reminiscent of the feminine, nurturing essence, corresponds to rest and digestion. Through Yin Yoga, we honor this duality, fostering equilibrium within ourselves. The sympathetic nervous system, which triggers our fight or flight response in danger, aligns with Yang energy. The parasympathetic nervous system, responsible for rest and digestion, aligns with Yin.

In regular yoga practice, we toggle between these two systems — from engaging our core muscles and increasing adrenaline to calming ourselves and relaxing our bodies.

An interesting parallel can be drawn with horses. When danger arises, horses switch to fight or flight mode, engaging the sympathetic nervous system. Once the danger passes, they switch back to the parasympathetic mode, allowing them to eat, digest, and relax. Humans, however, often get stuck in the sympathetic mode, which can cause stress and anxiety.

Embracing Emotional Release

Yin Yoga serves as a conduit for emotional exploration and release. As we hold poses for extended durations, discomfort may arise, unveiling buried emotions. By leaning into this discomfort, we unlock the healing potential within, paving the way for emotional liberation and inner peace.

Unlocking the Meridians

In Chinese tradition, meridians serve as conduits of life force energy, or chi, coursing through our bodies. Through Yin Yoga, we target these meridians, releasing blockages caused by emotional trauma and stress. By aligning our organs and energy flow, Yin Yoga fosters holistic health and vitality.

Thus, Yin Yoga offers a balance between our parasympathetic and sympathetic systems, aids in trauma release, and helps maintain physical health by influencing our organs through meridians.

Fascia: The Gateway to Healing

Within our bodies lies a vast network of fascia, akin to a web that cradles our being. Through Yin Yoga's gentle, sustained stretches, we unravel tension stored within the fascia, promoting mobility and vitality. By nurturing this interconnected web, we facilitate profound healing on physical, emotional, and energetic levels.

When You Favor Yang, or Power Practices

Another thing I want to touch upon is what you're missing if you're just doing Yang yoga, like hot yoga or Ashtanga, something that's fast-paced, moving through the poses, and keeps you doing something. Vinyasa and Ashtanga are amazing, but more people, especially young people in their twenties or thirties, are attracted to them because they're releasing energy. They need to release that energy, and they don't have to deal with their mind because now we're moving through the poses at a faster rate. We're doing it with our breath, and that's easier to cope with.

But I'm not saying to stop a Yang practice at all. We need the balance. Life is all about balance. We're balancing our right and left sides. We're balancing the masculine and feminine energy within us. We're balancing the Yang and the Yin. Yang is more masculine energy, fiery, engaging, and outgoing, while Yin is more introverted, feminine, nurturing, and calming. We need all these energies to be balanced in our life.

So, when you have students who are more Yang, they're attracted to this more Yang type of exercise or yoga. Society also demands us to be Yang all the time – go, go, go! That's why we need to find that Yin. If you're always in a Yang stressed state of doing things, we need that Yang energy to be fit, to run, to run away from danger, to get things done, that energy is needed.

But then we need to switch into the parasympathetic mode system where we can calm down and be relaxed. And we've forgotten how to do it. We've forgotten how to be still with our mind. This is where Yin Yoga comes in. It helps us deal with the emotions that we're hiding from ourselves, and bring us into more meditative states of well-being.

The Discomfort Zone

This leads us to mental states. Many of us have minds bustling with thoughts, always in search for entertainment, continually seeking activities to occupy us. Our minds are perpetually in motion. Herein lies the challenge with yoga for some, as it may seem monotonous. Suddenly, you're maintaining a pose, and it's uncomfortable.

Emotions start to surface and your mind starts thinking, "I can't do this," and other nonsense thoughts. However, when we get to the next stage, even though our minds are very busy, the discomfort forces us to focus. But then the emotions start to come up again, and that brings us back to our thoughts.

This practice forces us to feel our emotions, which is really important because so often, we're suppressing our emotions whether it's anger, frustration, fear, grief, sadness, we're burying them. Yin Yoga triggers these emotions. If you're in a difficult position, it might bring up anger for someone who's suppressing their anger. It might bring up sadness, grief, tears for someone who's hiding their grief. These feelings will surface and this is where it can become emotionally uncomfortable.

But when we navigate through that, we reach a more tranquil state. We're starting to go through the different phases of our body, and our minds begin to become still. So the thoughts begin to become fewer.

The whole thing with trauma is that you are meant to sit with the feeling, and no one wants to do that. No one in their right mind is like, "Let me just sit and feel miserable." Yin Yoga allows you to run through your whole body and that's the only way you can actually be free from it.

When we give yoga classes to students and ask everyone to close their eyes, many people find it extremely uncomfortable to close their eyes and sit with themselves. Yoga helps us with this, but it does this in a gentle way.

Practical Integration

So, when we're working in depth in all yoga practices, we're working in the subtle energy on the not ease and the chakras. Yin Yoga, in particular, is a practice that allows us to go deeper into that layer. We're really moving stagnant energy, working through the emotions. And that's why people find Yin Yoga difficult. But the more you practice it, the more it helps you to connect with this layer of self, the wisdom of Antaḥkaraṇa, which is our higher intellect, our higher consciousness, our spirit.

Incorporating Yin Yoga into our lives offers a gateway to harmony and well-being. Whether young or old, novice or seasoned practitioner, Yin Yoga holds the key to unlocking our fullest potential. By weaving Yin and Yang practices into our daily routine, we cultivate balance and resilience, to navigate life's ebbs and flows with grace.

As we conclude our exploration of Yin Yoga, I invite you to embrace the gentle whispers of stillness and surrender. Within the depths of Yin lies a treasure trove of healing and transformation, awaiting those courageous enough to embark on the journey within. May your practice be infused with grace, and may you find solace in the embrace of Yin.

I extend to you a heartfelt invitation to join us for our upcoming 100-hour Yin & Nidra Yoga Training and Retreat, commencing on the 23rd of March at Kindred Spirits. Immerse yourself in the sacred art of Yin Yoga and Yoga Nidra as we delve deeper into the realms of relaxation and rejuvenation.

Together, let us sink deeper into our transformative journeys towards inner peace and holistic well-being.

Namaste, Terry.