Yin Yoga for Mind and Body Healing
I often recommend yin yoga for mind and body healing. It is a powerful method for relaxing the body and the mind. Continue reading to learn how and why yin yoga works.
This post will explore:
- The definition and benefits of yin yoga
- The difference between yin and other styles of yoga
- How yin yoga impacts the nervous system
- How yin yoga can improve mental health
- And what to expect in a yin yoga session
Why Try Yin?
I have yet to meet anyone who could not benefit from a moment of yin to unwind and recharge.
Oftentimes, my yoga clients come to me feeling burnt out, exhausted, and somewhat hopeless. Most of these clients come with a diagnosis of anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. They have already tried therapy, medication, and alternative medicine but nothing helps.
My clients try yoga as a last-ditch effort to heal.
Oftentimes, people book a yoga session with these complaints:
- “I just cannot sit still.”
- “My mind is racing.”
- “My body is stiff, sore, and I am in pain.”
- “I have tried everything but I am still anxious.”
- “I feel irritable and have trouble concentrating.”
- “I cannot sleep”
This is when I introduce them to yin yoga for mind and body healing. Continue reading to learn why.
What is Yin Yoga?
Yin yoga is a practice of down-regulating the nervous system. Simply put, we are holding poses for 3-5 minutes. This allows us to access a pose more deeply.
As a result, yin yoga is said to get into the joints, tissues, and ligaments. It is designed to shift the fascia in the body. Think of fascia like a dense web of sponge-like material.
When our bodies are forced into repetitive moments, or we lead a sedentary life, we can become stuck. Our fascia literally takes on the positions we mold our bodies into.
Most people come to me with rounded shoulders, stiff necks, and sore backs from hunching over computers all day. Think of their fascia like a dry sponge: hard, immobile, and rigid.
Yin yoga is a necessary practice for re-training the body. Think of yin yoga like getting a sponge wet, making it malleable and flexible. This is how we want our bodies to remain.
In summary, yin yoga includes:
- Holding poses for 3-5 minutes
- Using the breath to deepen poses
- Getting into the tissues, joints, and ligaments
- Allowing the thoughts to slow down and return to the present
- Releasing tension, stiffness, and pain in the muscles
- Assisting the body in returning to a state of calm
- Getting out of fight-or-flight and returning to rest-and-digest
How is Yin Yoga Different from “Regular” Yoga?
There is something to be gained from the various styles of yoga. Each style offers unique benefits. At times, we may need more of one style than the other. The style of yoga we need is based on our goals, concerns, and energy level. These will shift over time as our bodies and minds shift and evolve.
How is Yin Yoga Different from Vinyasa Yoga?
In a vinyasa yoga class movement is fluid and synchronized with the breath. Vinyasa translates to “breath to movement.” Yin yoga is different from vinyasa yoga because poses are held for a longer period of time (3-5 minutes) while we use the breath to deepen the pose.
A vinyasa class will help to relax the muscles. A yin yoga class accesses deeper parts of the body, such as the joints, tissues, and ligaments. Yin yoga can help to shift fascia in the body, whereas a vinyasa yoga class moves too quickly to access the fabric of our fascia.
How is Yin Yoga Different from Hatha Yoga?
Poses are held for a longer period of time in a hatha yoga class. However, movements and transitions usually happen in sync with the breath. Poses might be held for 1-3 minutes, but usually a sequence of postures is strung together by the breath.
Hatha yoga is slower than vinyasa yoga, but moves more quickly than a yin class.
Yin yoga is different from hatha yoga because the poses are held for longer. Also, in yin yoga the breath is used to deepen the pose. Transitions are also slower in yin yoga than in hatha yoga.
How is Yin Yoga Different from Kundalini Yoga?
The goal of kundalini yoga is to move energy in the body. The chakras are energy centers in the body that move from the root at the base of the spine to the crown at the top of the head. Kundalini energy is stored at the base of the spine. The goal of kundalini yoga is to shift the energy so it rises to the crown.
Kundalini yoga is often practiced with a sequence of postures and breathwork called kriyas. Kundalini yoga is often fluid and the breath is manipulated to move energy. It can be both fast paced and fluid.
However, kundalini yoga differs from yin yoga because in yin the goal is not to shift energy. Instead, the goal of yin yoga is to access deeper parts of the body.
How is Yin Yoga Different from Reiki Energy Healing?
Yin yoga and reiki healing share a common goal: to assist clients in entering the parasympathetic nervous system. (More on that soon). But reiki is much more passive than yin.
In a reiki healing, clients often rest in savasana or a seated position. Reiki sessions typically last an hour while the reiki practitioner performs hands-on (or off) healing.
In a yin yoga session, clients move in and out of yoga postures. While yin yoga may have anywhere between 10-20 poses per class, reiki healing typically only includes one relaxation pose.
How Can Yin Yoga Improve Mental Health?
Our culture values results. We want things to happen quickly. That is why medication is over-prescribed, and so many disorders remain untreated.
There is no magic pill for perfect mental health or wellness.
Instead, we need to work at it. We desperately need to slow down. Our bodies need time to rest, recharge, and relax. So many of us could benefit from a moment of reset.
Yin yoga is a reset button for the body and mind. It can be extremely beneficial for our nervous system.
Yin Yoga and the Nervous System
Habits that Contribute to Burnout
Because we operate in a system of speed and results, we rarely take time to rest. As a result, some of us may be operating in a state of fight-or-flight without any conscious awareness that we are stressed.
What happens to the body in fight-or-flight:
- Rounded or tense shoulders
- Tight leg muscles,
- Clenched abdominal muscles
- Tight glutes and hips
- Rapid and shallow breathing in the chest
- Neck and back issues
- Loose stools or constipation
- Insomnia or restless sleep
What happens to the mind in fight-or-flight:
- Racing thoughts (or numbness dissociation in chronic cases)
- Fear-based concerns
- Worst-case-scenarios run rampant
- Flashbacks
- Nightmares
- Panic-attacks
- Distraction or confusion
- Mind going blank
We need to enter fight-or-flight in order to survive. As a result, our body becomes fueled by stress hormones (like cortisol and adrenaline). These hormones allow us to react quickly. They allow us to get a lot done in a short amount of time, but at what cost?
If we exist in a chronic state of stress our bodies and minds shut down. We literally burn out. It is not healthy (or possible) to expend all our energy, all at once, all of the time.
We crash.
How Yin Yoga can Counteract Burnout
Yin yoga provides the pause. It gives us a moment to enter the rest-and-digest part of the nervous system.
What happens to the body in rest and digest:
- Muscles relax
- Heart rate slows
- The breath enters the deepest part of our lungs
- The breath enters the belly
- Our jaw unclenches
- Digestion resumes
- Sleep is restorative
- Connection with others becomes easier
What happens to the mind in rest-and-digest:
- Our thoughts slow down
- We return to the present moment
- We regain the ability to solve problems
- Our mind relaxes
- Dreams are peaceful
We need both the sympathetic (fight-or-flight) and the parasympathetic (rest-and-digest) parts of the nervous system. However, we want to make sure we are entering each part at the right (and optimal) times.
Yin and Yang of the Nervous System
The fight-or-flight response is yang. It is active, quick, energetically charged, and strong.
The rest-and-digest response is yin. It is slow, cooling, fluid, and passive.
We need both the yin and yang parts of our nervous system in order to exist and survive. But the problem is, we place a lot of value on yang in our culture. We value productivity, success, activity, and we want things done quickly!
Choosing to engage in moments of yin can radically alter our relationship with our mind-body. It can bring balance to an overly yang lifestyle.
Most people are not in need of more yang.
Yin yoga provides a necessary moment of pause. It gifts us with a moment to literally rest and digest.
Yin Yoga for Mind and Body Healing
Yin yoga is a practice of slowing down. When we stop and breathe, we allow the undigested parts of our day to arise.
This practice is just as beneficial for our body as it is for our mind.
Yin yoga benefits the body in the following ways:
- Yin give our body a chance to release unnecessary tension
- It helps us stretch the deeper parts of the body, and ease the rjgedetity or fixation in our tissues
- It can help to increase flexibility
- A yin practice can improve our sleep
- And help to resume normal digestion
Yin yoga benefits the mind in the following ways:
- Yin provides us an opportunity to return to the present moment
- It gives us space to digest the emotions of our day
- It also allows us to access emotions stored in our body
- Yin gives us the opportunity to listen to our mind
- When we enter rest-and-digest our thoughts slow and become less chaotic
What to Expect from a Yin Session
Oftentimes, a yin yoga class can be incredibly challenging. But now in the way we are used to.
Physically, pain and discomfort can arise. However, yin yoga should not hurt. But it is not uncommon to feel discomfort in the form of a deep stretch.
Mentally, yin yoga can also bring up a lot of material we have not given ourselves time to digest. Nevertheless, those emotions exist. If we can learn to make them conscious, over time we gain greater self-awareness and control over our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
When we first practice yin it can be challenging. That might be a sign we need more of it.
We need to return to yin yoga repeatedly. Our bodies need the opportunity to stretch and release. Additionally, our minds need an opportunity to process and digest all the material we receive on any given day.
Now, more than ever, we need yin yoga.
Everyone can benefit from an hour to feel into the mind and body. Yin yoga provides that space.
I hope that answers all your questions about yin yoga for mind and body healing.
If not, write your questions in the comments below.
About the Author
Olivia Lynn Schnur is a mental health counselor, yoga teacher, and writer. She is a 200-Hour Certified Yoga Teacher (200-CYT) with additional training in trauma-sensitive yoga, yin yoga, and reiki (energy healing). She writes about healing, health, and happiness. Book a yoga session here.
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