Have you heard the term ‘yin yoga’, but you’re not really sure what that is? You’re not alone, so I’m here to demystify it for you!

The majority of yin yoga poses take place either seated or on the ground and focus on connective tissues, joints and ligaments. When we first come into a yin yoga pose, we often feel some tension as we stretch into areas of our body that we may not normally release in our day to day life. This is where we use the breathe to move through the sensations, to soften into the pose and to observe our thoughts.

A slower style of yoga, yin yoga poses are held for 3-5 minutes. This creates the time and space for you to shift your attention from the busy, outside world and to turn inwards to your body and mind; deepening your intuition and providing clarity.

A variation of Legs up the Wall pose (Vipta Karani)

I like to describe Yin yoga as a form of active rest, and many refer to it as a ‘moving meditation.’ This makes it a great practice for anyone who:

Finds it challenging to be still
Struggles to slow down their many thoughts and ideas
Feels tense, tired or tight

I will put my hand up and say that I used to fit into all of these categories, until I discovered more restorative styles of yoga. They have given me a toolset to retrain my body and mind to rest, and this has been a key part to my recovery from glandular fever and adrenal fatigue. This style of practice maybe slow, but it’s mighty powerful.

This style of yoga is based on Traditional Chinese Medicine, and in a similar way to acupuncture it works to open up any blocks so that energy can flow freely, creating balance in body and mind. When we pair essential oils to this, the shifting of emotions, mood and energy is even more powerfu and it creates a deeper experience. This is why I love to incorporate pure plant medicine into all our yoga classes, events and retreats.

If you’ve been paying close attention, you’ll notice that we don’t actually have any Yin Yoga classes on our timetable. So why is that?

Well, we name our slower classes “Restore” because whilst they include yin poses within them, this name gives us more scope to create a class to suit whoever is in the room on the day. We may include elements of sports recovery or mobility work that is not strictly ‘yin’, because as a boutique yoga studio with small class sizes, we like to help our students target their specific injuries or ailments.

Our Restore classes always have a specific intention and I love to weave in positive affirmations and essentials oils amongst the asana (poses) to create an experience that align with the theme. I believe that regardless of the class name, this holistic approach creates a balanced and unique yoga practice that impacts the body on a cellular, emotional and spiritual level.

We also run seasonal Yin & Pins workshops in collaboration with acupuncturist Dr Sophie Rowe, combining these two modalities for the ultimate rejuvenating and relaxing experience. Find out about our next Yin & Pins event here

What’s your favourite yin or restorative yoga pose?