What is Yin Yoga?

If you have never tried yoga, you may have the idea in your mind that yoga is all difficult poses. Hence you may think that they are hard to get into and hold, and may sometimes even be uncomfortable. However there are many different types of yoga. Not all of them involve the difficult poses that people tend to associate with yoga. Yin yoga is an easy, gentle form of yoga that anyone can do. If you are interested in getting into yoga then Yin yoga is a great place to start. Even if you think that yoga isn’t really for you, I would highly recommend giving Yin yoga a go, as it has so many great benefits, especially if you are someone who has a lot of stress and tension in your life.

Yin yoga is a more slow and gentle form of yoga. Additionally, poses are held for longer periods of time, usually 3 to 5 minutes, but sometimes even longer! Rather than focusing on building up muscle strength, Yin yoga is focused on deeper tissues such as your fascia, ligaments, and joints. This can help relieve a lot of stress and tension throughout the body. Due to the slow pace of the practice it can also have some great benefits for mental wellbeing.

Below are some of the amazing benefits than Yin yoga can have.

1. Relieves tension in the body – the prolonged time spent in the yin yoga poses allows time for the connective tissue around our muscles to be stretched out and become less stiff. This reduces the overall feeling of tension and stiffness within our bodies.
2. Increases circulation – when connective tissue is stiff this can limit healthy blood flow, the stretching out of the connective tissue allows for better circulation within the muscles and joints.
3. Improved flexibility – the amount of time holding the poses causes lengthening of the connective tissues. Furthermore this will turn leads to improved flexibility and range of motion of the joints.
4. Improved mental wellbeing – these days our lives can be so fast paced and it can feel like we never get a chance to slow down. Because of the slow and gentle nature of Yin yoga it gives your brain a chance to slow down and relax, reducing stress and improving mental wellbeing.
5. Improved sleep – as mentioned above Yin yoga reduces stiffness and tension within the body. It can reduce stress and mental wellbeing, this in turn can lead to a more restful nights sleep.