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Posted on Apr 18, 2018, 3 p.m.
Practicing yin yoga is growing in popularity and is an effective way to increase flexibility and achieve internal harmony in your yoga practice. Yin yoga is a much slower approach to traditional yoga, with poses being held for longer periods of time. Instead of achieving continuous flow this style of yoga focuses on inner silence and movement of energy through the body.
Longer held poses in this method may be held for five minutes or longer rather than the traditional 20-30 seconds. The purpose of yin yoga is to increase strength of connective tissues and boost flexibility while finding balance between yin and yang.
Yin yoga has many benefits such as increased flexibility, detoxification of the body, relief of symptoms from chronic stress and anxiety, strengthening internal organs, promote proper circulation to extremities, boost metabolism and core strength, release fascia, promotes afterglow, improve joint mobility, improved perseverance, boost fortitude and stamina, encourages self love and communication with the body, among others.
Yin yoga main poses include poses such as seal pose, meditation seat, banana pose, and child’s pose among many others. Each of these poses are held for 3-6 minutes each such as: the butterfly pose in which feet are drawn in from a sitting position while leaning forwards slowly over the feet for 3-4 minutes; the melting heart pose in which one keeps hips above knees while leaning forward on forearms and clasp hands for 3-4 minutes; or the child’s pose where one kneels with buttocks on feet while stretching arms out and placing forehead on ground for 5-6 minutes.
Yin yoga has an almost meditative quality to it which is unique to this style among the many other types of yogic practices.
Materials provided by:
Yoga Journal
Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
