Yin Yoga: Facts, Benefits, and Tips on How to Do It Successfully

Source: Yin Yoga

What is Yin Yoga?

Yin Yoga is a new style of yoga, which is believed that originated in China, but the practice in fact deeply rooted in the time-honored tradition of Classical Hatha Yoga which is from India. 

In this yoga style, practitioners immerse themselves in passive poses for longer periods, usually ranging from 3-10 minutes. 

Yin Yoga has its history in China and It was founded on the Taoist theory of yin and yang – the two opposite concepts that, together, represent balance. Yin refers to stable and passive, while yang is changing and active. 

Therefore the yin poses are passive and mostly performed while seated or in a reclining position. These poses ultimately are held with muscles fully relaxed, allowing time and gravity to deepen the stretch and target the fascia. 

Yin yoga asana tends to resemble poses used in other disciplines but uses different names. Despite the similarity of the poses, the yin poses are performed differently from their active, or yang, relatives. 

For instance, the yin caterpillar pose resembles paschimottanasana or seated forward bend. 

However, in the caterpillar, the spine rounds so that the head comes to the knees, on the other hand in paschimottanasana, the spine remains straight and lengthens as the head reaches toward the feet.

Origin of Yin Yoga

As per Wikipedia, Yin Yoga began in the late 1980s with a yoga teacher named Paul Grilley. He came across a presentation on TV of Paulie Zink, a martial arts champion and Taoist Yoga master, and was amazed at Zink's flexibility. 

So he was eager to learn more about it and Grilley attended Zink's Taoist Yoga classes, experimenting with long holds of 5-10 minutes. But, after months of training, Grilley didn't see the results he'd dreamed of, and he returned home to continue practicing dynamic styles like Vinyasa Yoga.

Later, he began teaching some passive stretching classes to his students. The results were overwhelming and he saw rapid improvement in the range of motion of his students. 

Which is inspired by Buddhism, he called his classes Yin Yang Yoga. One of his students, Sarah Powers, suggested a better name would be Yin Yoga given the focus on passive postures. And then Yin Yoga was born.

Benefits of Yin Yoga

As you may have already guessed and mentioned before, there are plenty of physical health benefits to practicing yin yoga, but there are plenty of mental health ones, too.

Below are some of the most common, from stretching your connective tissue to reducing stress and anxiety.

1. Lengthens connective tissue

When the connective tissue in our body goes underused, it eventually becomes less elastic which can result in aches and stiffness. 

By doing yin yoga, and gently stretching connective tissue by holding a yin pose for a long time, your body will respond by making them a little longer and Stronger, which improves balance, and overall body posture.

2. Increases flexibility

Another one of the key benefits of a regular yin yoga practice is elastic fascia and mobile joints leading to better flexibility. 

If you don’t know, fascia needs at least 120 seconds of sustained stretching to affect its elasticity, so in this case, yin is one of the most effective ways to improve your flexibility and release tension in tight spots thanks to its long holds.

3. Boosts your circulation

When you practice yin yoga, you bring more oxygen into your body and to your muscles by breathing into each pose and targeting your deeper tissues and ligaments. This ultimately increases your blood flow and circulation.

4. Reduces stress levels

Easiest to guess, yin yoga also helps reduce stress levels. I’m not the one who is saying this but studies have found yin yoga to have a significant impact on lowering stress and anxiety and reducing the risk of depression. 

Also, it activates your parasympathetic nervous system, which calms your body and slows your heart rate.

What Science Says about Yin Yoga

Let’s see what science says about yin yoga. 

According to an NCBI report, a 2018 study indicates that yin yoga may help develop mindfulness while reducing stress, anxiety, and depression. The study included over 100 adults and investigated the impacts of a 5-week yin yoga program on its own and combined with mindfulness and psychotherapy.

When compared with the group who didn’t do any type of yoga, the two groups experienced significantly reduced physiological and psychological risks related to noncommunicable diseases, such as cardiovascular disease.

The group that combined yin yoga with mindfulness and psychotherapy significantly reduced their stress levels and anxiety. 

In another small study, students who practiced yin yoga and guided meditation for 6 weeks increased their mindfulness and reduced stress and anxiety levels.

These findings were noted at 6 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months, which suggest the long-term benefits of yin yoga.

As per the studies, Yin yoga may also help to:

• enhance mental focus
• balance emotions
• improve flexibility
• promote relaxation
• stretch connective tissue
• boost circulation
• improve sleep
• heal injuries

How to practice Yin Yoga

As yin yoga is practiced in a non-heated room, you can easily do it anywhere and at any time. When practicing Yin Yoga, one thing you need to keep in mind is that the key is holding each pose for an extended length of time, typically for two to five minutes. 

And the poses themselves are seated or reclined poses since they require your muscles to be fully relaxed. You can do butterfly pose, seated forward fold, or frog pose.

When you’re doing a pose, work to find stillness and try to avoid fidgeting or moving around as best as you can to release fully into the posture. 

To help stretch your fascia and ligaments, push yourself to a point where you feel a deep sensation of discomfort. But, remember to not stretch to the point of pain. 

Breath is an important component of yin yoga too, as it gives you something to focus on in the more difficult and uncomfortable postures. When doing yin, breathe from your diaphragm, with every inhale, feel your belly and ribs expand, and with every exhale, pull your navel into your spine. 

A great idea for deep breathing in a restorative yoga flow is to make your exhales twice as long as you inhale.

As a bonus tip, in yin yoga, you can also use props for added support or lengthening. After all, the more your bones are supported, the more your muscles can release, leading to a more flexible body. 

You can use blocks under your knees in a forward fold, for instance, while a bolster or rolled-up blanket can be placed under your seat during butterfly to ease tight hips.

Who should do yin yoga?

Is this a gentle practice for everyone? Yes, yin yoga is for everyone who is dealing with injuries or facing a chronic condition like arthritis or osteoporosis as this style in particular is a more restorative practice than other forms of exercise. 

Yin can also be a great starting point for beginners interested in meditation as it has such an internal focus.

Many of us live fast-paced and active lives, whether you’re going for a run, attending an Ashtanga yoga class, or sweating it out on a spin bike, yin yoga is the perfect balance to those intense exercises. 

It allows you to slow down, relax, and turn inward, helping alleviate stress and restore your energy levels. 

Frequently Asked Questions 

Q. Is yin yoga good for you?

Yes, yin yoga is good for you if you want to develop a relaxed, meditative practice or balance an intense exercise routine. Yin yoga will allow you to slow down, relax, and turn inward, which helps alleviate stress and restore your energy levels.

Q. What are the benefits of yin yoga?

Yin yoga offers several types of health benefits including: 

• Calms and balances the mind and body
• Enhance mental focus
• Balance emotions
• Reduces stress and anxiety
• Releases fascia and improves joint mobility
• Increases circulation
• Improves flexibility
• Balances the internal organs

Q. What are the most common yin yoga poses?

The most common yoga poses include Butterfly pose, Shoelace pose, Square pose, Bananasana, Caterpillar, Savasana, Dragonfly pose, Saddle pose, Dancer Pose, Dragon pose, Melting heart, Seal pose, Seated forward bend, and Snail Pose.