Hello, I'm Miriam and adding to this site a series of articles here to explain my personal approach to Yin Yoga and how Yin is different to other yoga styles.
I found yin, or more accurately it found me, about 10 years ago and it was love at first class. Finally I was coming away feeling relaxed and energised, in a way that the classes I'd been attending up to then hadn't been able to achieve. I was more used to going to yoga classes where I was straining myself trying to push or pull my body into complicated positions, that other students seemed to find easy. My back was sore, my muscles ached. Why was everyone else so much more flexible and stronger than me?
My yin classes taught me to let go! Let go of comparing, straining and holding my breath. Once I learned to go inside and make this practice work for me, I discovered an openness and sense of lightness that kept me coming back. And guess what? I became more flexible and stronger - but without the pain.
Weekly classes led to me trying out day long workshops. Then I found out about retreats where you could do a full five hours of yoga a day for seven days and still feel full of energy in the evening and come back refreshed and reinvigorated. And so finally I went away for four full weeks of training, squeezing in 200 hours of lessons and practice, to became a yoga teacher myself - specialising in yin.
In a series of articles Ill be explaining how you can use Yin yoga to make your life easier too:
1. Enjoy your practice! Why slower is better
2. Working with your anatomy
3. Using mindful breathing
4. Finding your comfortable edge
5. Understanding what is happening on the mat
6. Energy flows where attention goes
7. Feeling the rebound
8. Using bolsters not blocks
9. If you only do one pose a day…
10. The art of silent practice
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Interested in Yin Yoga Teacher Training - for information about a brilliant training programme see www.yogaorchid.com/yin-yoga-teacher-training