Over the last week I have taken some time to do some yin yoga in my studio. I found a yin yoga routine in an old Yoga Journal magazine. This was perfect for me. I lit some candles turned up the heating, and with mat, block and bolster I was ready. My back and hips have been aching from the household and garden chores I've been catching up on for the last two weeks. I haven't done much physical yoga except for a few stretches and twists.
Yin yoga is just a softer way of doing yoga. We perform the same poses as we normally do. In this case not the standing poses or flowing poses, but poses/asanas like forward bend in cobblers pose, Bhujangasana - cobra and the sphinx, Janu Sirsasana - head to knee pose and Upavista Konasana - wide legged forward stretch. Sometimes it is really enjoyable to take time in poses and just let go of the tenseness that the body automatically holds. The mind and the body work together. It finds the tension, you let it go, and then the body finds another area and you let that go and so on. And after a while you begin to relax and breathe and it feels so good.
Even if you do not practise yoga you can apply the same principles. For example when you are in the garden digging or bending over and you feel the tension building up in your shoulders, let the shoulders release away from the ears and take a moment to breathe, soften then admire what you have done, smile and continue when you are ready.
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