What are the benefits of Yin Yoga?
We live fast-paced, stressful lives that take us from one task to the next without much time to pause, reflect and relax. Our parasympathetic nervous system gets little time to be active as compared to our sympathetic nervous system. While yoga asana practice itself provides calming and relaxing benefits, there are certain styles of yoga that provide a deeper relaxation to the mind and body. One such style is Yin Yoga.
In contrast to the dynamic and challenging nature of styles like Ashtanga Vinyasa (practiced in a more Yang way), Yin yoga is a slow-paced, meditative practice. This style of practice provides practitioners dedicated time and space to pause, stretch and breathe mindfully. It helps let go of to-do lists and demands of our daily lives to go within and become aware of our internal world. If you’re considering an online yin yoga teacher training, this article explores the benefits of yin yoga.
Understanding Yin Yoga
Being slow-paced, yin yoga is soothing yet challenging. Each posture is practiced in a gentle and sensitive way trying to find that place where it’s neither too much or too little. The breath is slow and steady allowing the practitioner to recognize sensations in the body. Postures are held for 3-5 minutes (or more), targeting the deep connective tissues (bones, joints, fascia and ligaments) in the body. When the deep tissues and fascial system are stretched and stimulated, they become healthier and resilient. Being still in certain poses helps keep the body nourished and healthy even as we age.
An online yin yoga teacher training will allow you to understand the effects of holding poses for a longer period of time in the body and the mind. A yin yoga certification online will also enable you to help students to find the variation of the posture that works for them.
Let’s see the benefits of Yin Yoga in more detail
Yin yoga benefits for the body
- Yin yoga slows the aging process: As we grow older, our bones begin to degenerate. Mobility in the joints and overall flexibility reduces. Our fascia also tightens. Regular Yin yoga practice helps maintain and even regain mobility, reduces pain and pressure on the joints and stretches the muscles by applying the right amount of stress to the joints and giving a gentle, soothing stretch to the muscles.
- Improves circulation: By holding the stretches for long, all the organs get a good massage, improving blood circulation to different parts of the body. This also balances the various systems. Blockages are released, improving the flow of prana.
- Perfect for slowing down: The slow-paced Yin practice provides a deep relaxation to the mind and body. It is particularly helpful in balancing the nervous system and activating the rest and digest response (parasympathetic nervous system).
Yin yoga benefits for the mind
- Reduces stress and tension: Yin yoga is a slow-paced practice that encourages practitioners to confront thoughts and emotions that may arise during the practice. The stress applied to the tissues in each posture may help to release energetic blockages, arising in the form of physical sensations, emotional connection, and/or mental relief. Furthermore, as yin yoga activates the parasympathetic nervous system and stimulates the vagus nerve, it effectively relaxes the mind and body, relieving stress.
- Improves mindfulness: As this is a style practiced at a slower pace, it encourages to be present here and now. The silence experienced during the practice helps one draw their attention inward and focus the mind. There is greater awareness of what is happening within the body too. Practitioners will slowly be more aware of any sensations in the muscles, joints or other parts of the body and mind.
A yin yoga practice might trigger emotions for practitioners such as happiness, sadness, fear, etc. This is because the energy of these feelings and emotions can get stored in the body in the deep connective tissue and in the form of pain in various body parts. A yin yoga course will help you -as a teacher- to handle any such responses or reactions from students. Moreover, the 50-hour online yin yoga teacher training will equip you to understand how this style of yoga can help you improve your physiological and psychological well-being.
By the end of this yin yoga teacher certification online you will be prepared to teach and modify poses, understand where and how students will feel the effect of postures, create sequences, understand emotions and their relation to the connective tissue and more. The online yin yoga teacher training helps you find balance, feel complete and whole. Over time, one will notice progress and growth within the body and mind. The best part is one begins to understand the art of slowing down.
