Yin yoga can open your body + calm your mind
Yin yoga may be the answer to the question you didn’t know you had.
If you need help slowing down, clearing your mind or calming down (hello, everyone), this unique style of yoga is worth trying out.
It’s the opposite of flowing and planking and building heat. Yin is characterized by stillness and allowing.
In yin, each pose is held for several minutes, giving the yogi a chance to settle in, feel the posture, and let it open them up bit by bit. It has a more meditative vibe than other styles of yoga, and according to Rhiannon Robinson, just about anyone could benefit from giving it a try (though she notes “not every body can do every pose.”)
Robinson has been teaching yoga for 20 years and is among the mostly highly regarded yin teachers in Houston. She trains teachers, leads workshops, and offers public classes at Union Studio in the Heights.
Robinson says that while a lot of people understand the benefits of meditation (i.e. a clearer, quieter, more peaceful mind), it’s common to struggle with establishing a practice. This is where yin yoga can be a helpful bridge.
“I have always found yin Yoga to be an approachable way into experiencing more stillness, more quiet,” she says. “It combines the act of getting still … with a pose.”
It’s like a concession: Yes, we pause and get still, but we get to “do” something, too.
What we do is focus is on “finding space by softening” within the pose. That’s what the yin yogi feels for and attempts to create while settling into a posture and letting it passively stress connective tissues like bones, joints, ligaments, and fascia.
I have found yin to be so calming and opening that it’s a major part of the gentle, meditative yoga classes I teach, including the free one coming up this month (see here).
But because Robinson is one of the best, I asked her to walk us through three of her favorite yin shapes. They’re for all-levels and only require a comfy surface (possibly a mat) and a prop – like a yoga block, pillow or rolled-up blanket – for more support.
Do them when you have a moment to slow down and settle in.
Sphinx
Robinson says: “Come onto your belly and up on your forearms. Feet are about hip-distance apart with the tops of the feet on the floor. Move your elbows closer to your chest or away to adjust sensation in the lumbar spine.
“This is a backbend where we aim to become aware of unnecessary gripping. Can you soften along the lower back, glutes and hamstrings? Hold for two to three minutes. To come down, let your elbows turn out to your sides and bring one cheek to rest on the ground. Breathe deeply into the mid and lower back.”
Robinson says backbends are uplifting and expansive as they create more space along the fronts of our bodies. “They help open up the chest – the space around our hearts – where a lot of us hold tension,” she says.
In the photo, I took the pose with a block under my head to make it more relaxing.
Twisted roots
To enter the pose, Robinson says: “Cross one knee over the other as if you were sitting in a chair. Lower the legs to one side and place a block under the knee for support if needed.”
She advises holding the twist for two to three minutes per side, with a deliberate pause between.
“Supine twists can reduce stress and anxiety,” she says.
Dragonfly
“You can bring a towel or blanket under the sit bones to elevate the hips if they or the lower back are particularly tight. Open the legs wide. Sit here for two to three minutes or, if you have more space to move into, gently fold forward, relaxing the glute muscles and tops of the thighs.”
Robinson says it’s okay to use a prop to rest your upper body on. It’s also okay to round your back.
“Forward folds have a unique grounding quality,” she says. “They help turn our awareness inward and calm some of the natural inclinations of the mind to wander.”
To come out, she advises slowly returning upright and remaining still for a few breaths.
For more of Robinson’s instruction and offerings visit EssentialYogaSutras.com.
