admin Yin yoga is taking over the world! Okay, it’s not that big, but the number of people falling in love with Yin increases every day. Why?
Maybe we crave the qualities of a Yin practice: stillness and simplicity, self-inquiry, and being in the moment. You get a great stretch, but are the internal qualities that make Yin practices so appealing?
Yoga has a profound impact on our lives that goes far beyond just having fun on the mat. If we’re lucky, we might practice yoga for an hour a day. What about the remaining 96% of our lives? How can we live as lightly, consciously, and joyfully as possible?
Yoga is a great way to bring yoga into your daily life.
Take Your Practice Off The Mat
When we make choices and take decisions that enhance or detract from our well-being, this is called “off the mat.” Off the mat, we use our creative energy in order to feel fulfilled. We also want to make a positive impact on other people’s lives. Off the mat, we are in meaningful relationships with those we have chosen to walk this journey with.
While your Yin yoga practice may feel like a tasty dose of bliss at the end of your work week, why don’t you aim to achieve even more balance in your life by incorporating some of these yin-inspired gems into your daily routine? Four ways to practice Yin Yoga off the mat.
Take five and be completely still.
How often do you stop and just be? You can take a page from your Yin Yoga book and spend 5 minutes in your day sitting, standing, or lying down and basking in stillness. You can book a room for a meeting, visit the library, or sit in a park.
You might be thinking, “Are you serious? “I don’t have the time to sit still. That’s valuable time I could use to check things off my list!” Yes, it’s also valuable not to waste time. You could let everything rest in the moment.
Responding to challenges in a lighter and more conscious way
You will inevitably face difficult situations in life. You could lose your job or fail an interview. You could get a flat on a day when you are running late or find that the tomato in your sandwich has seeped into the bread.
Yoga helps us respond to challenging situations in a more lighthearted, conscious manner.
Yin Yoga offers us a variety of challenges. Anyone for five minutes of Dragon or Frog? Do you remember how your teacher encouraged you to be observant of your response without judging it and without getting caught in the story? Next time you face a difficult situation off your mat, remember these pearls of Yin wisdom. You might even find yourself floating through the challenge gracefully and seeing it as a chance to grow and learn.
Allow yourself to let go.
During a Yin meditation, I use “let go” to calm my mind and keep my body passive. I repeat silently “let” when inhaling and “go” when exhaling. It’s easy to do this when you are on your yoga mat, holding a position, and being encouraged by the teacher in a warm candlelit studio, with relaxing music playing in the background.
What if the environment is not conducive to letting yourself go?
We can be sure that life will not always bring us butterflies, rainbows, and candlelit yoga classes. We can catch ourselves on autopilot when we are rigid, uptight, and tense.
If it helps, use the mantra. I can’t count how many times my puppy has helped me get through a difficult moment.
Relax by breathing to release tension and stress.
It may seem obvious, but it is important to remember that we do not need to wait to get on the mat before we relax and release tension and stress. You can breathe it out whenever you want.
Try it. Feel calmness, clarity, or any other quality that resonates as you inhale. When you exhale, allow any negative energy, such as worries, stress, or concerns, to leave your body.
This will help you remain calm, relaxed, and focused during a traffic jam or disagreement. Repeat as necessary.
