Today was a difficult day. Not difficult in the way that someone parked over the line or Starbucks ran out of lime wedges for their Cool Lime Refreshers, but the real difficult. We had expected this day to come, but still emotions surprise you no matter how much you plan.
That being said, I didn't even begin to build a case for myself against trying out Yin Yoga today. Not one mental excuse. I surprised myself on this one. The truth is, no matter the difficulty level of the day, exercise, especially yoga, is always good for you.
Yin Yoga is different from Vinyasa Yoga in the idea that you hold the poses for an extremely long time. It's not fluid the way typical yoga is, but rather it has a meditative slow quality. I had read about this and was already intrigued before this fitness experiment because I have been toying around with meditation since I read 10% Happier by Dan Harris. (READ IT)
The instructor was amazing from the start. She welcomed everyone; she didn't charge me for a mat rental, and she was so very gracious about the baby crying in the room while the poor mom nervously waited for her late husband to pick kiddo up. Give the mom a yoga break!
This was not hot yoga, but the room was warm and crowded, and I got the awesome seat right up front. Woot! The instructor provided us with blankets and bricks to alter the movements if they were too tough, and we began.
We began with a true meditation, which was welcomed, but as I closed my eyes and began to try and clear my mind, I had a zap of terror. While I usually have my cell phone off, it was on loud all day as I was waiting for texts and responding to calls. Son of a Monkey Head.... my phone is going to ring during the quietest fitness class ever, interrupting us with Sam and Dean from Supernatural yelling "ANSWER THE PHONE!"
I debated what was worse: the 100% chance of interrupting peace by hopping over mats to turn it off or the 34% chance of destroying everyone's Yin with the crazy ringtone. I chose mat hopping. Instructor popped open her eyes,checked on the flutter of activity (me) and smiled at me warmly as if to say "There's no need for modern gadgets in my world, young Jedi." Wait. That's not what we were doing here.
Ok, back to meditating.....it lasted about five minutes while she explained Yin. In Yin, you only get about 5-6 poses done in a 60-90 minutes. In Yin, your goal is stillness within the pose and an internal locus of focus. I understood. We started.
We started with a deep child's pose. It felt relaxing initially and I thought it was going to be cake, but about two minutes in, I began to sweat. Can you sweat being still? Yes. She explained that we should pay attention to our breath and know that when your breath changes, something in your body is changing. It might be going into a deeper stretch. Another minute in, and without much thought, I exhaled loudly. As I exhaled, I realized I was slipping slightly into a deeper stretch. It was weird, but amazing. The only way to explain it was my body was doing it's own thing without my brain giving marching orders. Brains tend to give crappy marching orders to bodies. That's why athletes spend tons of time and money on the Mental Game, right?
On several occasions I noticed, I could feel the heartbeat pulse in various body parts- no kidding- I felt it in my heels and my back. I could feel my breath in my body. I could feel everything happening from a slip into a stretch or my feet going numb, to my congestion clearing.
Six poses later, I felt like gumby, I felt so relaxed that I could fall asleep on the floor, and I felt a deep sense of acceptance and peace around the world and my day as is. This class was amazing. My new favorite teacher mentioned that on nights of Yin, most students get the best sleep. I'll test that theory in about 10 minutes.
Verdict- 1000 times YES! There's so much here. Mediation, awareness, stretching, and strength- and I felt things that I have never felt before. Plus, everything is doable without being easy. I'm going back ASAP, and I'm going to lay there, and stretch and be all Yinny.
That being said, I didn't even begin to build a case for myself against trying out Yin Yoga today. Not one mental excuse. I surprised myself on this one. The truth is, no matter the difficulty level of the day, exercise, especially yoga, is always good for you.
Yin Yoga is different from Vinyasa Yoga in the idea that you hold the poses for an extremely long time. It's not fluid the way typical yoga is, but rather it has a meditative slow quality. I had read about this and was already intrigued before this fitness experiment because I have been toying around with meditation since I read 10% Happier by Dan Harris. (READ IT)
The instructor was amazing from the start. She welcomed everyone; she didn't charge me for a mat rental, and she was so very gracious about the baby crying in the room while the poor mom nervously waited for her late husband to pick kiddo up. Give the mom a yoga break!
This was not hot yoga, but the room was warm and crowded, and I got the awesome seat right up front. Woot! The instructor provided us with blankets and bricks to alter the movements if they were too tough, and we began.
We began with a true meditation, which was welcomed, but as I closed my eyes and began to try and clear my mind, I had a zap of terror. While I usually have my cell phone off, it was on loud all day as I was waiting for texts and responding to calls. Son of a Monkey Head.... my phone is going to ring during the quietest fitness class ever, interrupting us with Sam and Dean from Supernatural yelling "ANSWER THE PHONE!"
I debated what was worse: the 100% chance of interrupting peace by hopping over mats to turn it off or the 34% chance of destroying everyone's Yin with the crazy ringtone. I chose mat hopping. Instructor popped open her eyes,checked on the flutter of activity (me) and smiled at me warmly as if to say "There's no need for modern gadgets in my world, young Jedi." Wait. That's not what we were doing here.
Ok, back to meditating.....it lasted about five minutes while she explained Yin. In Yin, you only get about 5-6 poses done in a 60-90 minutes. In Yin, your goal is stillness within the pose and an internal locus of focus. I understood. We started.
We started with a deep child's pose. It felt relaxing initially and I thought it was going to be cake, but about two minutes in, I began to sweat. Can you sweat being still? Yes. She explained that we should pay attention to our breath and know that when your breath changes, something in your body is changing. It might be going into a deeper stretch. Another minute in, and without much thought, I exhaled loudly. As I exhaled, I realized I was slipping slightly into a deeper stretch. It was weird, but amazing. The only way to explain it was my body was doing it's own thing without my brain giving marching orders. Brains tend to give crappy marching orders to bodies. That's why athletes spend tons of time and money on the Mental Game, right?
On several occasions I noticed, I could feel the heartbeat pulse in various body parts- no kidding- I felt it in my heels and my back. I could feel my breath in my body. I could feel everything happening from a slip into a stretch or my feet going numb, to my congestion clearing.
Six poses later, I felt like gumby, I felt so relaxed that I could fall asleep on the floor, and I felt a deep sense of acceptance and peace around the world and my day as is. This class was amazing. My new favorite teacher mentioned that on nights of Yin, most students get the best sleep. I'll test that theory in about 10 minutes.
Verdict- 1000 times YES! There's so much here. Mediation, awareness, stretching, and strength- and I felt things that I have never felt before. Plus, everything is doable without being easy. I'm going back ASAP, and I'm going to lay there, and stretch and be all Yinny.
Such an interesting class. And have you gone back yet? As of 9/13?
ReplyDeleteYes. I have gone back three additional times.... varied studio and people, but yes. This is the class I actually most enjoy and will probably carry on past this trial period. I have trouble stopping the brain and focusing, and this really helps (in addition to the body benefits)
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