Yin Yoga practice – this 60 minute practice will be deeply releasing and healing. According to the principles of Ayurveda and Chinese medicine, water is the primary element of winter. Therefore this yin yoga session will focus on the water element, so that we can stimulate the flow of chi in the kidneys and other organs ultimately restoring our overall sense of vibrancy and vitality in the body. Yin helps to release tension held in the deep tissues of the subtle body. When we take the time to let go of physical tension, mental and emotional tension will also find space to release and above all, the practice of yin yoga followed by yoga nidra will help you to sleep very soundly.
One of the biggest yin challenges is to find the perfect balance between the physical and the mental. Our mind can often be a poor judge of the body’s abilities. It can be either pushy and inattentive to the body’s signals, or it can retreat in fear and interpret any strong physical sensation as a threat. If we apply too little stress to our tissues, they atrophy, however, if we apply too much stress, tissues degenerate.
Yin yoga poses apply moderate stress to the connective tissues—the tendons, fascia, and ligaments—with the aim of increasing circulation in the joints and improving flexibility. They are also designed to improve the flow of qi, the subtle energy said in Chinese medicine to run through the meridian pathways of the body. Improved qi flow is hypothesised to improve organ health, immunity, and emotional well-being.
Restorative yoga is better than sleep for releasing tense muscles, relieving joint aches, and transitioning the mind and body quickly from stress to calm. This all over body practice will be deeply healing, you will recover fully from all the stresses and strains of life simply by relaxing muscles, lowering your heart rate, and allowing your nervous system to stop constantly reacting
Restorative yoga has an enormous capacity to heal physical and mental symptoms that are stress related. When the pace of life is fast, our nervous system takes a beating and our immune system has to work extra hard. We may end up with a busy racing mind, or simply feeling overwhelmed, over worked, and exhausted – the result of which can bring on illness. The beauty of restorative Yoga is that there is no muscular contraction involved, we can actually achieve more opening in parts of the body that we perceive as tight by literally softening and relaxing.. During a restorative Yoga sequence, you still stretch, but at the same time you relax fully in to the stretch so that tension can be released on a deep cellular level. As we let go, we become softer and create space for our mind and body to connect with our natural innate qualities of inner calm, peace, love, compassion and understanding of others and self.
In Restorative yoga, each pose is held for 10 – 20 minutes and props such as soft bolsters, straps, sandbags, blankets and eye bags are used to support the body allowing you to open and release deep tension through passive stretching in a very nurturing way. This is a great way to realign the body and mind after injury or trauma (both physical or emotional) and to reset held patterns of misalignment. You simply lie back and relax in position, supported by the props. Afterwards, you will feel completely nourished and absolutely heavenly!
YOGA TREE STUDIOS
