Restorative Vs. Yin Yoga

Watch for a brief summary of the main differences between Restorative and Yin yoga. These practices are often confused or conflated, but are actually very distinct from one another. If you don't know which you'd prefer, start here!

Transcript

Hey,

My name is Amelia,

And I'm here to talk to you about the differences between yin and restorative yoga.

Because they're often conflated with one another,

But in actuality,

They are quite different.

So Yen was developed fairly recently.

A kind of a hybrid between yogic systems and traditional Chinese medicine systems.

So you're holding yoga poses for several minutes at a time in a more passive state.

You're not really doing postural cues or holding alignment in a certain way.

And this is meant to open up your energy channels,

Your Chinese meridian system.

And allow the energy that might be blocked in these meridians to flow more freely.

So certain poses correspond with certain meridians.

The other thing that's really important to know about yin,

Physically,

It helps to stretch,

Lubricate,

And make more flexible your connective tissues.

So ligaments,

Tendons,

Joints,

And fascia are all greatly benefited by yin.

Restorative,

On the other hand.

.

.

Is a completely passive practice.

You might feel discomfort in yin,

There's a little more of like an active stretching component.

While there is some stretching in restorative as kind of a byproduct,

It's a very supported practice.

You're using a lot of pras.

You are meant to completely relax as much as you can because the point of restorative,

The overarching goal,

Is to get you super deeply into your parasympathetic nervous system.

This is often called rest and digest.

Our bodies in our today's society are almost never in this state.

And when we are allowed to go deeply into the state,

Our bodies can process,

They can work,

They can do everything so much more efficiently.

Restorative might feel sometimes like you're doing nothing,

But the way that you'll feel after class,

You're going to be so blissed out.

You're going to feel amazing.

It helps lower heart rate,

Blood pressure,

Helps with digestion,

Elimination systems,

Really balances everything in your body and relaxes your nervous system.

So it helps with stress,

Anxiety,

Insomnia,

Everything that goes along with these heightened tensions and anxiety and stress that we feel throughout the day in our daily world.

Restorative is an amazing practice.

To help you let go of that.

Settle in.

Sometimes there's a meditative component or a meditation component as well.

It's just an amazing practice.

I love both of these practices.

Yin is very dear to my heart,

But I've really come to learn the benefits of restorative as well.

So I hope that this was helpful and I hope that this helps you choose which practice you'd like to engage in.

Or maybe you could try both.