Introduction To Yin Yoga (no Background Sound)

This session is an introduction to Yin Yoga and around 30 minutes long. It consists of a breathing exercise, three poses, and Savasana/relaxation at the end. The poses are Butterfly, Bananasana & Seal or Sphinx - find images on my website (see profile).

Victoria's Yin Yoga classes are designed to release tension and bring presence to body & mind. Bring a bolster (or pillow), some blocks (or books) and a blanket. Please make sure to listen to your body during the class and if anything doesn’t feel right, come out of the pose and rest. Your body is your responsibility.

Transcript

Hi,

My name's Vicky from Ucella Yoga,

And today I'm going to do a 30 minute class introducing you to the practice.

Before I start,

I suggest if you haven't already,

Checking the short audio on my website ucellayoga.

Com.

That's ucellayoga.

Com,

Which gives a good but brief overview of what Yin Yoga actually is,

Including why it's useful to practice,

How I teach it,

And how to get the best out of it as well as stay safe.

So just a few key points before we start.

First of all,

Please do listen to your body,

Be aware of any issues and limitations,

And come out if something doesn't feel right.

Bear in mind that I will help you with adjustments,

And it's really worth playing with these to ensure you don't feel pain,

But also have a good amount of stimulation in the body.

Secondly,

As this is Yin Yoga,

It's a Yin way of practicing,

And by that I mean it's passive and it's receptive.

So take your time getting into the poses,

Adjusting where necessary,

And just relax into them,

Allowing the body,

Breath,

And gravity to do the work without pushing in any way.

Finally,

You can find the poses for each class on my website to give you a general overview of what they look like.

Please do bear in mind that the way I teach is actually focused on target areas,

However.

General stimulation over a particular area such as the front shoulders or lower back.

So less on what it looks like,

But more on what you're feeling.

So for this class,

If you want to look at the poses beforehand,

We're going to be doing Butterfly,

Banana Sana,

And Sphinx or Seal.

So the props that you need for this class are some blocks if you have them,

But if not then you can also use cushions,

Pillows,

Or maybe books.

Also a blanket is useful.

So when you're ready,

Just find a comfortable seated position that can be sitting cross-legged or kneeling,

Perhaps sitting up on something,

Or any position that you're comfortable in so that your back is straight and your chest is open.

Just bring your shoulders back and relax them.

If you feel comfortable closing your eyes,

Then please do.

Just bring your attention to the body,

Notice your feet on the floor,

Sense what the ankles are touching,

And notice where the hands are.

They can be resting on the legs,

Palms facing up,

Or palms facing down,

Or maybe cupped in the middle.

Check to see if the back is straight,

And again,

Relax the shoulders.

Open the mouth a little to loosen the jaw.

Now just bring your focus to your breath,

To your normal breath,

And sense where you feel it in the body.

Maybe you feel the rise and fall of the belly,

Perhaps the chest.

Perhaps you notice it more in the shoulders,

Or the air going in and out of the nostrils.

Just notice where it is for you.

Next bring your focus to the face.

See if you're holding any tension in any areas of the face,

Perhaps around the eyes or between the eyebrows.

And then as you breathe out your normal breath,

Feel as if you're breathing into that part of the face,

Just softening that area.

And then begin to start deepening the breath,

Counting silently as you breathe in through the nose for 4,

And out the mouth for 4,

But at your own pace.

If you feel like you're getting breathless at any point,

Then you can always shorten it to 3 or even 2.

Do what's right for you,

As long as the breath is slow and even.

And then when you're ready,

Close the mouth,

And this time breathe in and out through the nose for the same amount of time,

Still noticing where you're feeling it in the body,

The rise and fall of the breath,

Or the air going in and out of the nostrils,

Slow and even.

And on the next out breath,

But in your own time,

Just coming back to the body again,

Noticing where their hands are,

The connection of the feet against the floor.

And if you want to open your eyes to move onto the next pose,

Then please do,

But otherwise just keep them closed and listen to my voice guiding you into the first pose,

Butterfly.

So from the seated position that you're in,

Bring the soles of the feet together,

Let the knees flop out to the side,

And then fold forward over the legs.

Relax into the pose without pushing,

This is yin yoga,

Passive,

Receptive,

We want to feel a general stretch on the inside thighs,

The target area,

And also ideally in the back.

If you're feeling this in the knees or the groin,

Then try moving the feet a bit further away from you,

Or perhaps closer towards you.

This may also give you more of a stretch,

If you feel that you need it.

In yin we want a stimulation in the target area that's not too much and not too little,

But just the right amount as we stay in the pose for a number of minutes.

Another option is to sit up on something,

So a blanket,

Cushion,

A book.

This can be useful if you have sciatica,

But may also give you a bit more stretch on the back as it helps to tilt the hips forward.

If you're still finding anything uncomfortable in the knees at this point,

Another option is just to put something underneath them,

The books,

The cushions,

To support them.

And now resolve to stay still in the pose.

Staying still in a yin yoga pose is really key so that we can get deep into the connective tissue of the body,

The ligaments,

The tendons,

The fascia.

In yin yoga we're focusing much more on exercising these tissues and less so on the muscles.

And as they respond much better to a yin style of exercise,

Long,

Slow,

And passive,

This is one of the reasons we don't push.

I'm just going to be quiet now for around a couple of minutes,

So just relax into the pose,

Noticing where you feel the stimulation in which part of the body.

Are we clear?

You you you you you you you so then very slowly very mindfully start bringing the body back up to the sh into Straighten the legs out in front of you,

No sudden movements.

Put your hands on the floor behind you,

Keeping the eyes closed if that's comfortable.

And now for the rebound,

A really important part of yin yoga,

When the body is taking in the effects of the pose.

Notice now what's happening in the areas we just stimulated,

And also what's happening in the mind.

And then,

When you feel any sensations pass,

Just give the legs a bit of a shake,

Maybe pointing the toes out,

Pushing out the ankles,

Just do whatever movement you want as a slightly more active yang counter pose.

Next we move into Bananasana,

Or Bananasana.

So just make your way into a lying position on your back.

Stretch your right leg out to the side on the floor,

Then cross the left ankle over the right ankle.

Try to keep your hips approximately on the floor.

It doesn't matter if they're raising a little bit.

Next stretch your arms up on the floor behind you,

Taking hold of the right wrist,

And also bending the torso to that side,

Keeping the hips approximately where they are so you're in a kind of banana shape.

The target area here is the side,

The left side of the body,

Around the hips,

Perhaps along the side of the torso,

Maybe into the leg,

And hopefully into the arm.

So again play with the pose so that you have not too much or too little stretch.

If you're not feeling enough stretch,

If you feel any pinching sensations in the lower back or discomfort in the groin,

You might want to move the legs or torso a bit further to the right,

Or perhaps a bit left.

You could even change the cross of the legs so the right ankle is on the left,

Or even separate them.

If you feel any pinching sensation in the shoulder,

Or perhaps tingling in the arms or the hands,

Then you can try holding on to the other wrist,

Or perhaps bending and holding on to the elbows.

The arms can also be on the forehead if you like,

They don't necessarily have to be on the floor.

And if you're still feeling that pinching sensation in the shoulder,

Then perhaps you might just want to try bringing the arms down a bit,

Or even completely.

And now we stay for approximately two minutes.

If you find at any point that your attention is wandering,

Emotions come up or your thoughts start going elsewhere,

Without giving yourself a hard time,

Just bring your attention back to what you're feeling in the body,

Where you're feeling that stretch,

Where you're feeling that stimulation,

Noticing it.

And again,

Slowly and mindfully,

Uncross the legs if they're crossed,

Bring the arms down to the sides,

Bring the legs back to the centre and bring the torso back to the centre.

Just lie on your back,

Perhaps you might want to look up at the feet just to check that you're straight,

And before we move to the other side,

Just notice how one side feels compared to the other one.

And then we move to the other side.

So this time,

Stretch out the left leg to the side,

To the left side,

Cross the right ankle over the left ankle,

Keeping the hips still,

Basically on the mat,

And then move the top of the torso over to the same side so that you're in that banana shape.

Raise the arms on the floor above you,

Taking hold of either the left wrist or the right wrist,

Perhaps bending and holding onto the elbows.

Again,

If you're feeling any pinching,

Stabbing sensations in the shoulders,

Or perhaps tingling in the arms,

This could be a press nerve.

So just move the arms,

Bring them down a little perhaps,

Or move the position so that one or both of them are on the forehead.

Maybe something underneath one of the arms to support it.

Also play with the legs if you need to,

Try a different cross of the ankles,

Or perhaps put them next to one another.

And now we stay for approximately two minutes.

I won't speak for this time,

Then I will guide you back out.

Okay.

So good,

Good.

You you you so then again very slowly and mindfully uncross the legs bring them back down to the center let go of the arms bring them down by your sides and then straighten the body then for the rebound simply stay still and notice any effect in the body you and then when you feel any sensations pass bend your knees hug them into your chest hold on to them for a moment and then as a more yang counter pose you can rock from side to side to massage the lower back or perhaps make small circles with the knees first to the right and bend to the left choose what you want to do here the next posture is Sphinx or seal so just bring the legs back down again straighten the legs and then roll over onto your friend now just put the elbows on the mat underneath the shoulders so that the upper body is raised so we have an opening in the chest and some compression in the lower back if this is a good amount for you then stay here if you feel this isn't enough stimulation remembering we're staying in this for a few minutes then just put something underneath the elbows blocks or a pillow for example to raise yourself up that bit further if you feel that there's any pinching or stabbing sensations in the lower back then try opening the legs they can open as far as you want or perhaps bring them closer together you can also place a blanket underneath the groin if the pubic area is pressing into the ground if you still find that you're not getting enough opening or that this isn't the right amount of stimulation for you then you can push up onto the hands so that the arms are straight into seal pose here play with the arms or the elbows if you're in Sphinx moving them further away from you or bringing them closer towards you perhaps separating them further and try to relax the shoulders somewhat be aware that your buttocks may be clenched so just relax the buttocks now we stay in this pose for approximately one more minute keeping the body relaxed the shoulders the bum and if you feel that you want to adjust the pose at any point because something is painful or you want more stretch then please do that you and so when you're ready gently come down so that you're lying flat face down on the floor perhaps bend the elbows and rest the forehead on the arms moving the head to the right side and noticing the effect in the rebound remember to turn the head to the opposite side and relax the body without moving when you feel any sensations pass then just turn over so you're lying on your back and we can move into shavasana relaxation just let the arms and the legs flop out to the sides completely relaxed or perhaps if you want to bring your lower back into the ground a little you can bend the knees putting something underneath a rolled blanket for example it just brings the lower back into the ground and then just let the body completely relax let the floor hold you let yourself just melt into the ground and here we stay for approximately three minutes letting the body take in the effects of the practice you you you you you you now just start to bring your attention back into the room noticing any sounds that you can hear outside the room inside the room maybe within you just noticing without making the story just noticing and then start bringing some very small movements into the body start wiggling the fingers wiggling the toes perhaps pointing the toes pushing the ankles out but very gently making small fists and circling the wrists one direction and the other perhaps you might want to bend the knees and bring them back into the chest holding them there for a moment maybe rocking from side to side or circling the knees to the right and to the left then when you're ready roll onto the left side the inside and stay there for a moment keep your eyes closed for now then very slowly with your head coming up last move back into a seated position maybe the same as the one you started in or any position then finally keeping the eyes closed notice how you feel compared to the start of the class in body and in mind then when you're ready open your eyes and keeping that mindful attention and hopefully sense of calm take that into the rest of your day thank you hope to see you next time namaste

Reviews

Soothing and refreshing 🙏🦋

Perfect, thank you 🤗 Excellent instructions and perfect delivery made for an excellent session ✨ May you enjoy a beautiful and sunny day ☀ Namaste 🙏🏻

Wonderful. When I bend fwd in butterfly the stretch I feel in my back is between my shoulder blades, is that correct? (I can’t bend all the way down)

Loved that there was room for rebound between poses. This was a nice short, well rounded sequence for beginner yin yogis or experienced. Thank you! Will be practicing this again soon.

Excellent. Felt great. Will bookmark. ⚘