Yin and Moon Practices.

The following practices are in our schedule to offer time to ‘un-do’ to simply ‘be.’

An astanga practice is challenging and demanding and whilst the practice offers softness and ease alongside strength and stability it takes time to cultivate and we all need to rest and change our practice from time to time.

At The Yoga Hutch we offer regular Yin and Gong Baths. A yin practice offers a balance between a ‘yang’ active practice and a ‘yin’ softer practice to work deeply within the tissues of the body to improve mobility and create space. This is a constant exploration for us all as nothing is static as we move through our lives and the challenges it holds up to us. We quieten the mind and develop a self-reflective awareness.

“A yogi… lives on this earth like any other human being. he thinks, enjoys and eats like others. the great difference… is that he has awakened a dormant facility called… awareness”

Swami Satyananda Saraswati

(Born 1923) India

Yin Yoga: (restorative)

Yin yoga releases deeply held tension within the connective tissue (fascia) throughout the body, particularly in the less mobile joints such as the hips, shoulders and spine. By exerting a healthy stress on these joints, it makes the tissues, especially ligaments and tendons thicker and longer, thereby less susceptible to injury. Yin Yoga is a wonderful counterbalance to more yang yoga practices, such as Ashtanga or Hatha yoga or for sports people of any discipline.

Yin Yoga is a slower introspective practice where we focus on the breath while holding a pose in stillness at our ‘edge’, for a longer period of time. The edge is where sensations are strong but not so much so that we are struggling to maintain the pose and the breath becomes shallow. Yin Yoga poses are held in a passive way, albeit with some muscle activation to maintain the body’s alignment. The focus on the breath in Yin Yoga promotes a sense of deep calm and relaxation, allowing the body to soften and tension to yield using gravity. A Yin Yoga practice often ends with a short meditation, mantra or affirmation.

Yin Yoga is based on stimulating the flow of energy (chi in Chinese medicine or prana in the language of Indian yoga asana) through the system of energy channels in the body (Meridians or Nadis). It is this energy flow, which releases tension from the body.

Paulie Zink, a Kung Fu teacher and mechanic is considered to be the father of Yin Yoga. He taught Daoist yoga, which included poses held for a long time. Paul Grilley, a teacher of yoga and anatomy studied with Paulie Zink and further developed the concept of Yin Yoga by examining its effects on human anatomy.

Kate Towers guides our regular Yin Yoga in the Yin and Gong Baths hosted with Simon Walker of 'Sound Hearts'.

The sessions are suitable for both beginners and more experienced practitioners and she provides guidance on the use of props to facilitate finding each person’s edge in the practice. Kate also offers optional nurturing hands-on adjustments to aid proprioception, directionality or to stimulate energy channels further.

"When I initially attended my first Yin and Gong Bath, my body was in a super-stressed state due to a persistent health problem. I was unable to relax and remember how to feel calm. During the Yin class and Sound Bath, I noticed a gentle release of tension within my body and a sense of groundedness that I had not experienced in ages. Within half an hour of leaving, I noticed I was without symptoms for the first time in months. The main ongoing improvement is that my body now remembers how to relax and let go. This workshop has served me well in my recovery. I love to regularly return and connect with the gentle stretch positions combined with the vibrational sense of relaxation. Wonderful."

Lisa

"Your Yin classes have really been life changing, I feel like they have helped me connect to a part of me that I haven't nurtured before. Finding my edge and focusing on my breathing has really helped my "mind chatter" too and I sleep like a baby afterwards! I also really like the poems you find and recite in the classes, they have always resonated with me and left me feeling uplifted."

Lauren

Moon Practice

Astanga (Mysore) studios traditionally close for a day of rest on the new and full moon. Instead of a this we offer alternative practices to balance our energy with a grounding ‘moon sequence’ of hip and heart openers. The practice supports your regular astanga or hatha practice with less dynamic intensity and less work through the upper body. while emphasising the hips, groin, lower spine and abdomen. It can also be practiced to support yourself through injury or as an alternative during the menstrual cycle. The practice can be adapted for everyone and is suitable for men and women.

The full moon practice diary can be seen on the moon days 2021 page.

Book a class or course with us

Please click here for our timetable, go to the date of your first class for booking. Contact Sarah 07703599609/ sarah.theyogahutch@gmail.com if you have any questions.

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