Our modern age comes with lots of convenience but it’s also hectic and, from time to time, not good for our mental health. My yoga and meditation classes are the perfect antidote.
My classes combine hypnosis techniques, yoga nidra (also known as yogic sleep) and sound healing with yin yoga to help calm the nervous system and balance the body.
If you’ve never heard of yin yoga before, I can share that as a clinical hypnotherapist, yoga teacher and sound therapist, it has a wide range of benefits, both physical and mental, even for complete beginners.
Let’s take a closer look at what yin yoga involves, and its many advantages.
Yang yoga v yin yoga
Yoga has been practiced for thousands of years, and breaks down into two main forms.
Yang yoga
Yang yoga is an ancient practice, with Vedic Yoga dating back to at least 10,000 years. Classes have evolved over the generations to include several different styles, such as Hatha/Vinyasa, Vini, Anusara, Kundalini and Ashtanga, to name but a few, but they all have the same fundamental aim.
Yang yoga helps connect breath with repetitive movements that are great for strengthening, lengthening and toning our superficial muscles.
It is suitable for anyone and is a dynamic and great way to get fit, as well as helping relax our minds as we meditate. You can even combine it with a workout and enjoy what’s known as hot yoga.
Yin yoga
Yin yoga is much younger. It was first founded in the late 1970s by martial arts expert and Taoist yoga teacher Paulie Zink.
Yin yoga classes work in almost the opposite way to yang yoga. Although they too include breath work, the poses in yin yoga target ligaments, tendons, and fascia, the deep connective tissue in our bodies that are critical for mobility and flexibility.
This connective tissue is far less flexible than our superficial muscle and so needs a different method of relaxation.
That’s why, unlike yang yoga poses, which last for five to 10 breaths, those who practice yin yoga learn to hold their body in various passive postures for very long periods to really relax their deep connective tissue. This can be between 2 and 5 minutes, depending on the experience of those in the class.
Through this deeper form of relaxation, as a yin yoga teacher, I encourage students to tune into the subtle energies and sensations, while also stimulating the vital energy or chi, flowing through the fascia in meridian pathways.
The benefits of taking a yin yoga class
Although they are less dynamic than yang yoga poses, physically, yin yoga classes can be more of a challenge for complete beginners, because of how long they have to hold postures.
Several yin yoga poses can feel uncomfortable after just a few moments as the exercise targets their deep connective tissues. This is why some yoga teachers use props during a class to prevent overstretching.
As an experienced yin yoga teacher, I know this yoga practice is an excellent way to release deeply held tension in the connective tissue and the rest of the body.
Fascia
Stretching and stimulating the layers of fascia in our body with long holds allows it to become and increase the flow of nutrients, boosting the overall functioning of the body.
Ligaments
Ligaments are robust fascial bands that connect bones to bones and protect our joints from being knocked out of place, limiting their range of motion. However, as we age, ligaments contract. Yin yoga stretches them, keeping our joints supple.
Tendons
This connective tissue connects muscle to bone. Yang yoga strengthens and shortens the tendons, decreasing their range of motion and increasing the risk of injury in athletes. Yin poses gently lengthen tendons, restoring their motion.
Joints
Many of us don’t exercise as much as we should, while our daily lives involve lots of short-range body movements. That can lead to a drop in fluids in the joint capsules, putting the joint at risk. Gentle pressure from yin yoga postures can revitalise them and renew the fluid levels.
Viscera
Yin yoga’s gentle and sustained pressure on our internal organs, enables them to be stimulated, improving how they work.
Myofascia
Yin yoga postures also improve the quality of the connective tissue, increasing the range of flexibility in our muscles.
Beyond the body
But the benefits of yin yoga classes are more than just physical. Because the poses are held for longer, yin yoga classes are a wonderful way to achieve a sense of balance and calm, boosting your well being.
As a form of meditation and mindfulness, yin yoga classes are extremely effective for reducing anxiety levels, because they give us the space and time we need to be still and relax our endlessly busy minds.
The long-held poses of yin yoga also pressure our endocrine glands, improving our hormonal balance and leading to more balanced emotions.
How many times a week should I do yin yoga?
Great question. Most people can benefit from attending yin yoga classes once or twice a week, especially if they have a busy life or a physically demanding job. It’s even suitable for those who are pregnant.
As a yoga teacher, I know attending classes regularly can improve flexibility in your deep connective tissue as the postures stretch your body.
You can also expect a drop in stress levels thanks to the focus on being still and healing, as yin yoga teaches you to relax, physically and mentally.
If you’re looking for a way to escape the busy world for a time, create some space within yourself to slow your mind and catch your breath, my yin yoga classes are the perfect solution.
As a yin yoga teacher, what can I expect from your class?
Inspired by Chinese Meridian Theory and yoga philosophy, I have created a class that combines yin yoga, hypnosis techniques, yoga nidra and sound healing.
It stimulates chi/prana flow to our joints, connective tissue and bone, balancing the body, mind and emotions to generate feelings of positivity and mindfulness.
But it doesn’t end there. My yin yoga classes are followed by HypnoNidra and a sound bath ‘savasana’ (final pose).
HypoNidra
HypnoNidra is a form of meditation students experience while stretching out on a yoga mat. I create a guided meditation, using a combination of hypnosis techniques and yoga nidra (yogic sleep), to calm the nervous system and encourage self compassion and emotional wellbeing.
Savasana sound bath
At the end of the class, I use crystal singing bowls to facilitate a ‘savasana’ sound bath that allows everyone to bathe in the vibrations of the crystal bowls.
These vibrations and frequencies are said to release energetic blockages and allow the chi/prana to flow.
The savasana sound bath also allows our body and mind to absorb and assimilate the wonderful benefits of my yin yoga classes, which include:
- Enhanced circulation and body flexibility
- Release of fascia and deep connective tissue
- Improved joint mobility through stretching
- Balance the organs through meridian stimulation
- Calm the mind, body and nervous system
- Reduce anxiety levels
- Encourage self-compassion and kindness
My hypnosis techniques
As I said at the start of this blog, the modern world has a lot of advantages, but I also know that many people can be completely overwhelmed by it, leading to increased anxiety.
Our bodies’ natural physical response to that is to tense our muscles, and teaching ourselves to relax can be much easier said than done.
That’s where my hypnosis techniques come in. They are an effective way to help a person deal with a range of conditions such as anxiety and stress, by calming the nervous system and accessing the body’s natural relaxation response.
Case studies
Among the people I have helped was someone who lacked confidence to overcome certain life stresses, but whose quality of life “significantly improved” after hypnotherapy sessions with me.
Another client said hypnotherapy helped them through a period of stress, anxiety and poor sleep. They told me they had seen a positive change in their mindset and a dramatic reduction in stress levels.
Combining my hypnotherapy techniques with yin yoga, HypnoNidra and a ‘savasana’ sound bath has helped even more people find a natural way to slow their minds and relax.
Are your yin yoga studios near me?
If you live in or around Cambridge, then the answer’s yes. Click here to find out more.
Make sure you bring a yoga mat and I recommend having a blanket as well as cushions or pillows for use during the yin yoga classes, and for comfort during HypnoNidra. You can bring your own blocks or bricks but they are not essential.
Sign up for my yin yoga course
Are you looking for a natural antidote to the hurly burly of modern living? Great! Now’s the ideal time to sign up to my five-week course, Moving into Stillness with Yin Yoga & HypnoNidra.
Each session costs just £12.50 and lasts for 75 minutes. Click the ‘I’m interested’ button on this page to book your place.
