The Yin Yoga Podcast

A debate that rages on. Some students swear by the benefit of of deep and intense duration stretch. Some by a milder attitude for the length of the hold.  Though I think it’s clear that I personally favor the latter, I also think that it depends on your goal for practice. So let’s first consider the goals and then some of the evidence.  This is a very informative episode that just may transform yo...

While you marinate in juicy poses targeting the hips, we will explore a the duality of resistance and acceptance. You will have an opportunity to discover how these qualities manifest themselves in your tissues, in your poses and indeed in your entire experience of self.  We will not dogmatically attempt to annihilate resistance, rather, I will teach you how to view this struggle with compassion a...

This week I am interviewing Addie deHilster. Addie is a mindful movement teacher whose teaching prioritizes mindfulness from the Vipassana tradition. She blends many styles of movement including Yoga, somatics and chi gong to facilitate embodiment.  We discuss how Yin yoga in many ways is already a very accessible form of meditation. You will learn how to apply concepts from Vipassana including co...

For this sublime practice we will blend somatic movements and static Yin poses with a breathing technique known as cellular breathing. This technique hails from the Body Mind Centering somatic tradition and it enhances this practice experience greatly. This is a practice to feel alive in every cell.  Transformational Self Care A Late Winter Wellness Retreat in the Dominican Republic March 3-10, 20...

This practice is a blend of Yin Yoga and pranayama with a bit of somatic work sprinkled in. We will explore a breathing practice that I learned from my mentor Neil Pearson that I call, Expand Your Breathing Options. As you engage in movement and awareness you will also contemplate the gift of breath. This is a practice that is ripe with opportunities to learn and grow. Props needed: Bolster, block...

The upper back is an area that can be a big source of tension and even pain. We also have a fair amount of cultural baggage around the appropriate way to hold our upper back. Even in the Yoga world, we tend to favor a stiff and straight upper back above other shapes. But the upper back is capable of so much more, and I believe we suffer when we get locked in to a specific posture or expression.  I...

While it's true that you could practice Yin Yoga for a lifetime without knowing a thing about science, I do believe that a little scientific knowledge can go a long way. It's amazing how just a bit of understanding can influence the choices you make in your practice or in your teaching. How subjective experiences become even richer and more meaningful. It's amazing how separating fa...

We usually think of Yin as calming, soothing and down regulating. But with a few tweaks, we can cultivate a calm, natural energy as well. Not the jittery wired feeling you get from caffeine but a gentle boost, without the crash.  Back in episode 7 in this 4th season, we discussed breathing techniques, science and how this all applies to Yin Yoga. Please have a listen to learn how you can apply use...

It's a familiar story but it breaks my heart every time. For people with chronic pain, just getting out of bed in the morning can be a real challenge. Though some joint stiffness in the morning is totally normal, debilitating pain that makes you dread getting up is not normal.  There are so many reasons that pain may  be worse in the morning, and we can't cover them all here, but we will...

The hip flexors are a group of muscles on the front of the hip which include the psoas, the illiacus and the rectus femoris. These muscles flex the hip, or draw the knee up toward the torso. However, a pain care approach will never reduce an issue to just one aspect of self such as certain muscles or tissues. So this practice makes use of several pain care strategies. We will explore hip flexor pa...

For something so simple, there sure is a lot of disagreement about how to breathe in Yin Yoga. In this episode I unpack some of the evidence around Yogic breathing and help you to understand how you might employ the evidence and various techniques into your own practice and/or teaching. Understanding the evidence can transform your Yin practice and as you will see your own health and well being. T...

The hip is more than a collection of tissues. It's a unique and complicated element of the embodied self. In this practice we combine a somatic lesson with some of your favorite Yin poses. These will facilitate deep learning for you and your hips! Some of the poses are not so familiar so I have again provided a pose gallery. You can find the images to follow along with here:  For your practic...

This is a go to, short practice to relieve neck and shoulder tension naturally. The whole practice can be done from a simple chair. You will engage in some somatic work as well as gentle stretching to increase range of motion and reduce feelings of stiffness. You will also learn about the relationship between these cranky tissues and the nervous systems. Chronic muscle tension in neck and shoulder...

This movement practice is supported by a form of meditation known as a Koan. Essentially a line of inquiry that you explore quietly. This type of meditation can lead to profound insight and transformation. Your movement will focus on the lower body with a progressive sequence of twists. This is a sweet and inquisitive practice that will leave you feeling calm and centered.  Transformational Self C...

Chronic stress is linked to many of the most pernicious chronic diseases that plague modern humans. Managing stress is of critical importance for health, memory, learning and quality of life. We can't change the stressful times that we live in. But there are simple, evidence informed strategies that you can use to reduce your stress in the moment, and with practice, manage your responses to s...

At the start of the new year. Most of us are looking forward and hoping to make some postive changes for the future. I offer this practice as a framework for moving forward with compassion. With kindness for where you have been and hope for where you are going. Evidence shows that we are actually more effective at meeting our goals when we start with self compassion.  To see a gallery of the poses...

Yin Yoga is so much more than stretching. For those with chronic pain, it has so much to offer, way beyond increasing flexibility. As a pain care coach, I provide practices, and techniques to my clients so that they may be the leader of their own healing process. Though I have many many strategies to choose from, when providing a customized plan, almost every client has Yin in their program. This...

Many of my clients experience a pain flare during or after travel. Pain is so complex and multifaceted, so there is never any one reason that it rears it’s ugly head. Often, when pain is flaring in a travel situation, it’s because we have some anxiety and we aren’t moving very much. This practice addresses both issues. I’ve chosen the stretches we all crave when we’ve been sitting in a car or airp...

This gentle but powerful practice explores a concept as well as the shoulder through movement and mindfulness. Your practice will be supported by a simple task, moving from a place of curiosity rather than agenda. You will have an opportunity to explore how your beliefs shape your impressions of your shoulder as well as your movments. This is a very deep and satisfying practice that may just trans...

When most of us hear the word acceptance, we think of giving up or giving in. Our culture makes a virtue of resisting, fighting, wriggling out of difficult circumstances. But there is enormous value in the practice of accepting first. Acknowledging is the first step in self compassion.  This pod-practice is about moving forward with compassion, rather than squashing our feelings or disappointment...

I’m sort of amazed, and appalled, about how much misinformation there is about neck pain. One really irksome myth is that if your neck is tight, some stretching will help bring relief and over time, this stretching will fix the tightness and the pain it is “causing”. Total horse$%I$. Sorry to all of those influencers who are peddling this myth.  There are ways that we can use stretches as part of...

Gratitude is a practice just like any other. It requires effort, even when it's challenging. But it's worth it.  People who commit to a more grateful existence experience better physical and mental health, more happiness and closer relationships.  For this practice we will not look outside of self but deep within to the very building block of life, the cell. We will build a foundation of...

No human can survive without the ability to engage with the world. Our nervous systems are beautifully evolved to help us to attend to our survival needs by interacting with not just the objects and situations of the natural world, but also, other human nervous systems.  But the opposite is true as well. No human can survive without the ability to disengage from the world. Our nervous systems evol...

Breathing is the simplest thing in the world. But it's also incredibly powerful. Science is just recently tuning in to the capacity of the breath to heal mental illness, chronic pain, chronic stress and so much more. While there is no wrong way to breathe, there are certainly more strategic ways to breathe. This practice is a purposeful exploration of the breath in simple, restorative posture...

All of us tend to hold little grudges against our bodies. Maybe you can't do something as well as you used to, or pain casues you to opt out of things you really want to do. This is a wall practice which will focus on healthy and happy range of motion for the hips and knees. But we will also explore a simple meditation on the benevolent and loyal body. Perhaps we can release a few grudges we&...