The Yin Yoga Podcast

As a Movement for Healing Coach, I work with a lot of people with chronic back pain.  While every client is different, there are some go to practices that I find are very helpful. This practice is a distillation of some of the strategies I use with my clients; Somatic work, Yoga, mindfulness and light, experiential education. It's a bit shorter than my average episode as well, since I want to...

I think we're all a little tired right now. Things are piling up for sure at this stage in the pandemic. This is a practice that I offered recently to bring a bit of TLC and care to some students who are dealing with some heavy stuff. Even in these moments, maybe especially, Yoga has something to offer. This practice is all about being available to now, a moment where everything is right. I&a...

Wall Yin is by far my most requested class. It's a sweetly intense restorative type of practice. During your postures I will cue you through a simple meditation observing both restlessness and peace in the physical body. My theme this week was inspired by the first Matrix movie which, IMO, is full of Yoga/Eastern Philosophy concepts.  For class you need a wall space! You'll place the sho...

Evidence informed practice doesn't need to be complicated. This gentle practice makes use of research backed techniques to reduce anxiety during practice, but also to provide daily tools for relief. Simple, repetitive movements, breath awareness, body awareness, novelty. Each of these are very powerful, drug free methods for anxiety relief. We will focus on the hip flexors and adductors (fron...

This is the kind of wiggly, stretchy, feel-y practice that I love. We will focus our movement on more comfortable side bending, but I think that you will find that the side bend contributes to many other movements like shoulder comfort and hip mobility. Short sections of somatic education will be bookended with favorite Yin poses. As you move we will explore the unfathomably amazing body that you...

Develop skills for your home practice as you learn how to attend to your own needs and intuition. This session is a a minimally guided intuitive Yin practice. Learn how to listen to a pose and to allow the body to guide your choices. Your practice will include the use of a pranayama, three part breath to cultivate a cohesive experience.  Props needed: Anything you may need to help you feel more su...

A very traditional supported Yin with plenty of stillness in our favorite feel good poses. In this practice we will practice outcome independence. Often when we practice we have a goal or intention in mind. While this can be useful, meditation is most productive when we approach with a sense of openness and curiosity. Learn how cultivating outcome independence can enhance your Yin practice, medita...

If you are looking for some yummy supported hip openers, this is the class for you. We will practice facing the long edge of the mat, using props to sink into some Yin standards. We will also explore the qualities of stability and ease and discover their importance in the Yoga tradition.  Props needed: Bolster (or firm pillows), blocks and blanket.  https://yoga.mandyryle.com/ --- Send in a voice...

In this practice we will take bits and pieces of a Feldenkrais Method® Lesson focusing on effortless shoulder movement. Yummy Yin poses will be held at strategic moments to allow you to integrate and rest between progressions. My main intent with this practice is to improve the reach. This is a movement that can be problematic for many. As we age especially, the ability to reach comfortably and fu...

This practice is a special hug for my fellow Yogis who suffer from neck pain, stiffness and tension headaches. We will incorporate a few Yin poses into a somatic lesson that I created to help you to free your sternum. Learning how to free the center of your chest and differentiate your ribs can be life changing. Allowing your hip to communicate with your sternum and your nose and even your eyes wi...

This practice cycles very gentle dynamic stretches with more passive poses. As you breathe in movement and stillness you will meditate on pure sensory data and experientially learn to mute thinking in favor of feeling. This simple meditation has profound effects on your nervous systems and on your quality of movement. As you marinate in sensory data, I'll explain a bit about how beliefs influ...

I love Yin. I hope that is obvious. I've spent years developing my teaching style and skill. I am always studying topics as diverse as cell structure and psychology to apply to my teaching. So, I hope you will understand that sometimes, when I hear people talk about Yin, I get a bit testy. Because, if you poll most Yogis, Yin is about stretching connective tissue. But Yogi, that is the least...

This practice is not a very traditional Yin. If you love to be exposed to something different in your practice you will love this. If you enjoy learning things about yourself in movement and stillness, you will love this. We will make use of little bits and pieces of an Awareness Through Movement lesson called Hip to Shoulder as well as poses that illuminate this relationship particularly well. Th...

Many of us develop an antagonism with our bodies. In our younger years it's because we fret that we don't have the most desirable features, or that we don't measure up to attractiveness standards. As we age we feel betrayed by the body for getting older, for not being as bullet proof as it once was in youth. Illness and pain almost always result in negative feelings about the body,...

If you suffer from neck tension, neck discomfort, or pain this is the practice for you. More than just a little bit of stretching, this practice will address the real reason for your pain and tension. All you need for your practice is a yoga blanket. To learn more about Pain Care Yoga, Please check out my FREE video course, Introduction to Pain Care Yoga: https://yoga.mandyryle.com/free-digital-co...

This is a restorative-y Yin with somatics thrown in for good measure. In my work with students and clients, I find that the sacroiliac joint is quite misunderstood. This really chill practice invites you to explore the anatomy of the hip as well as the movement available to you. It feels so amazing, especially if you get achy in your hips and low back. This is a practice you should bookmark if you...

For this practice you will need a blanket or thick towel.  If you have experienced shoulder pain or discomfort either now, or in the past run, don't walk to your mat! This gentle practice has what you need to move with confidence again. It feels really great and includes all of the elements of practice that I love. Lots of wriggly movement exploration, crave-able stillness and contemplation,...

If you are suffering from a sore, tight or painful neck, drop everything and hit play. When the neck is in this state, it's not really the time to work with it directly. Now is the time for gentle, effortless movement so we will influence the neck passively by moving the pelvis. This technique is all about neuroplasticity. Your brain has been practicing pain and stiffness for awhile, if we wa...

Got neck pain? 3 out of 5 people will say yes. In our new zoom culture it's even more prevalent and I have certainly been seeing this with my clients. My work is mostly with individuals suffering from chronic pain and this practice is one that I employ often. Effortless movement in the neck generated by the pelvis is soothing for the nervous system and informative for the body and interocepti...

Your spine is the most exquisite structure. Capable of incredible mobility and unparalleled stability, it's been evolving for millions of years and has within it the intelligence of eons. Yet, if you listen to popular culture and even some Yoga wisdom, the spine is very delicate. It is in need of protection and only truly stable in a few select positions. From my perspective as a Yoga for Pai...

For me, Somatic Education is an extremely valuable tool for helping my students and clients who suffer from chronic pain. Of particular interest to me are the areas of the neck, shoulder and jaw. This somewhat experimental practice feels incredible but it also illuminates these areas in the body mind in a powerful way using a somatic technique called thumb gliding and traditional Yin poses. Treat...

Hey. Here's the deal. My comfort zone seems to be swimming upstream. I like to make things so much harder than they need to be and struggle and strive with every step. So every now and then I have to remind myself of something. The Universe really wants for me to thrive. Not just me but all of us. I'm not a super spiritual person but I do love science, and I feel like science backs me up...

This blissful practice is perfect for the end of a difficult day. Reconnect with your body, your breath. We'll work with the resources of peace and also activity within the physical body and practice nurturing without agenda. This is a very sweet and mindful practice to replenish yourself though movement, breath and awareness. Props needed: bolster, blocks, blanket Learn more about Yin Yoga T...

I have a voracious appetite for information about neuroscience right now. I'm reading books, research, articles etc... My interest is in applying this knowledge to my teaching. This practice is a little taste of that. Wag with your whole body is a simple practice that combines some light neuroscience education with gentle movement and breathing.  Props: bolster (or two pillows), blocks, blank...

For me the intersection of science and Yoga is really exciting. One area of great convergence is in the study of interoception. The internal sense of oneself is correlated with more compassion, better health and even better perception of time. This practice focuses on the experience of feeling both in a sensory way and emotionally. I'll coach you through Somatic education blended with long ho...