Yin Yoga Podcast

S.2 | EP. 24 Wow, It feels like just yesterday I was starting this podcast and here we are at the end of season 2. I'm getting ready to take a break over the summer to heal regroup and plan season 3. But before I do I wanted to announce that if you are listening to this episode when it drops, registration for my 60+ hour Therapeutic Yin Training is open (whoot). You can click this link to lear...

S. 2 | EP. 23 The flame that burns twice as bright burns half as long"  Lao Tzu's If you live in the northern hemisphere and you are listening to or watching this episode as it comes out then today is the first day of Summer. So in honour of the day, I thought I would do a special episode on Embracing the Fire Element Summer in Taoism and TCM Element of Fire corresponds to Summer in Tradi...

Do you ever feel like Your Yin Yoga classes are getting boring? The first thing to get clear on as a teacher is, are you bored or are your students bored? Most of them (your students) aren't bored It's in your head, dear teacher, you are bored. They are probably not. 90% of the time, your students are not bored. They are content to do the same thing over and over and over again because it&...

S. 2 | EP. 21 This week's episode was sparked by a question from a listener: "What about when you don't feel it physically? I don't feel it's, and she has in quotations, it working. So that functional element, which Paul and you are teaching is not there. I'm able to hold these poses for five-plus minutes without fiddling, moving, or being impatient. I mean, it's bliss...

S. 2 | EP. 20 What I have witnessed many times when I attend other people's yin-yang classes is that the class starts with some kind of grounding and centring. Then quickly move into sun salutations. Then there's a dead stop in the practice into child's pose, which is their transition into yin. And then they throw in some Yin poses. That's not very skillful. And here's why our...

S. 2 | EP. 19 Is Yin Yoga For Beginners? In today's episode, we're diving into a comment that caught my eye in a Yin Yoga Facebook group: "Yin Yoga is not suitable for beginners." My initial reaction? Say what? That's news to me! So, I decided to dig deeper. Why would someone say that? Unfortunately, I didn't get any answers from the person who made the statement 🤷🏻‍♀️...

S. 2 | EP. 18 Hands Off - Should We Offer Hands-On Assists Yin Yoga Classes? Today's episode, which I think is going to be a juicy one and probably a little bit controversial, perhaps  (I am known for having unpopular opinions), we will be exploring the question of offering hands-on assists in Yin yoga classes from my perspective. If you are new to the podcast, or if you're new to Yin, you...

S 2| EP. 17 CW: Trauma, Sexual Assault This is Part Three in a three-part mini-series on Trauma, the nervous system, and Yin Yoga. In part one Alyssa Stephenson and I discussed the nervous system and Trauma.trauma-sensitive yogaIn part two Nicole Marcia and I discussed the definition of Trauma Sensitive Yoga and how we can make Yin Yoga Trauma-informed. In this final part, we come full circle in s...

S 2| EP. 16 CW: Trauma, sexual assault, addiction Is Yin Yoga Trauma Sensitive? This is a nuanced and complex conversation. I hope that this conversation will give some clarity on what trauma-sensitive Yoga is, and what it's not. And the difference between trauma-sensitive Yoga and trauma-informed Yoga is. This episode will help teachers learn how to make their Yin classes more trauma-informed...

S 2| EP. 15 CW: Trauma, addiction, domestic abuse When I started planning this podcast and the topics I wanted to cover, I knew we had to have an episode on trauma but as it turns out we will have three. This episode with Alyssa Stefanson will be the first in a three-part series on trauma starting first by laying the foundation of what trauma is and an understanding of our nervous system. As soon...

S 2| EP. 14 I wanted to talk about today's topic, because not only do I see it come up in my classes with my students, I see it come up with teachers that I've taught in my teacher training. But also, in the yogaverse in general on Facebook groups, etc. But I also think it's sort of rampant in our world in general. So today's topic is: Are You Practicing/Teaching Yin Yoga with your...

S 2| EP. 13 What we are talking about in this episode is what in Yin Yoga is known as the Rebound. Due to Yin Yoga’s ability to affect the fascia of the body, coming out of a Yin shape can be quite a different feeling than a more active movement.based practice. Therefore, the urge to moan and groan, to move slowly and mindfully, is normal and, in fact, a good sign. Some teachers tend to skip over...

S 2| EP. 12 Is Yin Yoga 'safe' for Moms to be? Or what about Moms who have recently had babies? What do Yoga teachers need to know about Pre/Postnatal and Yin Yoga? I'm excited about today's guest. I'm stoked about it, not only for the subject matter but because Clare is an expert in her field. But also selfishly because our guest is a fellow Canadian and a fellow, Albertan. So...

S 2| EP. 11 How Do We Hold Brave Space? I think first, it's important to explain what I mean by Brave Space. We often hear about creating a 'safe space' or hear Yoga teachers say that their classes are a 'safe space'.But I would much rather create a Brave Space.  Unlike a safe space, brave spaces are designed to handle risk and discomfort. The people within them might be dealin...

S 2| EP. 10 Hypermobility and Yin Yoga: What You Need to Know   Hypermobility is a word that is unskillfully tossed around the Yoga-verse like confetti. Teachers labelling their students as Hypermobile with a good understanding of what Hypermobility actually is. Hypermobility is a term often used when a person’s joints appear to have more range of motion than “average” and is sometimes referred to...

Today's episode is highly requested. So today's topic is Sequencing Yin Yoga First, I want to mention that these are just my opinions. I will say that my framework for sequencing comes from a few different places.1) My original teacher training was in the Iyengar Yoga tradition, which does have some different sequencing rules than those of you who were trained in the Vinyasa Ashtanga syste...

S 2| EP. 8 In this episode, I'll discuss whether or not you should theme your Yin Yoga classes. I think that sometimes when you graduate from your teacher training program,, you feel like there are these gaps in your knowledge and  then you look around and you see all these fancy classes that people are doing with themes and all this extra stuff, it can feel like a lot of pressure. So, let&#39...

S 2| EP. 7 When we're a teacher who has moved from a movement form of yoga into a quieter form of yoga. There can be this awkward feeling about all the silence. There can be discomfort with not talking as much and allowing space for quiet exploration. Sometimes this comes just from it being a habit from having taught a more movement form of Yoga. And so as teachers, we can think that we want t...

S 2| EP. 6 This is Part 2 of a Two-Part Series: Why I Boycott Yoga Alliance. In this episode, we hear from two guests: Brea Johnson of  Heart and Bones Yoga Brea's  Instagram And Alex Crow of   Yoga Physics Alex's  Instagram Yoga Teachers: Join The Waitlist for my Therapeutic Yin Yoga Training at the bottom and top of the Page To Join my Yin Yoga Classes on Zoom To subscribe to my On-Deman...

S 2| EP. 6 This is the beginning of a little mini-series on the subject of the Yoga Alliance. I always meant to do an episode on Yoga Alliance because there are so many misconceptions about Yoga Alliance, what they are, what they aren't, and whether or not you need to be registered with Yoga Alliance to teach Yoga (spoiler alert the answer is no). My Therapeutic Yin Training is not registered...

S 2| EP. 5 For this episode, we have a guest interview, which I'm doing a little bit differently than how I've done. Guest interviews in the past. Typically speaking,me when I do guest interviews, I get their whole origin story. We talk about the topic, and then we do some sort of icebreaker questions at the end. The reason that I'm doing this one differently (and I have a feeling ther...

S 2| EP. 4 If you are newer to Yin circles, then you may not know. That we don't follow these kinds of "alignment" rules in Yin Yoga. If you're not familiar with the work of Paul Grilley my teacher. He has what was a DVD (and is now an online streaming presentation) called Anatomy for Yoga. and one of the geniuses of Paul, and one of the biggest contributions he's made to the...

S 2| EP. 3 In this episode, we will dive into the question of what is an advanced Yin Yoga? So in the yogaverse, which we are all probably part of, Yoga has been taken from its original intent and has been turned into a bunch of funny shapes that you make with your body. So most of the time when teachers are asking this question, they're talking about the Asana or the shapes. They're talki...

S 2| EP. 0 bonus According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, it would be unwise to set New Year Resolutions. Winter is the yin-est of the yin. So in a yin time of year, the element for winter is water. And this time of year is meant to be a time of year when you go inward. Where you slow down, where you cozy up, and where you go inside. So it's meant to be more reflective. You're meant to b...

S 2| EP. 1 In this episode, we go over the difference between Yin Yoga and Restorative Yoga. Yin versus restorative, same, same, but different? So one of the reasons I think this is important to talk about is because there's often confusion between these two styles, both with the teachers and with students. And so if you are a teacher or a studio owner who has never taken specific, specialized...