Welcome to my Yinfomercial where I will outline the principles for a safe and effective yin practice.

 

1. As you come into a Yin posture, please do so slowly and mindfully and pause when you meet resistance and feel mild, moderate sensation in the target area or areas you intend to stress. On a sensation scale of ten, one should feel about a 2 to a 4 - dully, achy sensations, never sharp or painful. Throughout the time you hold these Yin postures you will want to play your edge with the Goldilocks principal in mind...not too much, not too little, just right which means you might need to delve deeper or back off...listen to your body

 

2. Relax the muscles in your target area/areas - this will allow for the absorption of the positive stress to your connective tissue (joints, ligaments, tendons, bones and fascia)

 

3. Hold these shapes for relatively longer periods of time - approximately 3-5 mins - exit out sooner if pain or tingling/numbness occurs

 

4. Lastly when you are coming out of a Yin pose, please do so as slowly and mindfully as you came into it - allowing the body to acclimate for at least 30 seconds to a minute as the tissues creep back - you might feel like the target area(s) feel temporarily weak or fragile. Rest in a resonance or rebound pose where you can feel and marvel at the changes that have taken place. Then you might add movement to flood the targeted areas with blood flow or other fluids and help the tissues rebound.