Intro to Yin Yoga by Amelia Smith
Location: Embodied Health, 2506 University Avenue W, St. Paul (@ intersection of 280/I-94)
Time: 10:00 a.m. to noon
Investment: $20
Open to All Levels of Yoga Experience (including none!)
One of the aims of Yin Yoga is described here by the founder of Yin Yoga, Paul Grilley:
There are two principles that differentiate yin [yoga] practice from more yang approaches to yoga: holding poses for at least several minutes and stretching the connective tissue around a joint.(Yoga Journal article, Yin Yoga by Paul Grilley, date not cited)
One of the reasons yoga poses were developed thousands of years ago is they make your body supple, healthy and balanced enough to sit in meditation postures for hours and hours. Sitting in meditation, practicing concentration and mindfulness, provides the fertile ground for the lotus flower of Samadhi (enlightenment, divine connection and union) to grow and blossom.
Dharana, concentration, and Dhyana, meditation, are two of the eight limbs of yoga and are one practice that leads to greater inner peace, clarity and compassion. (For more information on this, see my previous post on the 8 limbs of yoga.)
If you are constantly distracted by a sore lower back, weakness in your abdominal or pelvic core, neck pain or knee pain when you are sitting (whether it's for long hours of concentration at your computer for work or long hours of concentration in the practice of Dharana and Dhyana) you will be much more challenged to reach your objective. It really doesn't matter if that objective is a term paper, a speech, a database, a drive, or eternal bliss. Pain and discomfort will present a major obstacle along the path to reaching your goal.
That's where Yin Yoga can enter and show you how to receive stillness within a long-held pose while you observe all of the delicious stretches and changes taking place around your joints. You'll leave this workshop with a more flexible body and a different attitude toward being still and observing yourself in practice. For questions, feel free to call 651-235-8254 (Lucinda) or email Embodied Health. See you on Sunday!
