Articles About Yin Yoga


  • The Yinside of Breathing: Benefits of Yoga
    The Yinside of Breathing: Benefits of Yoga

    Author Bernie Clark

    Stress is unavoidable in our culture and some amount of stress is actually needed for our bodies to be strong and healthy. All exercise includes the dual components of stress and rest. However, when we experience too much stress and not enough rest, problems arise
  • The Yin-side of Bandhas
    The Yin-side of Bandhas

    Author Bernie Clark

    If you have been ambling along the yogic path for any length of time, you will undoubtedly have heard about bandhas. Everyone knows: a bandha is a lock. More precisely, it is an energetic lock.
  • Yoga for the Working Stiff
    Yoga for the Working Stiff

    Author Carrie Kelley Kufta

    I am every serene yogi’s worst nightmare. I’m the person who shows up five minutes before class starts, frantically searching for a place to roll out my mat, perspiring because I know I’m late, and now everyone can see I’m late. My stream of consciousness plays at high speed, sounding something like this...
  • Water (Jala) in a Pitta Time
    Water (Jala) in a Pitta Time

    Author Melina Meza

    The water (jala) element plays a significant role in the Ayurvedic system during the summer season to balance the intensity of fire (agni) which can be transformative or fierce. Water is considered a balancing, cooling, calming force, essential to maintain our health, longevity, and juicy tissues. If you get overexposed to the fire element in nature, or become dehydrated, over-exercise during the hottest time of day, lose sleep, or travel too often, your luscious water body and inner reservoir of life-sustaining fluids will begin to evaporate into space and leave you feeling irritated, tired, and unfocused. Without sufficient water and hydration, your inner ecosystem will be in the red-alert, “high risk category” for running too hot and dry in the Pitta time of year, which occurs during June-August in North America.
  • Yin Yoga for the Wrists
    Yin Yoga for the Wrists

    Author Bernie Clark

    Body workers, typists and musicians are just some of the people who suffer from repetitive stress syndrome (RSS) and often this occurs in their wrists. There is a band of fascia surrounding the wrists called the retinaculum and there are many layers of ligaments, such as the carpal ligament, that pass over the tendons of the flexors of the fingers. Repetitive, yang-like movements of the hand can damage these yin-like tissues creating problems with names like "carpal tunnel syndrome."1 Yin-like exercises will help thicken and strengthen these tissues, if done properly. 
  • Yin Yoga for Shoulders and Arms
    Yin Yoga for Shoulders and Arms

    Author Bernie Clark

    The shoulder is one of the most mobile and complicated joints in our body, capable of a large variety of movements. One reason that this is so, is because what we refer to as shoulder movement is really two separate movements; that of the arm and that of the scapula. The arm has 6 degrees of freedom1 while the scapula can move in 8 directions.2  If we were to analyse all the possible combinations we would have to look at 48 movements. We don't need to have 48 postures, fortunately, to keep our shoulders in optimum condition. There are a couple of classic positions for the arms that will work the shoulders quite nicely. 
  • Yin Yoga for the Neck
    Yin Yoga for the Neck

    Author Bernie Clark

    We carry a lot of stress in the neck and shoulder area, especially people who spend great swaths of time typing or working with their hands. Tight neck and shoulder muscles can lead to headaches and shallow breathing. Chronically tight necks can lead to shortened ligaments and a very restricted range of motion for the neck.