I’m delighted to announce I’m finally releasing another free yin yoga practice video. This yin yoga practice is just over an hour, and was shot at a beautiful coastal location in Mexico. To practice along, it’s helpful to have some extra props like blankets, a bolster, or a block nearby. As always, please feel free to modify your practice depending on your needs.
Yin Yoga and Kidney Qi for Energy
In Chinese Medicine, the Kidneys are related to deep stamina and fatigue. This yin yoga practice is very gentle, targeting the Kidney and Bladder meridians to build energy. If you’ve been feeling exhausted and depleted, this practice will help replenish your Kidney Qi reserve, leading to greater vitality.
What is Yin Yoga?
In a yin yoga practice, postures are softly held (mainly on the floor) for long periods. Holding a yin yoga posture creates circulation in the tissues and joints, keeping them flexible and supple, calms the nervous system, and increases the flow of Prana or Qi through the body’s energetic channel system.
Holding poses also encourages the inward turn of attention to a place of meditation and contemplation. Much of our lives these days is very “yang”. We are busy, goal-oriented, and focused on activity. Many of us often rely on external measures when seeking validation. On the other hand, yin yoga is a practice of slowing down and trusting the body’s inner promptings.
While the term “yin yoga” was coined more recently, a slower, more contemplative approach to yoga practice has been part of the yogic tradition for a very long time. One of the aims of yoga is to create balance and integration in the body, heart, and mind. A yin-style practice helps to create an environment where balance can occur.
When first beginning a yin yoga practice, it can seem boring or too passive, but just because it’s slow and simple doesn’t mean it’s easy! In fact, as you hold the pose, notice how the mind tends to try to “escape”. Perhaps you drift into thinking about past pleasant memories, or maybe you find yourself mired in a critical or “comparative” mind. When this happens, allow what is happening, but aim to bring yourself back to the present sensations in the body.
If you’re interested in learning even more about yin yoga, you can study with me in my Mindful Yin Yoga Online program.
