Yin Yoga

Yin Yoga is a quiet style of yoga in which each pose is held for three to five minutes, and sometimes up to ten. Instead of engaging muscles, the long, soft hold reaches the deep tissues of the body: fascia, tendons, ligaments and joints. At the same time it calms the nervous system. It is a form of inner grounding, the place where you stop running, consciously let go, and allow the body, the intuition and the dreams to speak quietly.

Yin teaches the wisdom of letting go

Yin is not only a style of practice, it is a stance. In a world that is all yang (effort, pace, achievement) yin chooses to yield even while everyone else keeps racing ahead. This is not retreat out of weakness but a choice made out of wisdom: some things in the body and the mind open only when you stop pushing them.

You can think of yin as an inner earth. It is the soil in which our dreams gestate, in which intuition is refined, in which we listen to the body and come into the stillness of our centre. In class this happens quite literally and physically: a few minutes of stillness in a single pose bring attention back inward, to what lies underneath the noise.

When actions arise from the receptive still point they have real meaning. Ideas that emerge from this level of imagination serve more than the individual: they serve the great ecosystem from which our well-being is drawn. (Toko-pa Turner)

What happens in a Yin Yoga class

A yin class is built from roughly eight to twelve poses only, most of them seated or lying down. Each pose is held for three to five minutes, sometimes up to ten. Props are used (bolster, blocks, blanket, strap) not to make things easier, but so the body can genuinely release instead of holding itself up.

Because we stay in the pose longer, the real challenge is to remain present in it and keep the mind awake. The practice is deeply meditative: we train to stay in the moment, to observe the drama the mind produces, without intervening.

The practice rests on three simple principles, articulated by leading yin teachers Paul Grilley and Bernie Clark:

• Find your edge. Move into the pose until sensation appears, then back off slightly. Yin is not meant to hurt.
• Become still. Let go of the small adjustments and the fidgeting, and let the body surrender to gravity.
• Hold for time. Time is what does the work. Connective tissue responds to gentle, sustained pressure, not to repetition.

What yin does for the body

The physical layer. Yin improves joint mobility by releasing the deep tissues: fascia, tendons, joints and bones. Unlike a brief muscular stretch, gentle pressure sustained over long minutes reaches the connective tissue itself, where restrictions accumulate from prolonged sitting, from running or from strength training.

The energetic layer. In Chinese medicine, yin poses are organised around the meridian pathways of the body. The practice works like self-administered acupressure, releasing and strengthening the flow of energy (chi) to the different organs, which supports the immune system and improves our emotional state.

The nervous system layer. A long hold in a supported pose, with slow breathing, shifts the nervous system from a state of action into a state of rest and digest. This is why many people leave a yin class calmer, sleep better, and report a drop in their sense of stress.

Yin and yang: how yin fits into the rest of your practice

We do not get many chances to stop the race of daily life, and it is worth adding one static session to the weekly routine to balance more active practices. If you practise Vinyasa, Ashtanga or Power Yoga, or you run, swim or cycle, yin is the precise complement. It works on exactly what the active practices never reach.

• Yin versus Vinyasa and Ashtanga. Vinyasa and Ashtanga are yang: movement, repetition, heat, muscular work. Yin is static, relatively cool, and aimed at the tissues beneath the muscle. Combining both in one week gives you strength as well as range.
• Yin versus stretching. In stretching classes the target is the muscle and the hold is short. In yin the hold is far longer and the target is the connective tissue and the joint.
• Yin versus yoga therapy. In yoga therapy the practice is built around a specific physical condition, injury or limitation, and the teacher adapts the poses to the individual need. Yin Yoga is a group class with a uniform structure in which everyone holds the same poses. Both are gentle, but one is therapeutic and the other is an ongoing practice.
• Yin and meditation. The long hold helps develop awareness of thoughts, and even slows and stops them, so the method directly supports meditation and mindfulness practice.

Yin Yoga at Studio Naim

Studio Naim runs about 35 Yin Yoga classes a week across ten branches: Tel Aviv (Frenkel, Ibn Gabirol, Maze, Rothschild), Jaffa (Ben Gamliel), Ramat Gan (Bialik, Sokolov, Badner), Ramat Hasharon (Sokolov) and Haifa (Kiat 1, Downtown). Classes run 60 or 75 minutes and are taught by teachers who specialise in slow practice and in working with props.

The practice is open to everyone, including complete beginners, and the studio membership covers all branches and all yoga classes. Exact times are updated in the timetable, and joining options are listed on the memberships and pricing page.