3- Yin

Yin yoga is a type of yoga, that if you asked my a while back, I would have told you thats what yoga is.  Yin is slow, intentional, introspective, meditative and not dynamic to the outside spectator.

The postures in Yin are held for a relatively long time. The poses are 5-7 minutes and have a slow, methodical pace to the pose.  These poses are effective for relaxing, deep stretches in deeply locked muscles.

I have, as I keep saying, very tight hamstrings as well as tight hips.  Yin yoga forces a pose to be held long enough for the connective tissues to start to give.  Yin holds poses in a manner that allows for the cells to get, perhaps, agitated and create new blood flow to areas otherwise a desert in the body.

When I am in a longish, Yin posture, I first settle in to the edge of my ability, then after about 3 minutes, find the ability to go another 10 percent deeper.  It is in this next level that I feel mu muscles ir connective tissues are gaining the benefit.

Once the pose reaches about 5 minutes, the instructor has us movong out of the pose.  I have the feeling that I could, at that moment, go another step deeper and hang out for an minute of two more.  There is also an intuitive tone ringing that tells me I had better not. 'This is plenty deep for today; tomorrow will come and we'll see about new depths then.'

I release with the rest of the class and after a few hours, my body is thankful for the stretch I have, I'm more thankful for the injury I do not.

Todays afternoon class was at Life Love Yoga in Sisters.  They were having an open house with food, drinks and merriment for all. We arrived at about three to see their open house and change for the 3:30 class.

The space had retail clothing, some yoga mats and other items all for women.  As usual, I was the token male.

The yoga room had one pale green/yellow wall with the balance being wood, tongue and groove wood slats. The high ceiling was supported by dark stained beams. The room, like most yoga rooms, had a clean,sparse feel with a few Buddhas and lovely Thai art on the walls.

Unlike the other studios I've been to, this room was by contrast, cold. The room was at 70 degrees compared to most rooms that are at 90 degrees. I hear Bikram is actually over 100 degrees.

Somewhere between the placid pace of Yin and the 70 degree room, my body decided sweating was not an option.  After this mornings class (sweat bath) its a good thing it was cooler.  I think I'm still a quart low in my H2O.

The class consisted of me and  10 women of ages 30 to 65. Its always so interesting to me that women tend to 'care' for themselves while men tend to go pump iron in anticipation of some future battle. This was a room with care written all over it.

All of us enjoyed different stages of ability. Even in Yin, one can look like a Chinese acrobat and others can look as if they are not participating, just sitting.  Thats the beauty of yoga- just showing up is beneficial. No matter what your level, if you are trying and find your personal edge- the place where you are wanting out of the pose- you are doing just as much as the little pretzel on the other side of the room.

When I sit on the floor leaning forward to touch my toes, I end up rounding my back at about 1degree past the vertical line.  Thats my edge.  Thats where is challenging for me to keep good form but I feel the stretch deeply.  My GF, she can sit on the floor with her legs out in front of her and hinge at the waist, placing her forehead on her shins. Thats where her edge is. Thats where she feels the same stretch as I. So, were even....not really but I like to think of it that way as I look at her with disbelief and amazement of her ability.

I'm not there yet, but even in the last few days, I can feel certain changes in my hips and hamstrings that make me smile.

Our class was only an hour but felt just right for the day. It was an enjoyable ride home as the droplets raced across the windscreen.

Tonight I'll sleep well.