Before I begin writing this blog post, I would just like to acknowledge I am not claiming Yin Yoga cures any specific ailment. This is about what I have personally experienced within my journey and how Yin Yoga has helped create a tremendous amount of peace and ease in my life.
My Journey
I began practising yoga at age 11 waking up early before school. This was the more yang style which targeted building strength. As I entered the teenage years I still continued to practise but not near as much as I should have been. During this stage of my life anxiety began to creep in and looking back now I didn't even realise that what I was feeling was unusual - it just became a part of me. This began to slowly start having negative effects on my digestive system as over time this stress on my nervous system began to build up inflammation within my digestive organs. I go into more detail about this story in my other blog post Yin Yoga To Help Inflammation.
Fast forward to when I had my girls I suffered from PND for a good year after giving birth. This is when I found Yin Yoga and what an absolute blessing it was. This was the missing link in my life and in my yoga practise! Here I was able to tap into the healing that I so desperately needed. From then on my yoga practise was daily, even a few times a day squeezing in shorter sessions during nap times.
The biggest transformation for me personally was as I practised over time I was able to drop into my breath where ever I may have needed it, for example when one of my girls began to have a tantrum. Instead of my body going into reactive mode I had successfully trained myself to instantly focus on my breath which in turn helped either fizzle out the tantrum or if it was rather extreme I was still able to maintain this stillness within me until it had passed. This sure does take plenty of time and practice! When facing a difficult situation it is always reassuring to remind yourself that everything is always temporary.
Yin gives us the time and space to drop into ourselves. To notice what triggers our anxiety or depression and over time helping to give us tools to get through it in a more healthy and peaceful way.
Yin And The Parasympathetic Nervous System
Stress is the leading cause of illness. Some of us don't even realise that we are stressed as we have become so used to the feeling that we just assume it is normal. Over time though this stress builds up within our body and can present itself in many different forms. Two main ones being inflammation throughout the body and a constant feeling of being in survival mode (fight or flight) which triggers the feeling of anxiety.
The great news is that Yin Yoga can take you out of this fight or flight response and help to bring you into the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest). This is where the magical healing begins to take place. Yin Yoga nourishes and restores our body and by doing regular classes you are able to tap into the healing process before the stress takes hold of your body.
"Yin Yoga is healing because it brings you back to your roots." Believe Yoga.
Yin Poses For Mental Health
Below are three Yin Yoga poses that are great for mental health and I find really help to activate our parasympathetic system. On a side note all Yin Yoga poses activate our rest and digest mode so therefore these three poses aren't the only ones that can create ease mentally. These are just some that I personally use as my 'go to' when I need a moment to really centre myself and come back into the present.
Before attempting these Yin poses please remember to listen to your body and it's sensations and don't push beyond your edge!
Supported Child's Pose
Supported child's pose is a beautiful pose to just allow the weight of your body to be supported by a bolster or a pillow and allowing yourself to drop into your breath.
To come into this pose have a bolster or pillow close by. Begin by sitting on your knees bringing your two big toes to touch, extending your knees out only as far as what feels good for you. Gently fold forward allowing the bolster to catch your torso, chest and head. You may like to place your left ear on the bolster, then swapping onto the right ear half way through.
Hold this pose for 1-3 minutes.
Sleeping Swan
To enter this pose, begin on your hands and knees. From here slide your left leg up in-between your hands and bring your left foot closer towards your right hip. Adjusting yourself so you're not leaning too much into your right hip, then once you are ready, beginning to fold forward, placing your hands on top of each other to support your forehead.
Option to place your head on a block or sliding a blanket under your hips if needing some support.
Hold for 1-3 minutes.
To come out of sleeping swan begin to push into your hands, curling your right toes under, then begin to slide your left leg all the way back to meet your right and scissoring your left leg forward and back releasing the left hip. When you are ready you can begin to enter sleeping swan on the right side.
Lying Spinal Twist
To come into lying spinal twist begin laying on your back hugging your knees towards your chest. From here slightly inch your hips over to the right and gently drop your knees towards the left. Bringing your arms into a letter T shape and placing your right ear towards your right shoulder.
Bringing your awareness to your breath and holding for 1-3 minutes.
To come out of lying spinal twist, bring your head back to centre followed by your knees, then dropping your knees to the right side and bringing your left ear towards your left shoulder, beginning to hold for 1-3 minutes on the opposite side.
Breathing Exercise For Mental Health - Nadi Shodhana
One of the best breathing techniques you can do to really help calm your nervous system and relieve anxiety is Nadi Shodhana (Alternate Nostril Breathing). Nadi is a Sanskrit word meaning "Channel" or "Flow" and Shodhana means "Purification".
This type of breathing balances the left and right hemispheres of the brain whilst having a calming effect on the nervous system and trains a more alert mind. To practice this you can download this Nadi Shodhana PDF I have created for you which includes step by step instruction with the use of photos:
Otherwise you can check out my blog post 10 Ways To Practice Mindfulness Throughout Your Day where I include written instructions on how to do alternate nostril breathing.
"Yin invites in compassion and patience for ourselves and others". Believe Yoga.
I hope I have been able to offer you some healing tools that you may like to try when taking some much needed time to yourself. I will never forget what my husband said to me when I was worried about taking time for myself when our girls were toddlers. He said, "Go and take the time to take care of yourself because when you are happy it makes the whole family happy", and this is totally true!
We all need to find time in our day no matter how small to really do what makes our soul happy. When we are happy and relaxed this flows out of us and benefits those closest to us. So here is to finding more time to help support our mental health, to invite in love and compassion to ourselves and then to others.
Sending loving kindness,
Amy.x
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