Yin Yoga: A Calming Experience

Yin Yoga  at New Horizon Yoga is a non-heated, slow-paced style of yoga in which postures, known as "asanas" are held for extended periods. We typically ask you to hold each posture for between five and eight minutes. This spiritual, meditative style of yoga in San Antonio is beneficial for recovery after injury, pain management and enhancing the mind-body connection. While more active yang styles, such as vinyasa yoga, focus on body sculpt, strengthening and toning, yin is the opposite. Yin yoga targets the deep connective tissues, known as the fascia, within the body. This non-heated, meditation style helps regulate energy flow throughout the body.

Yin Yoga Poses

During your Yin Yoga class at New Horizon Yoga, you will find that most yin poses are seated or reclined postures. You will follow a meditative approach rather than a physical approach. The goal during practice is not to body sculpt, but to release tension from the fascia. Meditation is an important component to this practice. You might initially struggle with sitting still and working through feelings and sensations that come up during each posture, with the help of your New Horizon Yoga instructor you can get the hang of it. Cultivating a meditative mindset is important for finding spiritual stillness, harmony and balance.

Yin teaches you to truly sit still and listen to your body. In our high-stress, high-demand lives, it can be difficult to find moments of stillness and surrender. In yin practice is the perfect time to come into one's own body and mind, accept what is, and simply learn to be. This spiritual practice is important for working through not only physical limitations, but also past emotional traumas. Emotional pain that has been locked away within the body resurfaces. For this reason, yin postures that take place during a New Horizon Yoga class are often included as part of yoga therapy for individuals who have suffered deep emotional traumas such as rape or the loss of a loved one.

Benefits of Yin Yoga

Benefits of a non-heated yin practice at New Horizon Yoga in San Antonio include: regulating energy levels in the body; calming and balancing the mind and body; increasing mobility, especially in the joints and hips; lower stress levels; and faster recovery from injury. Releasing tension from the fascia is important not only for movement, stamina and flexibility, but also achieving greater relaxation. Once you get into a regular practice, you are able to sit still longer for meditation and find the practice of meditating more rewarding and calming. Our instructors will be with you every step of the way to ensure that you are getting the most out of your yin yoga class.

You will also find that practicing non-heated yin yoga once a week can significantly improve your yang yoga practice at New Horizon Yoga, such as vinyasa and Bikram. Like the yin/yang symbol, both practices are essential to a whole, healthy and spiritual individual.