I like quiet. I know people who can't work or fall asleep without music, tv, or other external sound, but that's not me. When puttering around the house, it usually doesn't occur to me to set a soundtrack. I may have NPR on quietly in the background, but that's about it. Don't get me wrong, there are times when I want music on - loud - but they're less frequent these days.
Yin superstar Paul Grilley subtitled his Yin Yoga book "Outline of a Quiet Practice", and yin is supposed to be just that. The practice, in which deep stretches are held for several l o n g minutes on each side, means the teacher can briefly cue students into the pose and then... stop talking. In the first 30 seconds or so, it's usually not much of a challenge to relax into the silence and into the posture. But after minute 3 or 4 (give or take), we can no longer ignore the messages our minds are trying to send us. Our minds might even be yelling at us to pay attention (right now!!). They might be saying, "WHY are we still here? Isn't it time to come out of this now? I'm bored. What's for dinner? Why didn't Bill return my text? Is he mad at me? Where does he get off? Are we STILL in this pose?" and so on.
Even someone like me, who enjoys silence, is challenged by the activity of the monkey mind during those long quiet yin holds. And for those of us who thrive on external stimulus, the practice can be incredibly difficult. Yet, we remind ourselves that we're safe, we're (relatively) comfortable, and we have everything that we need. We will come out of the pose, eventually. But while we're here, we have the opportunity to practice witnessing and, maybe, controlling the vacillations of the mind. We may then realize how much internal chatter accompanies and directs our everyday lives. And that's appropriate, to some extent. It's just that we often ignore or interpret as truth what's going on up there. A mindful yin practice trains us to notice this stream of chatter so that we can eventually drop the messages that don't serve us.
So, what does this have to do with ashtanga? Many describe ashtanga as a moving meditation, a means of staying completely present for the 1.5+ hour practice. And I believe ashtanga lives up to that. But - without diminishing the transformative power of ashtanga - I would say that it's much easier to stay focused and present when there's something new (and, generally, pretty physically challenging) to do every five breaths. We're confronted with our physical limitations and, sometimes, limiting self-talk, but there's something very different and equally transformative about dangling alone with your thoughts for minutes at a time. In my opinion, it serves us as ashtangis and yoga practitioners to experience both types of transformation, and to bring them both into our everyday lives.
So far, I've ignored the physical benefits of adding some yin to a regular yang- (active) style practice, but they are immense. In short, yin practice stimulates growth of the connective tissues around the joints, which allows us to gain flexibility to balance the strength that we build in ashtanga. Of course, we build flexibility in ashtanga practice, too, but yin accomplishes more in a shorter period of time.
Intrigued? Drop in to Yin at Living Yoga Center on Tuesday nights at 7:15!
Yin superstar Paul Grilley subtitled his Yin Yoga book "Outline of a Quiet Practice", and yin is supposed to be just that. The practice, in which deep stretches are held for several l o n g minutes on each side, means the teacher can briefly cue students into the pose and then... stop talking. In the first 30 seconds or so, it's usually not much of a challenge to relax into the silence and into the posture. But after minute 3 or 4 (give or take), we can no longer ignore the messages our minds are trying to send us. Our minds might even be yelling at us to pay attention (right now!!). They might be saying, "WHY are we still here? Isn't it time to come out of this now? I'm bored. What's for dinner? Why didn't Bill return my text? Is he mad at me? Where does he get off? Are we STILL in this pose?" and so on.
Even someone like me, who enjoys silence, is challenged by the activity of the monkey mind during those long quiet yin holds. And for those of us who thrive on external stimulus, the practice can be incredibly difficult. Yet, we remind ourselves that we're safe, we're (relatively) comfortable, and we have everything that we need. We will come out of the pose, eventually. But while we're here, we have the opportunity to practice witnessing and, maybe, controlling the vacillations of the mind. We may then realize how much internal chatter accompanies and directs our everyday lives. And that's appropriate, to some extent. It's just that we often ignore or interpret as truth what's going on up there. A mindful yin practice trains us to notice this stream of chatter so that we can eventually drop the messages that don't serve us.
So, what does this have to do with ashtanga? Many describe ashtanga as a moving meditation, a means of staying completely present for the 1.5+ hour practice. And I believe ashtanga lives up to that. But - without diminishing the transformative power of ashtanga - I would say that it's much easier to stay focused and present when there's something new (and, generally, pretty physically challenging) to do every five breaths. We're confronted with our physical limitations and, sometimes, limiting self-talk, but there's something very different and equally transformative about dangling alone with your thoughts for minutes at a time. In my opinion, it serves us as ashtangis and yoga practitioners to experience both types of transformation, and to bring them both into our everyday lives.
So far, I've ignored the physical benefits of adding some yin to a regular yang- (active) style practice, but they are immense. In short, yin practice stimulates growth of the connective tissues around the joints, which allows us to gain flexibility to balance the strength that we build in ashtanga. Of course, we build flexibility in ashtanga practice, too, but yin accomplishes more in a shorter period of time.
Intrigued? Drop in to Yin at Living Yoga Center on Tuesday nights at 7:15!