Yin Yoga, My new love

This Monday after the race I tried Yin Yoga for the first time. Here is the Wiki description of Yin Yoga-

Yin yoga- Mostly sitting or lying postures for promoting growth, clearing energetic blockages, and enhancing circulation.

My fitness buddy Nicole invited me to check out a new studio and I figured why not give it a shot. I have been wanting to have more Yoga in my life so this was a great opportunity. Even if it isn’t the kind of yoga that I am used to, I was willing to open my inner yogi and explore what other styles had to offer. Nicole had told me that this class is extremely chill, basically just laying in the various positions so I figured it would be a piece of cake. Well I should have know that no matter what kind of yoga it is, it can always be a little intense.

When we walked into the small studio I was told by the instructor to grab two bolsters ( large pillows with handles), two blankets and two blocks. I set up my area and laid down, ready to stretch out my sore muscles from the race the day before. The instructor then told us that we would be doing so basic cat and cow poses to start off the day before getting into the more “yin” part of the class. When we got into the Yin part that was when we needed to use the bolsters and blocks. The poses were ones that I am familiar with, like child’s pose, forward bend, and pigeon pose; but we were using the props to hold up certain parts of our body so we could sustain the position for 3 minutes. As I was moving through the poses it felt really good but also somewhat intense because of the length of time. The hour and a half somewhat flew by except for the fact that I was hungry and had to pee the last little bit. When I was leaving the class I had a yoga-high that I always love. It made me realize that even though it wasn’t what I would consider a workout, it was still really good for my body and mind. Now that I have tried Yin Yoga I think I will keep doing for a while, it if anything to keep my crazed wedding brain at bay.