5 Yin Yoga Poses to Practice Daily
Yin Yoga is a practice for a deeper release in the body, right into our deeper connective tissues, past the muscles. The deeper connective tissues need time to feel and notice change, this is why the approach in Yin Yoga is to hold postures in stillness and for time. Time allows those tissues to become stronger and/or release tension that’s built up from stress, being too stagnant and/or even in some cases being too active.
The deeper tissues of our bodies, are made up of the fascia, joints, tendons and ligaments. They’re considered more rigid and plastic in nature which requires a different approach. Movement primarily focus on our muscles. Stillness with passive held postures focuses on deeper release. Modalities like massage therapy, rolfing are some other examples. Tension can be stored deeper and working our muscles with repetitive movements, doesn’t necessarily target where the tension starts. Deeper. How Bernie Clark describes this still, deeper practice, “Yin Yoga is the other half you’re missing” (2015).
We work our muscles in a specific way, repetitive dynamic movement, how about for deeper connective tissues?
Yin Yoga works the deeper connective tissues in a passively still way! Using different postures we target a specific area of the body.
If you have jobs that require either a lot of demand physically or on the other spectrum not really moving at all (which I refer to as “the desk jockey life”) you may benefit from this still, deep, and simple introspective practice. Even if you’re a runner or athlete of some kind, you will see the benefits even after one practice. Truly anyone aging can benefit from Yin Yoga (Read more on this here, by Bernie Clark. "Yoga for the ages and stages of Life").
The deeper connective tissue release takes TIME and with putting passive pressure on our joints and surrounding tissues, it’s beneficial stress for our physical body.
There are many Yin Yoga postures you can practice to target different areas of the body, but there are few that I think you could incorporate into your life daily RIGHT NOW, to not only give yourself a mental break, but get into your body, at a deeper level.
The 5 postures listed below target the hips, the spine and legs.
Practice in the morning or evening, anytime really to feel the benefits!
Hold the postures anywhere from 1-5 mins. Or longer if you desire.
GENERAL TIPS FOR YOUR YIN YOGA PRACTICE
Practice to your level - if you’re a beginner try for 1 min and work your way up to longer holds.
Yin tissues are similar to muscles in the sense that they need to be worked on to see the tissues change.
The more you practice holding postures in stillness and for time, the body’s Yin tissues get more and more used to this and the element of time can be increased.
More pressure or a deeper expression of the posture only happens with time.
But remember SLOWLY.
Don’t force yourself to stay in something longer especially if you feel pain.
Approach your edge rather than strive for an edge.
Move towards your edge, slowly.
Always avoid pain in Yin Yoga
Pain can be defined as pinching, numbing, stabbing, stinging, warming sensations, even sharp sensations.
If you feel these please come out of pose immediately.
Avoid at all costs.
We want to aim for a dull achy sensation, not pain.
The 5 Poses
More details below on each posture and the targeted areas each one brings to the body.
These five postures offer great release in the hips, spine and legs. Our spine is worked when we fold forward in Butterfly, in Sphinx we work the lower sacral lumbar arch and release along the spine if held for longer.
Supine twist offers an amazing neutralization for the spine and sort of rings out the tissues around the vertebrae.
The hips get a nice opening with Butterfly, Squat pose and Child’s Pose. Also Butterfly gives you a nice release for the groin, depending how close our feet are to our pelvis.
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Butterfly
Butterfly gets into our groin and hips. With the added forward fold as pictured we also get into our spine. Flexion of the spine specifically. Releasing tension in the fascia and tendons and ligaments along the spine. Especially if the head isn’t supported we allow gravity to do its thing and release a bit more in our entire spine, including our cervical spine, our neck and hips and groin.
The cervical spine element comes in when we allow our head to dangle, but this may not be a good thing for the neck for everyone.
Butterfly with folding forward (flexion) to not only get into our hips and groin, but also the spine.
By bringing ourselves into flexion we release along the spine, the more we surrender, hold for time and melt into this shape.
There are many variations of this posture in the sense that you don’t have to fold forward if you don’t want to. You can sit up and still get a nice release for the groin and hips, but without the spine release. You can even lean back and support yourself on your hands.
Another alternative to this posture is to use a bolster under your torso to forward fold over, especially if you are not liking the intensity the pose brings when you’re not using a prop.
A block under the forehead is also nice if you don’t have a bolster. Or even a text book that sort of mimics a block. For more details check out my sources below, I link a video by one of my teachers Bernie Clark on Butterfly pose.
Further reading on my blog about Butterfly Pose found here!
Sphinx
Sphinx is an amazing deep compression for the lower sacral lumbar arch. We are often in flexion throughout the day especially if you’re a desk jockey or any other occupation where we sit majority of the day. We tend to be in a hunched over position, like on our phones or even when we are driving. Our lower back rounds which takes away that natural lumbar arch.
Sphinx gives us a great way to counter all the flexion we do day-to-day.
Sphinx targets:
our spine, which is a back extension (rather than flexion)
can be a very deep compression and stimulation of the sacral-lumbar arch, specifically between the L2 and L3 vertebrae
releases tension along the whole spine (lower lumbar, thoracic and cervical spine)
Sphinx pose with a bolster under the ribs to better support the body. You can try this without a bolster and allow the belly to be loose and heavy, making its way towards the earth.
More on Sphinx see my blog post on this pose here!
Squat pose
Squat pose pictured here is a supported version with two blocks. Sitting on top of two stacked yoga blocks.
Squat pose is a pose that should be practised daily in order to encourage the hips to stay open and help maintain a healthy range of motion in them. One of my Yin Yoga teachers Bernie Clark shared this with me during my training and I repeat it to my students as well, “approximately two-thirds of the world’s population goes to the bathroom every day this way! If uncomfortable, it may be a sign that you need to do this pose more” (2020). So squat more!! One thing to note when you do get into this pose, if you do feel pain in the knee(s) avoid this pose.
Squat pose targets and;
opens the hips, simultaneously
strengthens the ankles
releases the lower back
great pose to prepare for child birth
offers relief to lower back pain due to menstrual cycle
You can read more specifics on my blog here on Squat pose!!
Supine (Reclined) Twist pose
Supine twist. Unsupported version shown, which allows gravity to do its thing a little more. For some it can be intense. Lower intensity by placing a yoga prop like a bolster under your top leg’s inner knee, so the legs can rest on the prop, rather than hang in the air, this can help ease into the pose. and your spine.
A nice way to neutralize our spine either after a practice or after a long day at work. Supine Twist is a great posture to do right before bed. It gets the spine feeling all good and released.
Physical & mental/mindful benefits of Reclined Twist pose:
Spine targeted
releases tension from the spine
Restores equilibrium to nervous system
Meridian line stimulated is the urinary bladder (spine) and if one arms is overhead it stimulates the heart, lung, small intestines and large intestines meridian
Triggering these meridians can help release negative feelings of worry, anger, and sadness and bring out, positive feelings like creativity, kindness, beauty and love (Clark, 2015)
There are many different variations you can do of this pose, like Twisted Root, legs apart, legs together. It’s important to listen to your body and choose the one that suits you.
You can read more here on my blog on Reclined Twist and find the variation that suits you!
Child’s pose
Child’s pose a narrower version pictured above with no props. The knees are closer together. Arms back behind so that the palms face up to sky.
A wonderful posture to relax and do at anytime throughout your day. This pose shows up and is used in all yoga styles as a nice counter pose for deeper back bends and as a rest pose in between sequences. But in Yin Yoga you may hold this posture anywhere from 1 minute to longer if we aren’t using this posture as a counter pose.
Physical & mental/mindful benefits of Child’s pose:
Pictured here is Child’s pose with knees wide, arms overhead, this version allows more space for the stomach and the chest. Some practitioners say this version allows the forehead to easily meet the earth. Whereas the narrower version pictured above may not.
known to be healing
restful
a great way to stretch the spine
As our spine is stretched the stomach and chest get a nice compression that can benefit the digestion organs
head supported either on a block or the ground, or maybe your stacked palms (or fists) can relief neck and back pain (Clark, 2015).
You can try this pose with the knees as wide or as narrow as you want. In the first pictured Child’s pose the knees are together and the hands and arms in this case are behind you by the hips. Palms face up. This version can be more of a compression on the stomach and chest and some students can’t ground the forehead in this variation as the body (stomach and chest) literally get in the way. Try placing a block under you head or try to knees wider with arms overhead variation of Child’s pose (pictured second).
Yin Yoga goes deeper past the muscles.
Like with any yoga style, it is a practice. Yin Yoga will be challenging when you first start out, your holds may be shorter and that’s okay. Over time and practice your deeper connective tissues get used to longer holds, and the practice may become easier.
As always listen to your body, noticing what you feel, and approach your edge slowly. Read more here on how to approach your practice as I share my story here.
Namaste,
Marzena
Discover Other Yin Yoga Blog Posts by Marzena!
More on other Yin Yoga postures, sequences and other tips to help improve your Yin experience and practice!
Sources & Other Resources
Bernie Clark (2020) YinYoga.com https://yinyoga.com/yinsights/squat/
The Complete Guide to Yin Yoga by Bernie Clark (2015).
Yoga for the Ages and stages of Life Article by Bernie Clark (yin yoga.com)
Two videos below from Bernie Clark; Butterfly Preformed and Reclining Twist