Yin Yoga Anyone?

I just returned from a Yin Yoga session. What is Yin Yoga? Well to be honest, "Reading about yoga is like reading a menu when you are hungry: interesting, maybe even mouth watering, but until you actually partake of what you are seeing, your need will not be quenched." (quoted from YinYoga.com) But essentially we moved through a series of poses S-L-O-W-L-Y, holding each for up to five minutes.

One result, among others is the unbelievable quieting of the mind. I know for a fact this is the very first time I went through an entire class and did not speak at all! All of the poses were very familiar to me (although they're called different things in Yin) so it was not a problem to hold them for 5 minutes. What good is this uber quieting of the mind when there are always a million things to be done? The good is in the fact that it's the polar opposite of multi-tasking your brains out...or until your brain is fried to a crisp.

In the quiet mind state if we consciously push away distractions we put ourselves in a perfect place to just listen and observe and there is much to see and hear. Everything from discovering where you're holding stress inside with clenched muscles in the back and neck to calmly figuring out what your priorities should be for the day, or beyond.

With quiet minds we're receptive to what God is trying to tell us that he wants for us. It took being sick for a couple of months to slow me down to the point of figuring out that I should take a break from working and focus on home and hearth. That was a big message that it's easy enough to push out of your mind as impossible, impractical, you name it. But I prayed about it and I was convinced that He meant for me to do it so I took this leap of faith and here I am. What's really important to me though is the repeated practice of quieting my mind so that the messages don't get jumbled. Everyone has "off" days and this mind quieting is one way to get myself back on course.

One other cool aspect here is that this different yoga practice comes as a result of my teacher having a life changing moment and making decisions on how to proceed in a way that brings her peace and happiness. http://www.aligningwithgrace.com/ See how we're all connected? Her reaching a new level of joy in her teaching coincided with my need for more effective ways to quiet my mind and remain in the present. I love this....I envision it as that we have an intertwined purpose....and we are connected to many people in similar ways. It's a beautiful thing.

Peace!