Yin Yoga's propensity for meditation
Moving towards Stillness,
S.Pucelle -
In our introductions at the start of each training course or workshop, we often talk about our respective backgrounds in yoga and meditation, the reasons why we practice and teach, and our experiences in these disciplines.
We were introduced to Buddhist meditation in the early 2000s, including regular silent retreats and Dharma teachings under the guidance of skilled monks and teachers.
We both practiced various forms of Hatha Yoga, looking for a postural practice to support our meditative efforts. It wasn't until 2006, after several encounters with the practice of yin yoga, that we slowly adopted this approach. It gradually became clear that the intrinsic natural qualities of yin yoga could support a meditative mind and prepare the body for prolonged sitting.
If we could summarize the qualities that promote meditative practice, they would be as follows:
Slowing down - This helps to reduce body rhythms, such as heartbeat and respiratory rate, mainly due to the passive nature of the practice. Slowness promotes calm and is conducive to objective observation.
Introspection - Yin yoga practice directs and focuses attention on our inner self from the very first moments of practice. With eyes closed, our attention is directed to body sensations and breath, opening up a field of introspective perception.
Patience - By staying longer in each pose, we are gently led back to different forms of discomfort, whether physical, emotional or mental, facilitating both the acceptance and the release of these resistances.
Relaxation and surrender - These qualities gradually diffuse and permeate the practitioner. Time is the factor that naturally leads to release and relaxation, which is the most accessible and natural way to stay in the posture for the allotted time.
By combining Yin Yoga with our meditative practice, our postural posture is easier to maintain for longer periods, benefiting from all the qualities mentioned above to support our meditative efforts.
Beyond the mechanical and physical flexibility the practice facilitates, Yin Yoga is a grooming space for the meditative practitioner. When we offer our teachings on meditation, we link them to the philosophy of Sri Patanjali's Yoga Sutras. We start by summarizing the four chapters to extract the key messages, then draw on the various philosophical concepts shared in his treatise to decipher his vision and map his legacy towards the cessation of suffering and liberation from all constraints and conditioning.
If we were to choose a sutra relating to the practice of yoga and meditation, we would select for the following sutra:
1.14 - Practice becomes firmly established when it is cultivated uninterruptedly with devotion over an extended period of time.
After more than two decades of practicing, teaching yoga and meditation, we have concluded that it is precisely what this sutra describes that is sorely lacking in modern yoga practice today.
Here's how Yin Yoga fills the gap.
First of all, Sri. Patanjali defined the practice of yoga as an effort to concentrate and channel the mind. Yin yoga establishes a meditative mind by allowing the practitioner to give up reacting, thus creating a neutral space between response and identification with physical sensation. Its slow rhythm makes it an ideal setting for observing physical and mental interaction.
The two ingredients - passivity and relaxation - help to initiate the process of disidentification by giving rhythm to the relationship between body, emotion, thought and conscious observation.
All the traditions intended to awaken the observer, the seer, the witness, or all the practices aimed at connecting to the most subtle sensations, such as meditation, Qi Gong or Shiatsu, to name but a few, have in common a rhythm progressing from release to greater relaxation.
One of the main elements of Sutra 1.14 is the ability to maintain an "uninterrupted" practice, as Sri. Patanjali puts it.
Anyone can fix their mind on an object, gross or subtle, for a moment, but this is of no consequence regarding meditation. We must sustain the effort to modify our consciousness and enable it to disengage from the body-mind complex.
Of course, there is a graduation to this process.
In the context of Yin Yoga practice, when we teach it in conjunction with meditation, we offer the practitioner two fields of attention.
1. The breath: The ability to maintain attention on the breath, particularly the movement of the abdominal wall as it expands on inhalation and returns to the neutral position on exhalation. Careful observation of the manipulated or passive movement of the abdomen during asanas absorbs some of the mind's agitation while channelling its volition.
2. Body sensations: This is the process of connecting with and exploring the body sensations emerging from the asana. Each posture targets specific body areas, subjecting them to tension and compression.
This opens a field of exploration to our inner somatic landscape, into which the mind will be drawn to intensify or attenuate sensations.
The inquisitive mind naturally accompanies this sensation in search of its exact anatomical location, and/or associates exhalation with the release of initial muscle and connective tissue resistance. The practitioner becomes naturally fascinated by his or her understanding and command of interoception and the regulation of sensation perception. There are other ways of channelling the mind, such as monitoring tissue adaptation to applied stress.
The aim is to re-educate the mind by giving it a clear direction while allowing it to turn away from external stimuli and devote itself to internal bodily absorption. This process takes place by keeping the attention inward, which marks the first step towards the involution emphasized by yoga teachings. Yin yoga offers the practitioner an environment in which to free himself from external stimuli linked to the world and his five senses. A friendly and beneficial relationship is established between the body-mind complex and consciousness by remaining within the somatic field.
Any postural practice can become a platform for developing a meditative mind. In particular, the more introspective, slow and relaxing a practice is, the more conducive to meditation.
By clearly understanding the nature of meditation while skilfully guiding the practice of yin yoga, these two practices nourish each other and complement their respective natures. The development of a meditative mind generally progresses through stillness and observation.
There is a gap between a seated meditative practice and the movements and activities of everyday life; yin yoga somehow bridges this gap. Initially, it enables the practitioner to stay in touch with the bodily sensations of everyday life, then gradually detaches him or herself from the stimuli of the outside world, which is necessary for meditative practice. This undoubtedly contributes to the appropriate and uninterrupted effort towards disidentification for the benefit of a meditative mind.
If you'd like to experience our approach to Yin Yoga through the lens of meditation, consider one of our online classes. Click on the button below to view our online class schedule.
