Stillness and Yin Yoga
Life is filled with busyness, noise, and often meaningless activities.
What if we could filter out all that noise, and focus on the meaningful?
What if we could find stillness instead of distraction?
We all have that power. So, how do you filter it out?
Yin yoga may provide an answer by seeking stillness.
With very few postures, long hold times, and little movement, Yin yoga may appear like a practice for a sloth. Yin provides something that we humans all need: Stillness.
When we are still we can touch on that sweet space within.
The brain craves distraction and with our cell phones and the information age at our finger tips, it’s easy to behave like a mosquito to a a bug zapper. Our judgments, thoughts, memories, emotions, and the identities we cling to can cloud who we truly are.
7 Ways to find stillness in Yin Yoga
Spend the first moments each day in silent, meditation. — Yin Yogas asanas prepare the mind and body for quite contemplation. If prayer is our conversation with the divine, meditation is listening. Meditation is not an easy commitment to keep; however it can slowly change your life. When you feel that you’re too busy to do it, ask yourself: don’t I spend more time than that in eating, sleeping, working or exercising?
Dedicate the day to sleep —Racing mind distracting you from falling asleep? Waking up in the middle of the night remembering something important you were supposed to do? Sleep is a yin process, but when food has chemicals in it, it becomes yang and the mind goes into a vata state. While there are many ways to describe a vata state of mind, the key word in our culture seems to be anxiety.
Quiet can be addictive.—A Meditative state demands silent and stillness. Obviously, we cannot cut ourselves off from daily life. But we can choose a time and a space in which noise and interruptions are unlikely. Historically, many have chosen to pray early in the morning before the day's activities begin or later in the evening when things have slowed down.
Consistently work towards renewed self-definition.—Our values become redefined and take on an increasingly evangelical demeanor. If prayer is our conversation with the divine meditation is listening. This conversation is a continued conversion resulting in acts of clarity and purpose.
Create sacred space your internal landscape will thank you!—This is a time and place in a way that creates a container to enter states of contemplation towards the divine. A catharsis, celebration for healing and growth. This space is not necessarily where answers are grasped or understood. Rather a place where questions are asked, internal conversations occur, rituals are perpetuated, and silence is heard—all in the attempts to find answers. The beauty of the setting, a sacred space is paramount, an image, a candle, incense, lighting, music—all can be aids to prayerful conversations. Some have this conversation while they walk, stand in the grocery line waiting or even in traffic.
Distractions are an inevitability.—The mind is incapable of concentrating on a single object over long periods of time. Quiet contemplation is to calm our body and mind so we can breathe mindfully, clear-headed, and gain a sense of mastery in our lives. If your meditation space is disordered and full of distractions, you’re unlikely to achieve this goal. Mediation often says a lot about what is going on inside us. When you become stilled focus internally the answers come.
This and more as we begin training in Yin yoga starting next month. If you have completed your 200 hour studies this might be right for you. CLICK THIS LINK TO FIND OUT MORE: https://www.sacredspacefrisco.com/yin
Like so many others in the West, I began to practice yoga for its health and fitness benefits, and the deeper practice followed naturally. I doubt if it would have happened for me any other way; had someone tried to push “Eastern” thinking on me, I would have recoiled. It was a slow, internal process, a growing awareness, the cumulative effects of regular asana practice that awakened my interest in spirituality. —Stephen BIson ERYT500
