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Have you ever wished you could slow down time? Or at least find a way to slow your racing mind?
I’m a Yin Yoga teacher, but when I’m not practicing yoga or facilitating classes, I’m one of the least “yin” people you’ll ever meet. I’m a small business owner working to keep a yoga studio afloat during a pandemic and also a mom with helicopter tendencies (at least according to my sister-in-law).
This is exactly why the practice of Yin Yoga has become such an important tool for me and so many others. It’s a practice that invites us to slow down, drop fully in, and meet ourselves in the now. Just as we are. No agenda. No judgment. No effort to be one thing or another. We simply be.
When we become present in this way, space and time have a way of shifting. We grow vast. And this felt experience is a soothing energetic tonic for the racing mind. When we emerge from a Yin practice, we carry away a remembrance of this expansive self that helps put all the other things into perspective.
There’s much that we can do to cultivate yin qualities such as acceptance, quiet, harmony, and depth, whether in ourselves or our students. We can support an embodied presence by encouraging curiosity and giving permission and allowing time to explore. And we can choose our words artfully to help elicit a feeling of ease, whether during our practice or in life.
Words are energetically potent. The verbs listed here resonate very differently than the average vocabulary we think, speak, and absorb while in our usual “getting things done” mode throughout the day. With our words and the spaces that hold them, we have the power to create an entirely different state of being. Take a deep breath and let these words land in your body.
See also: 5 Calming Yoga Poses You Can Do In 5 Minutes
About our contributor
Leta LaVigne is a Seattle native and the founder of yogaROCKS studio in Finland. She draws from a variety of traditions to craft intuitive yin and yang classes, gently guiding awareness through the body to the inner landscape. As a long-time student of Paul Grilley, Leta embraces a functional approach to teaching. Find her reflections on yoga, motherhood, and life as a transplant in the country of rye bread and reindeer at @leta_lavigne.
This content was originally published here.
