The only moment we were alone.

I’ve fallen for yin.

Yin yoga is the balance to a firey power class. It is the melty, slow, introspective counterpart to a more strength based, quicker paced yoga style. It is my new love.

I have always had a soft spot for a good slow stretch class but lately it is my passion. It helps I guess, that my new favourite instructor has a voice that is soft and sweet like a bird and buttery smooth all at once. That her classes are just what I need when I need them. And these days boy do I need them. A lot is going on here, especially in my head, and it’s all I can do to keep from getting, from going.

Last night’s class came at the end of a long and reasonably unproductive day. I haven’t been myself lately. Blaming it on the weather, on transitions, on everything I can. When it really comes down to it I am simply that. Down. I store it all in my shoulders, in my hips for sure, in my kidneys, in my jaw. All the anxiety, the worry, the inexplicable tiredness, it is printed and drawn across the connective tissues and organs of my body. Yin is a release from this. For a class where much of the hour and a half is spent laying or sitting, most often in heavily supported postures, it is always a challenge for me. To be present to what is going on inside, to the sensations in those tight spots is harder sometimes that sun salutation after sun salutation, a strong standing series and a multitude of chaturanga dandasanas. Boy I was sweating it out last night. Working hard to try to get some energy flowing.

Needless to say I always feel better when I practice, no matter what class, no matter what I do in my home practice, the simple act of coming to my mat brings me home. Let’s my chattering mind know it is time to get quiet. Time to breath. To sit. To let some junk go.

If this all sounds too good for words you can check out a yin class here:

In Vancouver:

- YYoga http://www.yyoga.ca/ ( my favourite class is Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday with Ingrid Nilson)

- Semperviva http://www.semperviva.com/classes.php

In Calgary:

- Yoga Santosha http://www.yogasantosha.ca/schedule.php

- Yoga Shala http://www.yogashalacalgary.com/wednesday.php