Yin Yoga Podcast

The flame that burns twice as bright burns half as long"  Lao Tzu's

If you live in the northern hemisphere and you are listening to or watching this episode as it comes out then today is the first day of Summer.

So in honor of the day, I thought I would do a special episode on Embracing the Fire Element Summer in Taoism and TCM

Element of Fire corresponds to Summer in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Taoism

• Fire ...

Do you ever feel like Your Yin Yoga classes are getting boring?

The first thing to get clear on as a teacher is, are you bored or are your students bored?

Most of them (your students) aren't bored It's in your head, dear teacher, you are bored.

They are probably not.

90% of the time, your students are not bored.

They are content to do the same thing over and over and over again because it's more nourishing to their ner...

This week's episode was sparked by a question from a listener:

"What about when you don't feel it physically? I don't feel it's, and she has in quotations, it working. So that functional element, which Paul and you are teaching is not there. I'm able to hold these poses for five-plus minutes without fiddling, moving, or being impatient. I mean, it's bliss.

Don't get me wrong, but I'm tapping mor...

What I have witnessed many times when I attend other people's yin-yang classes, is that the class starts with some kind of grounding and centering.

Then quickly move into sun salutations. Then there's a dead stop in the practice into child's pose, which is their transition into yin.

And then they throw in some Yin poses.

That's not very skillful.

And here's why our nervous system is going to have a lot of tro...

Is Yin Yoga For Beginners?

In today's episode, we're diving into a comment that caught my eye in a Yin Yoga Facebook group: "Yin Yoga is not suitable for beginners."

My initial reaction? Say what? That's news to me! So, I decided to dig deeper. Why would someone say that? Unfortunately, I didn't get any answers from the person who made the statement 🤷🏻‍♀️ so let's break it down together.

The thing a...

Hands Off - Should We Offer Hands-On Assists Yin Yoga Classes?

Today's episode, which I think is going to be a juicy one and probably a little bit controversial, perhaps  (I am known for having unpopular opinions), we will be exploring the question of offering hands-on assists in Yin yoga classes from my perspective.

If you are new to the podcast, or if you're new to Yin, you may also want to check out the episode What is Y...

CW: Trauma, Sexual Assault

This Is Part three in a three-part mini-series on Trauma, the nervous system, and Yin Yoga. In part one Alyssa Stephenson and I discussed The nervous system and Trauma. In part two Nicole Marcia and I discussed the definition of Trauma Sensitive Yoga and how we Can make Yin Yoga Trauma-informed. In this final part, we come full circle in so many ways. My guest today Janis Isaman started practicing wit...

CW: Trauma, sexual assault, addiction

Is Yin Yoga Trauma Sensitive? This is a nuanced and complex conversation. I hope that this conversation will give some clarity on what trauma-sensitive Yoga is, and what it's not. And the difference between trauma-sensitive Yoga and trauma-informed Yoga is. This episode will help teachers learn how to make their Yin classes more trauma-informed and have a better understanding of how traum...

CW: Trauma, addiction, domestic abuse

When I started planning this podcast and the topics I wanted to cover, I knew we had to have an episode on trauma but as it turns out we will have three. This episode with Alyssa Stefanson will be the first in a three-part series on trauma starting first by laying the foundation of what trauma is and an understanding of our nervous system. As soon as I started planning this episode I knew tha...

I wanted to talk about today's topic, because not only do I see it come up in my classes with my students, I see it come up with teachers that I've taught in my teacher training. But also, in the yogaverse in general on Facebook groups, etc. But I also think it's sort of rampant in our world in general. So today's topic is: Are You Practicing/Teaching Yin Yoga with your Yang attitude? Now, if Yin and Yang are ...

What we are talking about in this episode is what in Yin Yoga is known as the Rebound.

Due to Yin Yoga’s ability to affect the fascia of the body, coming out of a Yin shape can be quite a different feeling than a more movement- based practice. Therefore, the urge to moan and groan, to move slowly and mindfully, is normal and, in fact, a good sign. Some teachers tend to skip over the rest between Yin Shapes when they teach Yin.

Or ...

Is Yin Yoga 'safe' for Moms to be? Or what about Moms who have recently had babies? What do Yoga teachers need to know about Pre/Postnatal and Yin Yoga?

I'm excited about today's guest. I'm stoked about it, not only for the subject matter but because Clare is an expert in her field. But also selfishly because our guest is a fellow Canadian and a fellow, Albertan.

So my guest today is Claire Newman. and Clai...

How Do We Hold Brave Space? I think first it's important to explain what I mean by Brave Space. We often hear about creating a 'safe space' or hear Yoga teachers say that their classes are a 'safe space'. But I would much rather create a Brave Space.  Unlike a safe space, brave spaces are designed to handle risk and discomfort. The people within them might be dealing with discomfort there may be a moment when...

Hypermobility and Yin Yoga What You Need to Know

Hypermobility is a word that is unskillfully tossed around the Yoga-verse like confetti. Teachers labelling their students as Hypermobile with a good understanding of what Hypermobility actually is.

Hypermobility is a term often used when a person’s joints appear to have more range of motion than “average” and is sometimes referred to as being “double-jointed.” 

Some people who app...

Today's episode is highly requested. So today's topic is Sequencing Yin Yoga First, I want to mention that these are just my opinions.

I will say that my framework for sequencing comes from a few different places. 1) My original teacher training was in the Iyengar Yoga tradition, which does have some different sequencing rules than those of you who were trained in the Vinyasa Ashtanga system. I will dive into that mo...

Adult Language Warning

In this episode, I'll discuss whether or not you should theme your Yin Yoga classes.

I think that sometimes when you graduate from your teacher training program you feel like there are these gaps in your knowledge and then you look around and you see all these, fancy classes that people are doing with themes and all this extra stuff, it can feel like a lot of pressure.

So, let's talk about that. Let&#...

When we're a teacher that has moved from a movement form of yoga into a quieter form of yoga. There can be this awkward feeling about all the silence.

There can be discomfort with not talking as much and allowing space for quiet exploration. Sometimes this comes just from it being a habit from having taught a more movement form of Yoga.

And so as teachers, we can think that we want to talk, all the time in class in these quiet...

This is Part 2 of a Two-Part Series Why I Boycott Yoga Alliance  In this episode, we hear from two guests:

Brea Johnson of Heart and Bones Yoga

Brea's Instagram

And

Alex Crow of  Yoga Physics

Alex's Instagram

Yoga Teachers: Join The Waitlist for my Therapeutic Yin Yoga Training at the bottom and top of the Page

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Full Show Notes https://n...

This is the beginning of a little mini-series on the subject of the Yoga Alliance.

I always meant to do an episode on Yoga Alliance because there are so many misconceptions about Yoga Alliance, what they are, what they aren't, and whether or not you need to be registered with Yoga Alliance to teach Yoga (spoiler alert the answer is no).

My Therapeutic Yin Training is not registered with Yoga Alliance and neither am I.

So I'...