Yoga hug

Wednesday, I went to my favourite yin class, which I have renamed yoga hug. I was going to write about this yesterday, but I was so excited about my wheel that I had to write about that!

A yin class at a hot studio is something special. For the regular classes, the temperature is anywhere from 38 to 41 degrees celcius (100 to 105 degrees fahrenheit). But for yin classes, it’s warm, not hot.

Before my 30 day yoga challenge, I was not a big fan of yin yoga. However, when I was doing yoga every day, I learned to appreciate the more passive aspect of the practice. Now, I love it!

What I love about Ichih’s class is that it’s always different. Some teachers seem to have a routine and if you go to their class regularly, you do the same thing every time.

All of the poses were done on the floor. No standing, no holding, no dragon pose!

We did half-frog, which I like. I’m not sure how much I would like full frog though. Then, from half-frog, Ichih had us bring one arm up and the other arm out to the side at a right angle. She said this pose made her wish she had brought chalk to trace around us. I had Julie demonstrate because, although it feels great, it looks really funny!

After that, we did some forward bends and then we chilled out in supported bridge. I love, love, love supported bridge. You can just let everything go. At the end of a long day, there is no better feeling!

Another thing that makes this class wonderful is that Ichih tells us stories while we’re in our poses. Sure, you can breathe into a pose and focus on how it feels, but you hold poses for so long in yin that it’s nice to combine that with inspirational stories and quotes.

I always sleep so well after this class. As much as I love the rush I get from an intense flow class, the feeling of peace I get from yin is definitely as addictive. See how relaxed we look after class?

If you haven’t tried yin yet, do it! You don’t know what you’re missing. You could be so relaxed right now!