I have learned to manage my anxiety through movement and exercise, mostly vigorous, intense workouts that make me sweat a lot. Learning that I had pericarditis and being told to take it easy was extremely hard for me. I was fearful my anxiety would take over, dramatic I know but it was something that worried me. So, I pulled a book down from my book shelf that I got last Christmas and hadn’t gotten to reading and cracked it open. The book was about yin yoga, which was completely opposite from the yang type yoga I usually practiced. Don’t get me wrong the vinyasa flow has yin elements but not to this extent. I read this book in a couple hours and learned about yin yoga, this book talked about how yin is used to compliment yang, to keep the body balanced. Continuing to explore yin I would wake up in the morning and test it out. I did a variety of a couple poses that made me feel good and let me tell you what I experienced.

I was very worried that I was going to go into a downward spiral with anxiety and have too much time with nothing but relaxing on the couch doing nothing but just thinking the worst. When I practiced just 23 minutes of yin yoga, it got me out of my head for me to come to a meditative state. In yin yoga you don’t work up a sweat it’s a practiced preformed ‘’cool”, and you hold the poses for longer approximately 2-6 minutes. As I was holding the different poses I noticed as the minutes went on, I was getting deeper into the pose, it was a different kind of stretch, you are working with the connective tissues in the body. It essentially put some stress on it, over a period of time to help with elasticity as well as increasing the circulation. This was a new feeling for me and holding the poses for that long was a different sensation. I really enjoyed slowing down to dip my toes into this type of yoga.

A couple weeks prior I discussed the importance that breath can have in everyday life, well no surprise that it rendered true while practicing yin. In this book, the author talked about visualizing the pathways of the breath through your body which purify it. This practice is called Arohan Awarohan, mapping of the breath. I am still so new to yin yoga but have enjoyed learning about the different elements it has introduced to me.

Each morning I would practice at least 20 minutes of yin while I waited for my Wednesday appointments. I went to the doctors for an ultra sound of my heart and got the results back finally the following Friday. My doctor said that everything came back fine and it was indeed pericarditis. I was relieved, he suggested to take it easy and the inflammation should be gone in 2-3 weeks and to keep taking my medication. My fear had gotten the better of me while I waited for the results, I’m human and its hard not to let my mind wander that way. After everything came back clear I continued to take it easy and practice yin every day. Slowly I have started adding back the yang elements of my practice with the yin as I am still in recovery mode. I have found a new appreciation for slowing down, it has showed me what it can do for my mind and body. I feel lighter and more opened after exploring a yin practice, it has benefitted my mental state in a way I truly thought it never could. It connected my mind and breath with the position of my body and visualizing the way in which my breath flows.

I wanted to share a few of the poses that I learned and use, feel free to contact me on my latest Instagram post about how these poses felt for you. I held them for any where from 2-5 minutes I hope you enjoy these poses if you are looking to explore some yin poses.

The first is like the yang pose this is butterfly; sit with the knees bent and bottom of your feet touching together. Let your feet slide away from you a little, round your back and fold forward.

The next pose is called Anahatasana to get into this pose I used a bolster, but you can just be on the floor if you like. Start on your hand and knees, move your hands away from the body and bring the hips off your heels and in line with you knees or if using a bolster keep your hips on your heels. Try and keep your elbows shoulder width apart, lifting your forearms and hands over your head and hold. You don’t want a hanging type of sensation so try and keep your elbows at the should distance apart.

The next pose I wanted to share with you that just feels so good is cat pulling its tail. To get into this pose lay on your stomach and then lay on your right side. Extend your right hand out so your head rests on it and bend your right leg up so your left hand connects with your right foot. Your left leg is off to the side and bent so your left foot toes come beside your right knee and toes. Switch sides.

The last pose is savasana /corpse pose.

XO

Kristy