Yin Yoga Peak Pose - as in Vinyasa Flow

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VIYOGA
Posts: 6
Joined: Mon Oct 16, 2017 11:05 am

Yin Yoga Peak Pose - as in Vinyasa Flow

Post by VIYOGA »

Would you ever choose a peak pose in Yin? We're told we don't have to warm-up or open the body in yin the same way we do in yang yoga styles, but would there be any harm in "warming up" different parts of the body in yin poses to prepare for the peak pose? Is this a good idea?

I am planning to lead a class with Saddle as the peak pose. It looks like this:
Child
Quad stretch (like half bow, side-lying quad stretch or King Arthur at the wall with knee on blanket or soft block
Sphinx
Supported bridge
Cat/Cow
Dragon
Ankle stretch
Toe Squat
Cat pulling its tail
Saddle
Bernie
Posts: 1293
Joined: Sat Sep 23, 2006 2:25 am
Location: Vancouver

Peak Yin

Post by Bernie »

Certainly, you can have a peak posture that you work towards in Yin Yoga. While we don't warm up to a peak pose as we do in more yang/vinyasa classes, we do try to loosen up before going deeper. A general arc of a yin class is to start shallow, worker deeper, back off and do the appropriate counter postures.

Given this philosophy, when I looked at your proposed flow, it seems you end with Saddle, but don't then spend time pulling yourself back together. A few flexion postures and maybe an ending twist would be a good idea after Saddle. For this reason I would put Saddle right after the Supported Bridge, as you have by then opened up the back already.

I guess your main targeted area for this flow is the quads, as you have a lot of quad stresses here. That's cool, but you can overdo it too... A whole class of flexing the quads may be a bit too intense. Plus, Saddle works many areas that need preparing and counterposes: you do prepare the spine via Sphinx and Supported Bridge, but again...it would be good to finish with some flexions in that area (not as deep as the extensions, but some opposite movement is good.) Since you also want to rest the quads, maybe Butterfly and Caterpillar after Saddle?

Cheers
Bernie
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