Yin Yoga Yinsights
October, 2013

Suzee Cues
Functional Yoga

At a recent Yin Yoga Anatomy retreat where Paul and Suzee Grilley waxed eloquently about our bodies, our unique skeletal manifestations, and what this uniqueness means to us as students of yoga, Suzee guided us every morning through our Yin Yoga practice. While we marinated in our own sauces, she explained several ways we could improve the effectiveness of what we were doing to ourselves. Suzee’s cues are worth sharing, beginning with three key statements about Targeted Areas (TA).

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Your Body – Your Yoga
Dispelling the Myths of Alignment:
Part 1 – The Tibia

There are no universal principles of alignment. (I might as well get the controversy started right away!) There are no universal cues that work for everybody, because there are no universal bodies. Any cue that demands, “everybody must place his or her feet parallel” is missing this basic fact. To be clear, there are principles of alignment, but what is important is to discover the principles of alignment that work for your body, not for other bodies. We can illustrate this point by investigating the question: “Where should your feet point in a yoga pose?”

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Mechanotransduction
Yin Yoga’s Magical Ingredient is Stress

Every move we make stresses our body, and our body is made up of trillions of cells. Thanks to the presence of our extracellular matrix [ECM], these cells are all connected together. What we do to the body, we do to our cells, and that is a very good thing because, it turns out, our cells require mechanical stresses, through mechanotransduction, to become activated. To understand how this works and why it is so important for our health and healing, we need to understand a little bit about the ECM.

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From the Gita to the Grail
Exploring Yoga Stories & Western Myths

The Gita to the Grail is soon heading to the printers! We are still expecting the book to be in stores by January 1st, 2014 but we already have a few reviews, and the book is available now for pre-orders. Check it out if you are interested in learning more about the myths of yoga and what they mean for those of us who grew up surrounded by Western myths.

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The Yin Yoga Forum

The forum is available for anyone to ask questions about Yin Yoga in particular or Yoga in general, but the forum is not just for those who “don’t know” – it is also available for everyone who already know, and have stories and information to share with others. Here is just one example: if you are looking for some great music to accompany your Yin Yoga classes check out this post, which has many suggestions. Feel free to add your favourite music to the thread.

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Yin Yoga Teacher Trainings

Yin is In! And, it is growing in popularity. Yin Yoga has been with us since the beginning of Hatha Yoga centuries ago. But since the early 19th century, yoga has become more and more yang-like in nature. Everything requires balance: yin completes yang. Yin Yoga is the balancing practice for the more active, muscular yang yogas. There are more and more teachers offering Yin Yoga today, and more workshops and opportunities to learn how to become a Yin Yoga teacher. If diving deeper into the yin-side of life is on your bucket list, there are lots of opportunities for you.

Upcoming Trainings and Retreats with Bernie Clark

50-hour, 7-Day Yin Yoga Teacher Trainings
November 11th-17th, 2013;
February 10th-16th, 2014;
May 12th-18th, 2014;
August 25th-31st, 2013;
November 10th-16th, 2014.

All of these will be at the Semperviva Yoga Studios, in Vancouver, Canada. The Yin Yoga Teacher Training Program offered at the Semperviva Yoga College is a unique way to deepen your yoga practice and touch tissues rarely worked in a more active yang style of yoga. For 200 hour certified teachers the credits of the course can be applied towards the 500 hour certification, and are eligible for CEUs with Yoga Alliance. (CEUs = Continuing Education Units and are required to maintain your status as a Registered Yoga Teacher).

For more details or to register, check the Semperviva web page or call them at 604-739-2009.

A 60 hour, 7-Day Yin Yoga Teacher Training & Retreat
June 29th to July 6th, 2014

This will be at the lovely Sea-to-Sky Retreat Center (SSRC) and it always ‘sells out’ early. Visit SSRC 2014 for more information and comments from past attendees.

MEDITATION REVEALED
With Bernie Clark & Nathalie Keiller
February 16th – 23rd, 2014
This course will examine what meditation is, why we do it and how to do it, from a variety of viewpoints: From Eastern Yogic and Buddhist views to Western Psychotherapeutic understanding. The course will include personal, one-on-one training in Deep Meditation, as well as group instruction, to give the student an experiential basis for the practice of meditation. Held at the Semperviva Yoga Studios – Vancouver, B.C., Canada.
Learn More

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Yin Yoga Teacher Directory

If you are having trouble finding a Yin Yoga teacher near you, or if you are traveling to somewhere new, try checking out the Directory of Yin Yoga teachers. We have hundreds of teachers registered from all over the world. If you are a teacher and are not in the directory, just send us your information and we’ll be happy to add you.

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Other Interesting Events

Paul Grilley, Sarah Powers, and Biff Mithoefer are each planning a full load of workshops all over the world. You can check out their schedules at their home web pages:

Paul Grilley’s Schedule of Workshops

Sarah Power’s Schedule of Workshops

Biff Mithoefer’s Schedule of Workshops

Many teachers around the world are creating Yin Yoga based workshops and retreats. Some of them are posting these activities on our Forum page. Check it out. There may be one happening near you. (If you are a teacher, feel free to add yours to the page!)