Yin Yoga Yinsights
June 15, 2018

Yoga for the ages, and stages of life

In our youth, in the yang-time of life, flexibility is already sufficient to meet our needs, for the vast majority of people. Sports and exercise regimes should focus on helping develop the strength and coordination we will need as fully functioning adults. In the middle stage of life, as we slowly become more yin-like, our exercise regimes should focus on maintaining our strength and mobility for as long as we can. This is not the time to focus on gaining more, but on keeping what we have. In the final stage of life, we are in the yin-time. We lose mobility and gain too much stability. We stiffen up and slow down. Since motion is the lotion of life, when we stop moving, we accelerate decay. In the end stage of life, our focus should be on protection: taking greater care to avoid injury due to increasing frailty. Given this view of aging, there are lessons we can apply to our yoga practice based on our current stage of life.

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Intelligent Yoga by Peter Blackaby
A book review by Bernie Clark

We evolve: our knowledge grows and new understandings dawn. What used to be considered commonsense and the way things are done are revised. This happens in .com/Newsletter_volume51.php#OtherTeachersall fields of human enquiry and certainly is happening in the domain of yoga. Twenty years ago the mainstream focus was on how asanas looked, on how to shape the student to match the postures, on aesthetics and enhancing flexibility. Today a growing chorus of teachers and writers has spread the new understanding that a functional approach to yoga asana is both healthier and safer. One strong voice for this intelligent approach to yoga practice is Peter Blackaby.

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Josh Summers interviews Bernie Clark: The Mindset of a Teacher

Josh has a series of podcasts called Everyday Sublime: Shedding Light on Yin Yoga and Meditation. For yoga teachers, it can be a challenging process to unlearn rigid rules of alignment and to adapt their teaching to the unique experience of their students. In this 4-part interview series with Yin Yoga teacher, Bernie Clark, we discuss how a teacher can help educate a student to better understand their body and how to functionally align themselves in a yoga posture.

Listen to the podcasts

Teacher Trainings

Yin is In! 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

7-Day Yin Yoga Teacher Training

July 23rd-29th, 2018;
August 20th-26th, 2018;
September 24th to 30th, 2018;
Oct 29th to November 4th, 2018;

February 11th-17th, 2019;
April 1st-7th, 2019;
May 6th-12th, 2019;
June 3rd-9th, 2019;
July 22nd-28th, 2019;
August 19th-25th, 2019;
September 23rd-29th, 2019;
November 4th-10th, 2019<.

All of these 50-hour courses 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 offered by Semperviva, 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.

Meditation Revealed
With Bernie Clark & Nathalie Keiller
June 24th-July 1st 2018
February 17th-24th 2019
June 9th-June 16th 2019

This course will examine what meditation is, why we do it (its many benefits, spiritually, psychologically and physically), 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 updated 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!)