Summer sunshine is finally here! Let's all take a big deep breath, whisper amen and enjoy a Yin practice to balance this Yang season!

Because the majority of Yin poses are seated lower-body holds, most of them target the spine or the hips in some way.

Practicing Yin allows for the opportunity to compress and decompress the spine. Compression is often considered negative, but that’s not necessarily the case; in fact, when done safely, such as in a Yin pose, it provides an appropriate and positive level of stress to the tissues and in the release, a fresh blood supply. Yin offers a wonderful combination of compression (for building bone strength and health) and stretching (or decompression, which helps connective tissue move optimally). Yin allows neuromuscular patterns toward better and fuller range of motion in our joints and soft tissue. Mobility allows us freedom in movement, bone strength provides stability. And it's such a perfect time to practice cultivating healthy diaphragm breathing, relieving our shoulders and necks from taking the heat with common upper chest breathing and doing the work they were never intended to do. Ahhhhhhhhh, neck release! Yin also helps the body build up the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest) which is bullied by the sympathetic nervous system in our highly stressful lives. Sign. Me. Up!