I am doing yoga, guys

Yoga? No, that's too airy-fairy for me with that sun salutation beforehand and herbal tea afterwards, and my hamstrings are totally unsuitable for it. I said this for about ten years. I thought yoga and I were not made for each other, until I went for the first time last week and for the second time this week. And you can guess three times where I'm going on Monday. Yoga, yes.

By the way, it's not just any yoga, it's yin yoga, the variant where you lie folded in half in one and the same position for about three to five minutes and surrender to the stretch. You understand that at the beginning of the stretch, with my already not-so-flexible hamstring, I'm gasping for breath and trying to puff away the sharp feeling, until I realized I had to let go and the stretch became strangely pleasant. As if I was relaxing into the stretch. The point is that if you think about something else for just one second, the sharp feeling and your hamstrings are all over the place again, that much is true.

That I now prefer yoga over the punching bag has everything to do with the hernia and your tips. I made a desperate call and received about twenty times ‘yin yoga’ in my email, so being the good citizen that I am, I went. Man, I felt four centimeters taller after the first class and believe me: that's nice with my height. The benefits of yin yoga, let me explain them briefly.

Yin is, along with hatha, the most popular among yoga and that says something.

With yin, you let gravity do the work. And if there's one thing I'm good at, it's that. Your connective tissue and joints also become more flexible. And your connective tissue does more for your body than you think; it protects your organs, for example, and gives your body structure.

With yin yoga, you create space in your body and in your mind. Those four extra centimeters I thought I had were perhaps a bit exaggerated, but you really do create more space by completely surrendering to a position.

Yin automatically makes you very mindful and relaxed. In a world of madness (yang), you also need yin for a bit of balance. If you have one, you also need the other. Additionally, you train yourself in letting go, physically and mentally.

You learn to approach things differently. My teacher said that I should see the unpleasant feeling (she meant that f-ing pain in my calf) the same way as something that feels good. It does make you think, because what if you approach something negative the same way as something positive in your life?

It also does all sorts of things with your chi a.k.a. your energy, according to traditional Chinese medicine one of the most important things for being physically and mentally healthy.

Now I'm stopping, before I get too airy-fairy. But yin yoga: relaxed, good for your body and nice for your mind. Worth trying.

P.S.: Our Marion Pauw is also crazy about yoga, but at the same time gets really annoyed. Want to read it for a moment, just believe me.

Source: happywithyoga