Yin Yoga and Hot Chocolate

Last week I had the pleasure of studying with some amazing new friends at the beautiful Ohm Therapies in Edinburgh.  Despite the early start getting the train through to the east coast,  I loved every minute of the 4 day course.  But then again, what’s not to love about 3 hours of yoga each day?

Always be ready to learn something new

The training was an introduction to Yin Yoga, and provided me with the chance to learn more about functional anatomy, assisting/supporting in postures and of course to learn all about Yin Yoga.  Each day began and ended with a 60-90 minute Yin Yoga class, which left me feeling pretty good.  Yin is a slower paced practice than I was used to, and holding the postures at 50% effort for up to 5 minutes, was a concept I was not at all used to.  But I found my Yin-spiration the more I learned and practiced.  Yin yoga has a place in my home yoga routine now and I know that it will help with the tightness I’ve been experiencing in my shoulders and hip flexors.

On the last day of the course my lovely new friend Caroline, took me to the Hotel Chocolat where I bought my first Hot Chocolate of the season.  It was every bit as good as it looks in the picture too.  In a lot of ways the Yin practice is a bit like chocolate in general, as you need to relax and almost ‘melt’ into the postures, and when you’re holding caterpillar pose (or paschimottanasana/forward fold) for 5 minutes there is really no other option than to release and melt into the asana.  And by the end of the week, the postures were beginning to feel just as yummy as that cup of Hot Chocolate!