The Yin and Yang of a Yoga Practice
Having both an active and a restorative Yin yoga practice creates incremental benefits to the body, mind and soul. And practicing both by the sea has an even healthier effect.
Here at Yoga Escapes, we offer yoga classes twice a day on our luxury yoga retreats – an active 1.5 hour Vinyasa practice in the morning to wake up the mind and body, and a more gentle one hour restorative Yin yoga practice in the evening to relax you into the evening.
Find out how practicing both yoga styles helps us to stay balanced.
An active yoga class:
When we practice an active asana class, we intentionally put our bodies into an intense work-out in order to find physical release. Our bodies are then tired enough to allow us to sit or lie completely still, which in turn allows the mind to also find stillness.
This is what yoga is all about – being able to still our bodies, and cease our minds from wandering.
In Vinyasa flow yoga, the movement through a series of poses is synchronized with the inhale and exhale of the breath. Vinyasa has both mental and physical benefits. Physically, sweat expels toxins and re-energizes your body. Mentally, the synchronized breathing relaxes your mind and helps to release any blockage of energy flow throughout your body. It can be as intense or as gentle as you like – we teach the practice with modifications to allow advanced people to challenge themselves and beginners to practice at their own pace.
A calming yoga class:
In the practice of restorative yoga, we achieve the same thing in a different way – we fully support the body and try to be as passive as possible in order to release.
In our more restorative Yin classes, we hold poses longer to allow for a deeper stretch, ending with a longer relaxation.
Holding poses for around four minutes each and supporting our bodies with props allows our muscles and minds to relax completely and to reap the benefits of each pose. This in turn enhances flexibility, balances our hormonal activity and lymphatic system, as well as aids our immune and digestive systems. Not to mention that it feels like a full body massage!
Two different methods of getting to the same goal.
We think it’s important to practice both styles on our yoga retreats, with an active morning class and a restorative evening class. Our yoga teachers have many years of experience with both styles, and modify each class to allow for all levels. You can find out more about our luxury yoga holidays and our yoga teachers.
Our yearly yoga retreats:
Lanzarote Canary Islands: February
Marrakesh Morocco: February
Sicily, Italy: April & October
Corfu, Greece: May
Mykonos, Greece: June & September
Menorca, Spain: June
Rovinj Croatia: September
Crete, Greece: October
Red Sea, Egypt: November
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Yoga Escapes organizes luxury yoga retreats in beautiful places around the world, offering a mix of Vinyasa yoga and restorative Yin yoga classes. Contact the Yoga Escapes team for info on upcoming yoga holidays.