Yoga has become increasingly popular among social media these days, and is more of a common way to workout rather than a practice of meditation that has been alive for centuries. Yin Yoga (otherwise known as “surrender”), is a traditional “slow-paced style of yoga with postures, or asanas, that are held for longer periods of time—for beginners, it may range from 45 seconds to two minutes." This style is one that sounds easy, but for me, it was the hardest yoga class I’ve endured so far. I attend LifeTime Fitness weekly and typically take their (amazing) fitness classes- particularly yoga. They have many different styles including Vinyasa Flow, Yin Yoga, Hot Yoga, Yoga for Stretching/Flexibility. Besides Yin, they all are fast-moving, heart racing movements that force you to learn how to use breath to your advantage whether it’s in stretching or in holding a headstand. However, last night I took the surrender class, and I felt like I was dreaming the whole time. The first pose we held was Child’s Pose, in which one leans backwards on their knees and reaches their arms out the opposite way. This has always been one of my favorite poses, but once we held it for eight minutes, I started to hate it. On the other hand, as we continued through class I began to appreciate the concept of moving past the comfort zone and breathing through it.

My brain never ceases to move very fast, even when I’m sleeping. My life is quick-moving and has a lot of unnecessary stress involved. So when I was told to clear my mind by the teacher, that was the most difficult part of the class. But as I continuously inhaled and exhaled I realized that I need balance in my life. Coincidentally, that is what “Yin Yoga” is all about. Yin coincides with Yang, and although I personally thrive with a lot on my plate, it is absolutely necessary to have a part of my life that isn’t accelerating from 0-100 miles per hour constantly. Needless to say, I will be back to this yoga class weekly.