Yin Yoga Podcast

S 2| EP. 3In this episode, we will dive into the question of what is an advanced Yin Yoga?So in the yogaverse, which we are all probably part of, Yoga has been taken from its original intent and has been turned into a bunch of funny shapes that you make with your body.So most of the time when teachers are asking this question, they're talking about the Asana or the shapes.They're talking about these pretzel poses that we make with our bodies, and they want to know about advanced Asana.So here are some problems with that concept.First of all, what is an advanced Asana to one person might be completely simple to another.So there is no way to say, this is an advanced pose, and this is a beginner pose.For example: One person could be super comfortable sitting on the floor in meditation. Another person could struggle with that just even sitting cross-legged. And yet that same person who has trouble sitting cross-legged could do a handstand in the middle of the room, but can't sit still and quiet on the floor in meditation.So which one is the advanced Yogi?Regular Podcast Links for Spotify/Blog:Yoga Teachers: Join The Waitlist for my Therapeutic Yin Yoga Training at the bottom and top of the PageTo Join my Yin Yoga Classes on ZoomTo subscribe to my On-Demand Video Library:Full Show NotesAnatomy for Yoga with Paul GrilleyHang Drum Music by Fred Westra 

S 2| EP. 0 bonusAccording to Traditional Chinese Medicine, it would be unwise to set New Year Resolutions.Winter is the yin-est of the yin. So in a yin time of year, the element for winter is water. And this time of year is meant to be a time of year when you go inward. Where you slow down, where you cozy up, and where you go inside. So it's meant to be more reflective.You're meant to be more introverted, meant to sleep more, meant to cozy up more, um, and to be more reflective. And so winter is the perfect time to get out journals, read books, you know, drink tea, stay warm, sleep more, rest more. Go inward and actually notice as you go inward, start daydreaming and checking in with your soul.So when we're in the winter season, we want to be wintering. And New Year's, On the Western calendar (solar), is still very much winter. January 1st is winter time. So it is not the time to be doing spring-type energy things like planning, envisioning, and goal setting that's for springtime. So in traditional Chinese medicine and Taoism springtime is the time when we have this burst of energy where we can envision and we can create new things and we can plant seeds and we can get really active and start setting goals and we can hustle a little bit more.listen to learn moreYoga Teachers: Join The Waitlist for my Therapeutic Yin Yoga Training at the bottom and top of the PageTo Join my Yin Yoga Classes on ZoomTo subscribe to my On-Demand Video Library:Full Show NotesAnatomy for Yoga with Paul GrilleyHang Drum Music by Fred Westra Poem by: Donna Ashworth

S 2| EP. 1In this episode, we go over the difference between Yin Yoga and Restorative Yoga. Yin versus restorative, same, same, but different?So one of the reasons I think this is important to talk about is because there's often confusion between these two styles, both with the teachers and with students. And so if you are a teacher or a studio owner who has never taken specific, specialized training in either yin yoga or restorative yoga, then I can see how these might be confused as interchangeable.Although these two styles can look very similar from the outside, from the inside, they are very different practices. They have different intentions. They feel different physically, mentally, and energetically. Both are beautiful practices. I love and practice them both. I teach them both. So when you're teaching yin and restorative, I think it's important to define the difference clearly. They're both beautiful practices, but labeling them as the same does them both a disservice. So when teaching yin and restorative, we want to be clear on how we define each style.Yoga Teachers: Join The Waitlist for my Therapeutic Yin Yoga Training at the bottom and top of the PageTo Join my Yin Yoga Classes on ZoomTo subscribe to my On-Demand Video Library:Full Show NotesAnatomy for Yoga with Paul GrilleyHang Drum Music by Fred Westra Mentioned in this episode The Queen of Restorative Judith Hanson Lasaterhttps://www.judithhansonlasater.comThe episode on Interoception: https://nykdanu.com/teachers/yin-yoga-podcast/interoception-and-yin-yoga-with-pamela-crane/

BonusWhile I am on a small holiday break from the podcast, I thought it would be fun to re-share some of the episodes of other people's podcasts where I have been interviewed about Yin Yoga. This mini-series of episodes is what I'm calling - Share The Love!This Share the Love Episode Is with Pamela Crane from the Yoga Pro Podcast About Pamela Crane:Pamela Crane (MS-Yoga Therapy, C-IAYT, E-RYT, RYT-500, YACEP) is a Certified Yoga Therapist, Actor and Dancer, and former Broadcast Journalist; who loves having meaningful conversations around yoga practices, impacts on society, and entrepreneurship skills.  In her business, Interoceptive Performance, her passion includes helping yoga professionals learn evidence-based and scientifically supported research to augment their yoga trainingTopics Covered:-Nyk’s yoga journey-Her surprising introduction to Yin yoga-Nyk’s definition of Yin yoga-The unique sensations offered by a yin yoga practice-The difference between yin and restorative yoga-To prop or not prop in yin yoga-How she realized her application of yin was therapeutic-Why she keeps her students working at 50-60% of their capacity-What Nyk does to keep her therapeutic yin classes trauma-informed and accessible-Keeping the therapy in yin-Support for hypermobility and tissue/joint damage-Misconceptions about yin yoga-The importance of interoceptive awareness and personal agency in yoga-Differentiating instruction for multi-level classes-Contraindications of yin yoga-Why being ourselves as a teacher is so important-Making sure you teach yin effectively through training

BonusWhile I am on a small holiday break from the podcast, I thought it would be fun to re-share some of the episodes of other people's podcasts where I have been interviewed about Yin Yoga. This mini-series of episodes is what I'm calling - Share The Love!In this episode, I'm interviewed by Addie deHilster host of the Moved To Meditate Podcast whom I interviewed just a few episodes ago in the Mindfulness in Yin Episode.About Addie:Addie deHilster is a Mindfulness Meditation Teacher (IMTA CMT-P), a Yoga Therapist (C-IAYT), and an experienced trainer of yoga and movement teachers (YACEP, Yoga Alliance Continuing Ed Provider).I’m the founder of Moved to Meditate, which offers online Mindful Movement and Meditation instruction in a variety of formats – live group classes, a pre-recorded Class Library, one-to-one mentoring sessions, and a podcast.Episode Details:Nyk talks about how learning anatomy from Paul Grilley – especially the reality of skeletal variation – was a game changer for understanding alignment in yoga. We also discuss the use of props in Yin Yoga, and why they are so important for making the practice accessible and therapeutic.the role of the nervous system and interoception in Yin Yoga therapyhow the long-held Yin Yoga poses can be calming for anxietythe mental challenges that often come up in a Yin Yoga practicewhy Nyk is cautious about sharing Chinese Medicine and Meridian theory in Yin classeswhat the sinew channels are, and how they may be more relevant to Yin than the MeridiansWe also discuss alternatives to some of the common language used in Yin Yoga and ways to make Yin classes more trauma-informed.

As we move into the end of season 1 before we take a holiday break I thought I would share some of the episodes of other podcasts I have been interviewed on. In this episode, I'm interviewed by Mado Hesselink Episode Highlights:  Yin as an antidote for our stressful modern culture Roots, history & philosophy of yin How you can benefit from yin yoga The major differences between yin and other styles of yoga Why it’s important to get specialized yin training The purpose of props in yin You can check out Mado's podcast and work here: https://teachingyoga.net and follow on her Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/yoga.teacher.resource/

BonusWhile I am on a small holiday break from the podcast, I thought it would be fun to re-share some of the episodes of other people's podcasts where I have been interviewed about Yin Yoga. This mini-series of episodes is what I'm calling - Share The Love!In this Share The Love Episode I'm interviewed by one of the OG - Yoga Podcasters Kathryn Anne Flynn Of the Intelligent Edge Podcast (now archived) Kathryn is a fellow Canadian and like me a holder of unpopular opinions.A bit about Kathryn:Kathryn Anne Flynn is an old soul - a smart, warm, and occasionally humorous Registered Psychotherapist (RP) and Yoga educator living in Ottawa, Canada. She brings more than 12 years of experience as an educator, silent retreat leader, and author on yoga, Ayurveda, and meditation.Kathryn is a 500 ERYT certified teacher of Ayurvedic Yoga, Master of Arts in English, Master of Arts in Counselling Psychology, and is also completing certification as an Ayurvedic Health Counsellor.Kathryn is a student of Buddhism, inspired by and greatly missing Michael Stone. She was also the host of the Intelligent Edge Yoga podcast. Kathryn has deep gratitude for her life’s blessings, including her family, her beautiful son Harvey, her forever teacher and friend, Mona Warner, and her supervisor at the Ottawa Centre for Attachment and Trauma Therapy, Michelle Hogeterp. In this episode:Is Yin Yoga accessible? It can be! Nyk Danu, yin yoga trainer and yoga therapist, joins Kathryn to chat about responsive, inclusive approaches to the quiet practice.

S 1 | EP. 12CW: Passive suicidal ideationI've invited Pamela to come on to talk about interoception. So, interoception is a word that I have never heard. Until I took my yoga therapy training and I used it a lot now when I train teacher,s and it seems like unless you're in the yoga therapy circles or in therapy circles, people don't know what this word means.And in my opinion, yin yoga is especially good at cultivating interoception. And so that's why I thought I would have Pamela come on and talk about it with me. So here is Pamela's official bio. Pamela Crane is a certified yoga therapist with a master's degree in yoga therapy. She is a certified International Association of Yoga Therapists, and she's also an experienced registered yoga teacher at the 500 level.She provides group and individual mindfulness and yoga therapy services to businesses and organizations specializing in yoga for military members, and dancers. And those with confidence and self-esteem issues, she has presented stress management seminars at the U S department of health and services, the U S department of education, and the U S P S headquarters to name a few.She's presented nationally and internationally at symposiums and conferences for yoga and integrated medicine. And she's also a film and commercial actress. A former broadcast journalist. As I mentioned, the host of the Yoga Pro podcast, where she discusses current trends in the field of yoga and integrative health.My Interview on Pamela's Podcast - The Yoga Pro Podcast https://www.theyogapropodcast.com/therapeutic-yin-yoga-with-nyk-danu/Pamela's website: https://www.interoceptiveperformance.comhttps://www.instagram.com/gratefullypamela/Yoga Teachers: Join The Waitlist for my Therapeutic Yin Yoga Training at the bottom and top of the PageTo Join my Yin Yoga Classes on ZoomTo subscribe to my On-Demand Video Library:Full Show NotesAnatomy for Yoga with Paul GrilleyHang Drum Music by Fred Westra 

S 1 | EP. 11If you want some entertainment, go into any Yoga Facebook group, especially ones for teachers, and type out the question, should you use music in your Yoga classes and then watch the piranhas come? I don't know why this is such a dogmatic opinion for Yoga teachers, but it tends to be. People get really worked up about whether or not you should use music in your Classes.And of course, because this is a Yin podcast, I'm going to talk about this from a Yin perspective, but I'm not going to tell you whether or not you should use music in your classes. Because that's up for you to decide, but what I do want to talk about is why we might choose to use music, why we might not choose to use music, some things about music and the style and the type of music that you use that you may not have thought of.And then also just very briefly, can you even legally use music in your classes? A lot of teachers don't know this, but it's not so easy to just throw on your Spotify list. You could actually be breaking the law. All right, let's dive into some of that. Shall we?Regular Podcast Links for Spotify/Blog:Yoga Teachers: Join The Waitlist for my Therapeutic Yin Yoga Training at the bottom and top of the PageTo Join my Yin Yoga Classes on ZoomTo subscribe to my On-Demand Video Library:Full Show NotesAnatomy for Yoga with Paul GrilleyHang Drum Music by Fred Westra 

S 1 | EP. 10The role of emotions in Yin Yoga is a topic that I often see questions about from teachers and in my teacher training, or in a Facebook group.And I want to be clear here that Yin Yoga doesn't cause emotions. So, practicing Yin isn't what creates the emotions, but the emotions can come up in Yin. They often come up because we're finally still and quiet, and we have time.So emotions that might not have been processed throughout the day, throughout your week, your month, your year, your life. The emotions you've been kind of pushing to the side because you're busying yourself, being a human doing instead of a human being. Whether this is yourself or your students, those emotions don't have anywhere to go and they just hang there and wait until there's a time to release them, to process them. I'm also going to talk a little bit about some of the mistakes that teachers make in what they say in class.So here we go. It's going to be an emotional ride, pun intended. Take a moment to grab your tea, your coffee, and your headphones, settle in and we'll get into this.Mentioned in this Video Brene Brown Empathy vs Sympathy https://youtu.be/KZBTYViDPlQ?si=L6yheroFL345yS_wYoga Teachers: Join The Waitlist for my Therapeutic Yin Yoga Training at the bottom and top of the PageTo Join my Yin Yoga Classes on ZoomTo subscribe to my On-Demand Video Library:Full Show NotesAnatomy for Yoga with Paul GrilleyHang Drum Music by Fred Westra