Yin or Restorative?
Is there a difference?
Great question. And it's a popular one to ask. What I always like to say is the best way to know, is to experience it. You will discover that yes, each have their own intentions and copious benefits and yet in some ways, each practice holds some commonalities.
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Both styles of yoga use props for posture support. The intention is simply different in each practice.
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Both offer beautiful benefits; in their own wonderful ways
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Both are accessibly practices; all levels, all bodies
I hope the brief compendium of Yin and Restorative below is helpful for you.
Grab your mat, dress comfortably and I look forward to sharing a beautiful practice with you!
Yin separates its postures from general yoga into its own practice. It was developed by Paul Grilley in the 1990s and since the year 2000, the practice of Yin Yoga has expanded tremendously. Bernie Clark and his website www.YinYoga.com is a wonderful source of guidance and learning. His book, "The Complete Guide to Yin Yoga Philosophy and Practice" is widely used in teacher trainings and personal practice.
In our Yin practice, we experience meditation, counterposes, savasana (just like other styles of asana,) however, how we do our poses are different. We do fewer in class & and our holding times for each pose are much longer.
We come into the pose to an appropriate depth. You might hear guided instruction like "play with our edge," "explore ..."
We resolve to remain still and we hold the pose for a time (anywhere from 3 to 5 mins) or longer (depending on the posture, our bodies, and yin tissue tolerance.) These are the 3 tattvas in a Yin class.
Yin Yoga is a slower-paced practice that aims to target the deep connective tissues, such as ligaments, joints, and fascia. In other styles of yoga that you might have practiced, such as Vinyasa or Hatha, the focus is typically on the muscles. In Yin, we try to stay still in all postures. Why? To allow gravity and time to deepen our stretch. Yin is meant to cultivate flexibility, release tension, and improve our joint health. And equally beautiful, while there is deep breathing and meditation happening throughout our practice, we experience mindfulness and relaxation.
Sarah Powers says it beautifully. "Yin Yoga is the poetry of slow motion. It's where we find grace in stillness and depth in surrender."
Yin yoga is a practice of balance - between effort and ease, strength and flexibiility, yin and yang. It teaches us to find harmony in opposities.
- Paul Grilley
Restorative is a gentle and soothing style of yoga where we focus on relaxation and stress relief. We are in passive, comfortable poses and we are encouraged to use nearby props like blankets, bolsters (various sizes), blocks, and straps for support. The goal in this type of class is to reach deep relaxation and activate our body's parasympathetic nervous system, which is responsible for rest and recovery.
Restorative yoga cultivates the habit of attention. We hold our poses anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes and during that time, we experience comfort, ease, mindfulness; as opposed to stretching and strengthening. The bonus is this: we learn to identify how and where we hold tension (is it the hips, shoulders, lower back...?) and we consciously release it.
Anyone who is looking to reduce stress, recover from physical or emotional strain or who wants to relax/restore their energy will find this type of yoga a supportive practice. Judith Lasater has arguably done more than anyone since B.K.S Iyengar to popularize and refine this deeply therapeutic practice. In her words: "This practice can support an increased sense of resilience and "going with the flow" which impacts us on all levels; chemical, physical, and emotional." Through rest we create the space needed to act with purpose and intention."
At its root, restorative yoga is about simply being, being in deliciously comfortable stillness. And it's amazing what happens when we can just be.
- Andrea Peloso
