We are pleased to announce that Alice recently completed a 20-hour training specifically focused on Yin yoga. This immersion, held at Sanctuary for Yoga in Nashville, was led by Liz Stewart, who teaches Sanctuary’s Yin classes and has studied with Bernie Clark and Sarah Powers, both Yin experts and authors of books about Yin yoga.

Continuing education for all yoga teachers is very important. We open our minds to new thinking, learn new skills and bond with other teachers of like mind. Our goal in continuing to learn about yoga is to provide our students with state-of-the- art thinking about safety (above all) and new practices that energize and enhance your experience at 4yoga.

Alice has a favorite Bernie Clark quote she likes to share with students in Yin classes:

We don’t use our body to get into a pose, we use the pose to get into our body.

In Yin yoga we come to an appropriate depth (our edge), resolve to remain still, and hold the pose for time. This process allows us to become acutely aware of what is going on in our body. With time and practice, the student will use the pose to get into the mind and spirit as well.

For Alice, Yin yoga has been life-changing in that she discovered the power of stillness. Going through the immersion training at Sanctuary validated for Alice that, while Yin is a strong physical practice, with resolve, Yin touches us deep within the body, mind, and spirit. When we hold the poses in stillness for time, something deep within is triggered and the real benefits of yoga are revealed. For many, Yin is a path to mindfulness, meditation, spirituality, and wholeness.

In Yin yoga we work with the connective tissues in the body: bones and cartilage, tendons and ligaments and fascia. In most yang style yoga, the student is stressing the muscles. This is a fundamental difference. Most teachers who are familiar with Yin yoga believe we need both styles of yoga: Yang for strength, fitness, and flow; Yin for flexibility, mindfulness, and gracefulness.

Alice demonstrates Swan pose