Yin Yoga vs. Restorative Yoga

Published on November 3, 2015

With so many yoga styles and classes to choose from, how do you know what’s right for you? One of the great things about practicing yoga is the ability to try many different kinds of classes, but beginning yogis might be overwhelmed by the choices. In this post, I’ll discuss two styles of yoga—yin and restorative—that offer different but equally amazing benefits. Both styles are appropriate for beginners and can bring healing and awareness into many aspects of your life.

Yin yoga is a quieter style of yoga that can help you move into a more meditative state. The goal of a yin yoga practice is to go deep into poses and stay for several minutes to access joints, connective tissues, and bones rather than muscles. This promotes healing, mobility, and suppleness in the joints, fascia, and connective tissue that we lose as we age or because of injury. Yin yoga is thought to help the flow of energy through the body, and it has specific benefits for organ health. Founded by Paulie Zink, yin yoga pulls from Taoist yoga traditions to balance out our more yang (active) lifestyles and exercise routines. For this reason, yin teachers often use terms from Chinese medicine, bringing in discussion of meridians (channels through which energy flows in the body) and chi (energy or life force).

Yin classes can be challenging because of the intensity of poses and the length of time you stay in them. Teachers offer many modifications and options for how deep you can go in a pose, giving you the flexibility to explore. Holding a pose for 3-5 minutes (the average time recommended for many poses) also allows the pose to evolve as your body relaxes. Hip openers like half-pigeon and frog are fantastic examples of yin poses that deepen after a few minutes. If you’re challenged by staying in poses for a long time, or if you have trouble relaxing in savasana, you might try a meditation or a pranayama technique when you’re practicing yin yoga. If you have a hard time slowing down and being still, then yin yoga might be just what you need to bring a some balance to your life!

Restorative yoga is similar to yin in that postures are held for several minutes, but the goal is to experience relaxation and restoration. This means that there is very little effort of any kind during a practice. The intensity that you might encounter in a yin pose is absent here. Instead, your goal is to access tranquility and peace through healing, nurturing postures. Restorative yoga uses many props, including bolsters, blankets, and eye pillows, to help you get into this state. Supine bound angle pose supported with props is popular in restorative classes. By coming into the feeling of being fully supported, your body and nervous system can relax completely.

Many restorative yoga poses originated with B.K.S. Iyengar, who recognized that Western practitioners could benefit from healing rather than packing in even more action and busyness. One of the earliest and most foundational teachers of restorative yoga was Judith Lasater, Ph.D., who, in her book Relax and Renew, notes that this style of yoga “relieve[s] your muscles and bones of their roles of support and action [.] [Y]our nervous system sends and receives fewer messages and becomes quieter. Layers of tension melt away as you learn to be present to what is happening in the body and mind in each moment.”

Both restorative and yin yoga cultivate stillness, meditation, and deep awareness, but they access these states in different but equally beneficial ways. I’d encourage you to try both—particularly if you’ve always done more active styles of yoga. You just mind find that these quieter styles are a missing piece for you!

Share with

Friends

Our Latest

Yoga Articles
  • Purusharthas

    Purusharthas: The Four Goals of Life

  • Trimurti

    Trimurti: The Hindu Trinity of Brahma Vishnu Shiva

  • Brahman

    Brahman: Definition, Meaning, and Philosophy

  • Yoga Nidra

    Yoga Nidra: Meaning, Benefits, Videos and Tips

  • Living Like a Yogi

    17 Rules for Living Like a Yogi

  • heart opening yoga poses

    The Best 16 Heart Opening Yoga Poses

  • Negative Energy in a Person

    18 Clear Signs of Negative Energy in a Person

  • Three Doshas

    The Three Ayurvedic Doshas: Vata, Pitta, and Kapha

Remove Ads with a

Premium Membership

Viewing ads supports YogaBasics, which allows us to continue bringing you quality yoga content. Sign up for a premium membership to remove all ads and enjoy uninterrupted access to the best yoga resources on the web.

Explore More

Yoga TipsAdviceArticlesPracticesBasicsTechniques

  • yoga etiquette

    7 Tips For Minding Your Yoga Manners

  • yoga breathing pranayama

    Keep Calm and Breathe On: The Science of Pranayama

  • Common Yoga Mistakes and How to Fix Them

    24 Common Yoga Mistakes and How to Fix Them

  • Yoga Class for Beginners

    Which Yoga Class Is Best for Beginners?

  • mindful eating

    6 Easy Ways to Start a Mindful Eating Practice

  • teaching yoga at festival

    How to Choose a Yoga Teacher Training Program

  • Home Yoga Studio

    15 Tips for Creating an Amazing Home Yoga Studio

  • Equanimity Through mantra meditation

    7 Ways to Find Equanimity Through Yoga

  • The Top 6 Best Yogi Tested Yoga Mats

    The Top 6 Best Yogi Tested Yoga Mats

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Ali McGhee Avatar
About the author
Ali went to her first yoga class eight years ago and never looked back. She completed a 200-hr teacher training at the Baptiste-affiliated Breathe Yoga in Pittsford, NY, and a subsequent Baptiste Level One Training. She’s studied Restorative Yoga at the Asheville Yoga Center, and teaches Baptiste Yoga at Go Yoga in Asheville, NC. An eternal student, Ali and soaks up knowledge wherever she can get it, particularly when it comes to yoga philosophy, mythology and history. Ali has a PhD in English literature from the University of Rochester, and serves as a contributor and editor for Sensible Reason, a millennial arts and culture magazine (sensiblereason.com), and The Asheville Grit (ashevillegrit.com). When she’s not writing or teaching, Ali takes her yoga off the mat by constantly feeding her imagination and her sense of curiosity, primarily through cooking, hiking and traveling.
Yoga Basics