The Yin Yoga Kit: The Practice of Quiet Power Paperback - 2006

YOGA / EXERCISE "Biff Mithoefer has created the most useful written material available for exploring Yin Yoga. Much more than an asana book, The Yin Yoga Kit teaches energetic principles, mental disciplines, and patient mindfulness. I highly recommend it!" --PAUL GRILLEY, author of Yin Yoga: Outline of A Quiet Practice "Yoga and qigong are much more alike than they are different, causing many practitioners to say, 'Chinese yoga is Indian qigong.' The Yin Yoga Kit serves as a bridge between the two disciplines. It is like a mountain trail between China and India, probably through Tibet." --ROGER JAHNKE, O.M.D., director of the Institute of Integral Qigong and Tai Chi, author of The Healer Within and The Healing Promise of Qi Yin Yoga is known as the quiet yoga. Many of the most popular forms of yoga are fundamentally yang in nature, based on rhythmic movements of the muscles and focused on the need for change and attainment. Yin Yoga, in contrast, concentrates on connective tissue and bones, the parts of our body that are closest to our core and critical to our physical well-being and range of motion. The postures are all practiced on the floor and each is held for a lengthy period, usually three to five minutes. This intense non-movement allows the muscles to relax and the deep connective tissue to be gently stretched, encouraging the free flow of energy throughout the body. Above all, Yin Yoga is a gentle practice that brings yoga back to its internal meditative roots, teaching us to relax and accept ourselves just as we are. In The Yin Yoga Kit, Biff Mithoefer presents 14 postures used in Yin Yoga and explains the benefits of each, including which meridians and chakras will be most positively affected. The full-color posture cards included illustrate the poses for those who are very flexible--and those who are not--and assist users in designing a personalized practice. The 75-minute CD contains a guided routine narrated by the author, with each pose presented on a separate track so listeners can rearrange them or shorten the routine as needed. BIFF MITHOEFER teaches Yin Yoga at Omega Institute, Nosara Institute in Costa Rica, and throughout the United States. He lives in Dorset, Vermont.