Yin Yoga is a slow, deep practice of the body and mind that leads us towards a deeper understanding of our bodies. 
Physically we hold simple shapes. This may present the question "what's the point if it's simple?" and the point is that it may well be a 'simple' practice, but that doesn't make it an easy one. 

The tissue we are targeting is not muscular. With yin, our focus is on the fascia, tendons, ligaments and joints. Because of this, the time for each pose (or shape) is around the 5 minute mark. The magic of yin is with the time we spend within each shape, during which we allow the muscles around the target area to acquiesce and relax.
The longer holds allow the connective tissues surrounding muscles and joints to be safely stretched and hydrated. 
The practice of yin yoga is widely needed with today's lifestyles.
We are familiar with the phrase 'Yin Yang' being associated with balance. Yin means stillness, with yang on the other hand referring to every activity we carry out. Even thoughts are yang.

Both are Yin and Yang are important, but our lives are dominated with Yang.

Lineage is important. It's the core of knowledge which we then add our own personalities to which gives us a diverse teaching pool. Again, it's important to find the right teacher for you.
It took us a long time to find one. But we did.

A brief history:

Yin Yoga has been described as new, yet ancient. Its first noticeable difference to other forms of Yoga is its origin. Yin yoga has Chinese roots, not Indian and belongs to the same family as tai chi and qigong. 
It was brought to the Western awareness by a man called Paul Grilley, a well-seasoned and experienced yoga teacher who happened upon an interview on television with a martial arts expert called Paulie Zink. While Paulie’s martial arts demonstration was impressive, what really caught Paul’s attention was his flexibility. 
Paul made contact and then studied with Paulie, discovering the basics of Daoist yoga.
Paul furthered his studies with Dr. Motoyama, deepening his knowledge of meridians (channels is a 'better' translation, and you'll hear us use that in class rather than meridians)
And so the ancient/new practice of Yin Yoga developed.

Both Al and myself trained with Dhugal Meacham.
​Dhugal has lived the majority of his life in Hong Kong, has a degree in philosophy amongst a host of other qualifications, not to mention the 1000s of hours studying, teaching and worldwide teacher training several forms of yoga.
Dhugal studied yin with Paul Grilley, Sarah Powers and Bernie Clark. the Western World 'Founder' of Yin and two mega powerhouses within the Yin world.