Most of us are constantly on the go, working long hours, piling on endless tasks to our to-do lists, and rarely give ourselves permission to sit still and decompress. We can easily slip out of balance and become exhausted if we’re not careful, which is why a regular self-care routine is essential to help us stay productive and energized. This is where yin yoga and CBD come in. The therapeutic properties of yoga and CBD oil enhance and amplify the other, making it the ideal pair for deep relaxation and unparalleled tranquility. Our CBD-powered yin yoga flow is perfect for beginners, seasoned yogis looking to enhance their practice, and anyone in need of a little TLC at the end of a long week.
“Yin yoga gives us permission to be still. It provides balance against all of life’s Yang activities, and allows us to reach deeper levels of rest, which open us up to higher consciousness.” -Tara Fitzgibbon
What Is Yin Yoga?
Yin yoga is a form of restorative yoga that involves holding various stretches for 3-5 minutes to access the deepest layers of fascia, increasing circulation, flexibility, and mobility in the process. While all forms of yoga can help us reach a meditative and tranquil state, yin yoga specifically provides the space for unparalleled stillness, relaxation, and concentration.
Yin yoga focuses on cultivating passive energy, rather than the active energy we cultivate during other yoga practices or more common workouts like lifting weights and jogging. Balancing our naturally fast-paced lifestyles with the stillness of yin yoga is an excellent way to promote balance and tranquility in our bodies, while dispelling feelings of overwhelm and exhaustion in the process.
Key Benefits of Yin Yoga
Increases Mobility & Flexibility
It is incredibly common for most of us to have limited joint flexibility, even if we’re regularly active. Connective tissue shrinks to the minimum length required to accommodate your daily activities, which is usually either standing or sitting for extended periods of time, depending on your line of work. Yin yoga focuses on strengthening and lengthening connective tissue and gently stretching deep fascia to increase our overall potential for increased mobility and flexibility.
After 90 seconds of holding a stretch, you move from stretching superficial tissue to stretching the layers of deep fascia. Areas that are seen as less malleable, like the hips, pelvis, and lower spine, are strengthened and lengthened through consistent yin yoga practice, improving range of motion and increasing flexibility. This makes it an incredibly valuable tool for yogis that want to expand their practice and athletes that want to increase mobility and performance.
Helps Relieve Pain & Prevent Injury
Muscular tension is the body’s natural response to stress, which is helpful to keep us out of life-threatening situations, but can lead to chronic pain if we don’t manage our stress levels. Tense muscles are also more prone to injury due to their inherent tightness, which limits free range of motion. Yin yoga is especially helpful at preventing injury due to tightness and tension, which makes it an incredible resource for athletes and intermediate yogis who want to expand their practice safely.
Yin yoga can also help prevent and alleviate chronic pain, especially muscular or myofascial pain, by reducing tension and releasing the impact of stress on the muscles. It is an incredibly accessible form of movement for those suffering from chronic pain, as it is gentle and low-impact on the body.
Encourages Mindfulness & Reprograms Nervous System
Through its innate stillness, yin yoga allows you to more mindfully connect to your body. Focusing on calm, deep breaths as you hold static poses trains your body to respond to stress with a calm, focused mind. Because you’re “stressing” the connective tissue and fascia during a stretch, calmly breathing during your practice activates the parasympathetic nervous system, which allows our bodies to switch to a rest and digest mode.
Why Yin Yoga & CBD Oil Make A Perfect Pair
Because we’re all so wired for constant movement, the idea of sitting still in static stretches for minutes at a time can seem incredibly daunting- and you may be jumping out of your skin at the mere thought. But, don’t let that deter you from the practice. Even seasoned yogis struggle with the stillness yin yoga calls for, but the unique benefits of the practice are well worth the effort. This is where CBD oil comes in- the naturally relaxing properties in CBD make it a thousand times easier for us to sit still long enough to reap the rewards of a yin yoga practice.
As a natural adaptogen and anti-inflammatory, CBD will help you ease into the stillness this practice requires more readily, while also helping your body seamlessly move through the stretches so you are able to reap the rewards yin yoga offers. Errbshop’s CBD massage oil can be especially helpful at enhancing the pain-relieving potential of yin yoga, as it deeply rejuvenates aching muscles, and releases tension in the body to allow us to move with more ease through our yoga practice.
How To Use CBD Massage Oil To Enhance Your Yoga Practice
No matter what your skill level, CBD massage oil will enhance your sense of tranquility and increase your potential for deep relaxation during our restorative yin yoga practice, making it an excellent companion to have in the process.
Before you begin the yoga sequence, take about a teaspoon of your favorite errbshop CBD massage oil and rub it into the areas that hold the most tension, such as the neck, shoulders, and back. You may also wish to massage the CBD oil onto your legs, joints, or other areas that feel tight to get your body ready for the stretches and prepare your mind to deeply unwind.
CBD-Powered Yin Yoga Sequence: How-To
Our gentle and restorative yin yoga sequence focuses on promoting tranquility and resetting a stressed-out nervous system. The beauty of yin yoga is that you can tailor the practice to your skill level, modifying or deepening the poses to make it as comfortable or as challenging as you wish.
If you are new to yin yoga or are dealing with chronic pain, start by holding the poses for the shortest amount of time recommended, and slowly work your way up to holding them for longer periods of time. You may also wish to use blankets, pillows, and yoga blocks to modify the poses and help you relax more deeply into the practice.
Chest-Opening Savasana
We will begin the practice lying flat on our backs in a variation of corpse pose. Place a yoga block, rolled-up towel, or firm pillow beneath the shoulder blades to open the chest and release tension from the upper back.
Increase the intensity of the stretch by stacking your yoga block vertically for more height. If you don’t have a yoga block, you may use multiple blankets or firm pillows to deepen the stretch. For the most gentle stretch, simply lay on your back and outreach your hands above your head.
Once you adjust your props the way you want, lean your head back to touch the mat and place your hands above your head.
Hold this pose for 5-10 minutes.
Wide Child’s Pose
Next, we will begin opening the hips, thighs, and lower back in a wide child’s pose. From corpse pose, flip over onto your hands and knees in a tabletop position. Spread your knees about mat-width apart, stretching your arms out in front of you and touching your head to the mat to get into child’s pose. You can increase or decrease the intensity of the stretch by moving your knees farther apart or closer together.
Hold this pose for 5-10 minutes.
Puppy Pose
Puppy pose will deeply stretch the spine and shoulders, releasing tension in the back. From a wide child’s pose, close the gap between your hips and legs, and sit up in a tabletop position. Extend your arms out directly in front of you and then lean forward so that your chest is touching the ground.
Modify the pose by placing your forehead on the ground and deepen the stretch by placing your chin on the ground, looking forward. You may also wish to place a blanket or towel beneath your forehead or chin to ease into the pose.
Hold this pose for 3-5 minutes.
Extended Butterfly Pose
Extended butterfly pose will deeply stretch your inner thighs, groin, and knees, releasing all the tension and stress held there. To get into extended butterfly pose, sit upright your mat, and bring your legs together with the soles of your feet touching. Bring your feet as close as you can to your pelvis and hinge forward at the hips as far as you can, making sure to keep your tailbone rooted firmly to the ground.
If your legs are especially tight, you may want to stack your yoga blocks, blankets, or towels out in front of you if you can’t touch the ground, adjusting them as high or as low as you’d like. You may also want to place a blanket or towel beneath your tailbone if your lower back is tight.
Deepen the stretch by gently pulling the tops of your feet outwards with your hands, pushing your legs firmly into the floor.
Hold this pose for 3-5 minutes.
Dragonfly Pose
Dragonfly pose will release tension in the lower body, while deeply calming and relaxing the mind. From extended butterfly pose, stretch your feet out to your sides as far as you can to get into a middle seated split. From there, you will stretch out your hands out in front of you, hinge at the hips, and bend forward as far as you can. Be sure to keep your feet flexed and engaged for the deepest stretch.
If you are a beginner or have tight hamstrings, you will want to stack your yoga blocks or blankets out in front of you to give your head a resting place during the pose.
Hold this pose for 3-5 minutes.
Sleeping Swan Pose
Next, we will gently open and release the hips in sleeping swan pose. To get into sleeping swan pose, take your front leg and bend it at a 90-degree angle in front of you, ensuring your hips are square. At the same time, extend your back leg behind you, making sure to keep your foot and knee parallel to the ground and grounded firmly to the mat. Hinge forward at the hips and lean forward as far as you can, keeping the front foot flexed to protect the knee.
Place a yoga block or stack pillows beneath your forehead to prop you up if you can’t reach the floor. You may also place a blanket beneath your front hip if your hip doesn’t touch the floor to help you ease into the pose.
Hold this pose for 3-5 minutes per side.
Lying Spinal Twist
Twists in yoga are incredibly detoxifying, allowing you to “wring” out stagnant energy and tension, revitalizing energy flow throughout the body.
To get into lying spinal twist, start with your back flat on the mat and place your hand on your right knee, bringing it across your other leg. Keep putting gentle pressure on the knee to deepen the stretch, while straightening your back leg to increase the stretch in your hamstrings and inner thighs. Look to your right with your arm outstretched to increase the stretch in your spine.
Hold this pose for 3-5 minutes per side.
Revolved Child’s Pose
Revolved child’s pose releases tension in the upper back, especially if you suffer from painful knots in the shoulders and upper back. It will also stretch the hips, thighs, and ankles while releasing stress and calming the mind.
To get into this pose, begin in child’s pose and extend one arm out to the side perpendicular to the floor, leaving the other stretched out in front of you. You may wish to place a pillow or blanket beneath your head or shoulder to help you ease into the pose.
Hold this pose for 3-5 minutes per side.
Happy Baby
We’ll wrap up our CBD-inspired yin yoga sequence with happy baby pose. This pose stretches the groin and spine, while gently opening tight hips. This rejuvenating pose will help melt away any remaining stress, sending you into a deeply tranquil state.
To get into happy baby pose, start with your back flat on the mat. With your knees bent at a 90- degree angle and feet flexed, grab the inside soles of your feet and gently pull your legs down towards your chest, your thighs parallel to the ground. Lengthen your spine and neck, with your gaze towards the ceiling and enjoy this blissful stretch.
Hold this pose for 3-5 minutes.
Ending Savasana
Allow yourself at least 5 minutes to enjoy a meditative savasana, ending as you began in corpse pose. Revel in the stillness you created during our restorative yin yoga flow, letting your body unwind and relax even further.
In Summary
Yin yoga is a deeply restorative yoga practice that will help you come back into balance, and is the perfect complement to our therapeutic CBD massage oil. Enhancing the positive effects of a yin yoga practice, CBD oil allows us to drift seamlessly into yin yoga’s stillness to help us overcome feelings of overwhelm, fatigue, and anxiety. We hope our CBD-inspired yin yoga sequence will recenter and recharge your entire being, helping you stay grounded and productive for the days ahead.