But if combined with mindfulness, the benefits of Yin aren’t just physical. Sarah Powers – another founder of modern day Yin yoga – explains: “In Yin we are carving out neural pathways of loving-kindness toward ourselves as we learn to feel deeply into our bodies just as they are.” The body doesn’t lie. Your edge is your edge and if you go much beyond it, you may hurt yourself. So in Yin you learn to listen to your body and accept its limitations. Developing the ability to feel into your body with compassion, and without judgement, leads you to begin to cultivate an awareness and understanding of yourself that extends beyond the body and the mat, into your everyday life. As my teacher, Sarah Lo , says: “Change is inevitable, and it is right there on our mats that we can learn to adapt to our ever-changing moods, frustrations and issues. Problems aren’t necessarily going to be solved during our practice, but in the quiet acknowledgement of seeing what’s present, solutions do often become much clearer.”