Yin

Yin works on a different timescale to every other class in the building. You'll hold somewhere between six and twelve shapes over the course of an hour, staying in each one for three to five minutes. There's no flowing, no strength work, no counting. The length is the whole method. Muscles respond to short, repeated effort, but the deeper connective tissue, fascia, ligaments, the material around your joints, only responds to sustained, gentle load held over time. Which is why yin looks like nothing much and feels like something considerable. In practice: sixty minutes, lights low, very little music. Poses are almost entirely on the floor and you'll be well propped, bolsters, blocks, blankets, whatever gets you into a shape you can actually stay in. Your teacher sets up each pose, offers two or three variations, and then leaves long silences while you stay there. Around the two-minute mark, something predictable happens: your mind gets loud and starts negotiating. This is normal, and it's arguably the actual practice. You'll come out slower than you went in, plan for that. Yin sits better before an evening at home than before anything demanding.