SoulSpace: Yin Yoga For Expansion
Our first yoga class together, designed to open your body, release tension and reconnect you to yourself.
Hi Everyone,
How many of you are yoga people?
I've been thinking lately about how this ancient, sacred practice has, like so many things, succumbed to the influence of capitalism. What was once a path to open the body and quiet the mind for a deeper connection with the divine has too often become a commercial machine - one that leaves good, kind people feeling not enough while padding the pockets of those more concerned with profit than purpose.
For a long time, I've dreamed of creating a yoga space that centres the feeling of yoga rather than the look of it—a place where the inner experience matters more than outward appearances. That intention is at the heart of SoulSpace, the online healing studio I'm building here on Substack.
Today's yin yoga class is all about expansion. We'll move through gentle poses that open the quads and hamstrings, soften the hips, and gradually lead into a heart-opening posture to invite in the energy of love - perhaps even a remembering of your capacity to love and be loved.
You'll probably notice immediately: I don't have a "yoga body." What I do have is a middle-aged body, a softening waistline, and I'm not wearing designer leggings or a matching set. I'm done handing my money to wellness empires built on exploitation and glossy illusions. Instead, I'm in my comfy pants and a stretchy old tee—because that's what feels good. And to me, yoga is, and always will be, about feeling good.
What is Yin Yoga?
Yin yoga is a slow, meditative practice that invites us to soften, surrender, and truly listen. Instead of moving quickly from pose to pose, we linger, settling into each shape for several minutes. This stillness gives the deeper layers of the body - like fascia, ligaments, and joints, a chance to gently release.
It's not about achieving the perfect pose. It's about presence. Breath. Allowing. Yin creates space not just in the body, but in the heart and mind.
Most of the classes I share here in SoulSpace will be yin-based because this practice has been a lifeline for me. It helps me stay grounded when life feels chaotic, and soothes the anxiety and overwhelm that often come with being a highly sensitive soul. As an empath, I've also found yin yoga to be a beautiful way to release emotions that get stored in my body - ones I sometimes don't even realise I'm holding.
Yin yoga is where I return to myself. I hope it becomes that for you, too.
