The yoga class I almost didn't walk into

Published 5 months ago • 1 min read

I attended a yin class last week with the studio owner of where I like to practice and had such a great theme during the class.

Someone mentioned feeling burnt out and Lucia (our teacher) reminded us all that here in Minnesota especially the metro area, we've all been on edge the majority of winter. We didn't get the inward, rest and cozy focus many of us are accustomed to in the Midwest when it's cold outside.

I told her after class that really struck a chord with me. Others in class also chirped up saying yes that struck a chord with us all. We also talked about how doing a noon yin class on a Thursday can feel like a luxury and we "should" be doing something. But in reality learning to rest and just sit with our feelings is important work.

For me yin in particular is a space to slow down and tune in. A space where I could hear my own thoughts and connect to something greater than myself.

In a yin class, I feel the presence of my true self. I can settle into my breath and see what comes up. Which can be scary for many but it's an edge I like to explore.

If you are yin curious or somatic yoga curious this week's Peaceful Power Podcast with Annie Au is crafted with you in mind. If thinking of sitting in a yin class makes you feel like you want to run out of the room I think Annie will give you a few ideas of how to find some comfort.

Annie and I dive deep into what it means to hold space for the whole self in a yin practice including the nervous system, the stored emotions, the moments of stillness that ask you to simply be. I walked away from this conversation with tools I've already used in my own practice, and I think you will too.

Grab your tea, find a cozy spot, and let this episode wash over you. If you're curious about her Somatic Yin Yoga Training I highly recommend her 50 hour yin training it has provided me with so much more wisdom as I teach my classes the past few months both yin and my regular hatha classes.

Slow Down & Tune in,

Andrea Claassen

PS-🚨A 24-hour newsletter-only offer will be coming next week! Stay tuned, you won't want to miss it.

Unsubscribe · Preferences

The Podcast • Seasonal Strength • Ways to Work with Me
Copyright © 2026 SaFire Training, LLC dba Andrea Claassen, All rights reserved.
| Unsubscribe

I tried to get anything but pitta (it didn't work)

Confession: on Sunday morning I woke up, came downstairs, sat at my computer, and thought, "I should probably come up with a new way to bring people to my website" because #pitta. And I'm tired of the generic wellness freebies, download this guide, take this quiz to find your dosha. I wanted something with a little more flavor, something that felt like me. Then it hit me. I'd be recording our annual Hallmark Christmas preview episode for Hallmark Mysteries & More, and I thought: what if I...

11 days ago • 1 min read

The practice I've been quietly devoted to for over 2 years

For the past two years, I made a quiet vow to devote my daily living and yoga teaching to the vayus which are the five sacred movements of life force energy. What started as curiosity became a full-bodied devotion, completely by accident. Each class, I explored one vayu more deeply. Noticing how it showed up in my breath, my teaching, my relationships, even my rest. I began weaving the vayus into everything I offered on the mat with my students, and off the mat in my daily rituals, family...

25 days ago • 2 min read

What are you clinging to?

Reader, what's the sweet treat you keep reaching for even when it's keeping you stuck? A few weeks I taught a yin yoga class at our new studio. The theme was non-attachment/aparigraha, one of yoga's most quietly radical teachings. I told the story of Hanuman and the coconut trap: a hollowed-out coconut filled with treats, with a hole just big enough to fit a hand inside. The monkey reaches in, grabs the treat, and then can't pull his fist back out. He's not trapped by the coconut. He's...

4 months ago • 1 min read