Yin yoga is blissfully challenging. It can also really test your ‘edges’ and put you way out of your comfort zone in the most relaxing way imaginable!
In a yin yoga class there is no pushing or pulling your muscles into the shapes that the ego wants. There is no correct posture, certain amount of time, or ‘proper’ agenda. You hold each posture for between 3-6 minutes (or more!), but if you want to come out sooner you can, and if you want to stay there longer you can. The idea is that you observe without judgment what your body does and you listen to how it feels and the messages that it gives you. I have a few postures that as soon as I get into them, I really want to get out- and not because they are hurting me as such, but just because I am irritated by them. In a yin class the challenge is to stay, and that can be excruciating in a painless frustration. The only thing for it is to relax!
When I teach yin I like the room to be dark and quiet, sometimes music, sometimes not. Its relaxing on the deepest level once you allow it to be, and it will change something about your flexibility over time.