What is Yin Yoga? (And What It Isn't!)
By now, most people who practice Yoga have likely stumbled upon Yin Yoga, a seemingly modern style that originated in its current form in the 90s in LA and has now made its way around the world. Over the last five years, Yin has become incredibly popular and is now a regular part of many practitioners’ daily or weekly practice (take a look at the Google Trends result for Yin Yoga over the last 5 years).
Google Trends result for Yin Yoga since 2015. As you can see, its popularity is on the rise!!
Yin actually isn’t all that new, nor is “American” (in fact, like all Yoga, it is informed by the ancient teachings of the Vedic culture), though it does weave in a lot of modern science from the emerging field of fascia research (and thanks to the scientific work of teachers like Paul Grilley and Bernie Clark). (Have a read of my Yin Yoga page too, if you’re interested on the origins of Yin.)
Yin is unique in that it forms something of an intersection between the energetic studies of the Taoists (who were likely influenced by the Yogis migrating East from India) and Buddhist/mindfulness meditation, which again, arose in response to the Vedic culture and is based on the teachings of Siddhārtha Gautama (aka Buddha). I call it the gateway drug to meditation, as I’ve found it has led myself and many others deeper into the meditative practices through its transformative gifts.
What many don’t realise is that Yin Yoga is not here to replace vinyasa, Ashtanga, Iyengar or any other trademarked or otherwise form of active Yoga that you love. (For what it’s worth, because of Paul and Suzee Grilley, Bernie Clark and Sarah Powers, Yin Yoga has never and will never be trademarked. This is a wonderful thing, in my opinion.) Yin is a complement to the stronger, faster, more vigorous styles of practice. I often describe it to newer students as “like the lovely restful bit at the end of a vinyasa class, but for the whole class.” I don’t even mean this facetiously. People seem to get that, and with time they come to appreciate the power of Yin as a standalone practice.
To understand this Yin vs. Yang thing, we need to go back to the Taoists, and their elegant and powerful theory that has been preserved for thousands of years and, in my experience, still holds as strong as ever in modern times. The Taoists, in trying to understand the nature of the universe, and themselves, observed an animating-force, Qi, and two opposing forces, Yin and Yang, which give rise to the Five Elements (Wu Xing) and from that, all form and phenomena in the Universe (described, rather cutely, as the ‘10,000 things’ [10,000 seemed like a big number at the time!].
Yin and Yang only exist in relationship to one another. Read that again. Yin and Yang are NOT specific, tangible and absolute. In fact, in many texts, they’re referred to as Yin Yang to capture this interrelationship. Yin can be described as the coolest, slowest, most internal, darkest aspect and Yang as the warmest, most dynamic, most external, lightest aspect.
To call Yin Yoga “Yin” means that it must exist in contrast to a Yang practice - and in many cases, a Yang lifestyle, which is one of the reasons I believe it’s become so popular. We’re already going so hard in life, why do it in our Yoga practice as well? What we tend to forget in the West is that our addiction to fast-paced exercise and life is relatively new (like, 1980’s new). Travel anywhere that is less developed and you’ll notice people are pretty great at looking like they’re doing a whole lot of nothing while getting an immense amount achieved.
I once watched a group of Thai men build a house; they spent more time smoking, napping, chatting and laughing than building (to my eyes), yet the house was erected in just a couple of days. Similarly, in Guatemala, I watched women collecting flowers for ceremony. After every basket filled they sat, snacked, chatted and laughed and napped. I was impressed with how slow they moved, how mindfully they worked, and how casually they approached their tasks. These four women collected a LOT of flowers. We are all conditioned to TRY so hard in the West, capitalism and industrialisation have commodified our time and our energy and Yin, to me, is a great act of rebellion! Lie around, do very little, pay no attention to what is going on outside the space and wander around your inner atmosphere. How lovely!
This brings me to a common misconception about Yin Yoga that I want to debunk. Yin is NOT Restorative Yoga. Restorative Yoga by definition is designed to restore a body under deep stress and/or injury. It is designed not to stress the body by using props and long holds in a way where sensation is greatly minimised and rest is emphasised. This is a beautiful practice but it’s not Yin. Yin is designed to stress tissues (connective tissues) and to challenge us to become more present to sensation and our inner experience in long-held poses. It helps us connect to our Qi/Prana in a unique and powerful way that prepares us for the more subtle practices of Yoga. In these ways it differs from Restorative Yoga, hence Yin having its own name and definition.
Yin offers a unique and powerful opportunity to explore Yoga practice in a way that many of us crave - introspective, slow, mindful, meditative and subtle. It’s a beautiful complement to more active practices like dance, gym, sport and Yang forms of Yoga. I know many Ashtanghis that practice Yin on Moon Days and Sundays and find Yin a complement to their dynamic practice. Similarly, I have taught soccer players, football players, practitioners of Brazillian Jujitsu and Crossfit, rock climbers, cyclists, surfers and more. All have found profound benefits from Yin Yoga, physical as well as mentally (it builds resilience and strength of mind very quickly in my experience).
Another thing Yin is not is simply a set of postures. I have found in my own explorations that nearly any asana can be approached in a Yin fashion. That said, to truly get the deep effects on the fascia and joint tissue that is unique to Yin Yoga, it typically is best to practice shapes that get you close to the ground and target joint tissue and myofascia. There is a nice list of some of the most common Yin Yoga poses over on Sebastian Purcelle’s site and I hope to have my site updated soon with my own list (complete with photographs and written and video instructions). Just remember that if you discover a shape that works in a Yin-fashion for you, keep it in your repertoire! Shiva said there are millions (8.4 million, if I am remembering correctly) of asanas, so feel free to create your own. Each body is unique so why not find your own unique way to apply gentle stress to your connective tissue over time to stimulate the flow of Qi in your body.
If you’ve read this far I’d love to hear from you! What do you think of Yin Yoga? How do you find it complements your active practices or sports?