Yin Yang Yoga is a perfect combination that helps to become familiar with immobility in movement and fluidity in stillness for a better balance.
Yin Yang Yoga was introduced in the late 1970s by Paulie Zink, North American martial arts champion and Taoist yoga teacher. Paulie taught Yin-style yoga asanas, which consists of holding poses on the ground for long periods to increase flexibility while working on the connective tissues and energy channels of the body. This Yin yoga has been designed to complement the Yang practices of dynamic movements and standing postures.
Yin and Yang Yoga is a practice in which both aspects of yoga, Yin and Yang, are included in the same session.
Anatomy!
When we move and bend our joints by doing yoga postures, the muscles and connective tissue are stretched, the muscles are ‘yang’ because they are soft and elastic, while the connective tissues are ‘yin’ because they are stiff and inelastic. It may seem confusing to distinguish between “connective tissue” and “muscle”. The connective tissue is mixed with other fluids and proteins that give the muscle its characteristic elasticity. Thus, the word “muscle” refers to the muscles and their tendons, and the term “connective tissue” refers to the ligaments and fascia (broad bands of connective tissue).
What is Ying Yang Yoga ?
Yin is internal, passive, cooling and descending, while Yang is more external, dynamic, warming and rising. In other words, Yin Yoga is a slower practice where postures are held longer while Yang yoga styles are those with rhythm and repetition like Vinyasa Flow. A Yin Yang yoga class can begin with Yin yoga to calm the mind and work on the joints before heating the muscles, or start dynamically (Yang) and end with longer poses to relax and calm the nervous system. Yin and Yang yoga sequences can have a powerful effect on your energy level and your post-class sensations.
Infos about Ying Yang Yoga
According to the Taoist theory Yin / Yang are two halves that complete the whole. Yin and Yang are also the starting point of change. When something is whole, by definition, it is immutable and complete. So when you divide something into two yin / yang halves, it disturbs the balance of the totality. The two halves will tend to seek a new balance between them.
Sometimes, we tend to be overexposed to yang in our lives, an energy that can create an imbalance and result in stress, burnout or health problems.
When Yin seeks Yang and vice versa
Just as we detect yin elements in the yang aspects, we also notice how yin becomes yang, and yang can be transformed into yin to establish a balance. These transformations can be slow and subtle or extremely fast. When we work long hours for several weeks or months in a row (a very yang lifestyle), our body can seek balance by making us suddenly sick to slow us down.
The yin and yang always coexist, it is the yin which passively observes the sensations that arise, but it is the yang’s job to make the necessary effort to maintain the posture.
For a balanced yoga practice, it is essential to include the Yang and Yin aspects, whether you are holding Yin or Yin Restorative yoga with Hatha or Vinyasa in your weekly program, or practicing Yin and Yang in the same sitting.
