What Is Yin Yoga?

Yin Yoga is based on the Taoist concept of yin and yang, opposing yet complementary forces that can characterize any phenome-non. Yin can be described as stable, immobile, feminine, passive, cold, and downward moving. Yang is depicted as changing, mobile, masculine, active, hot, and upward moving. In nature, a mountain could be described as yin; the ocean, as yang. Within the body, the relatively stiff connective tissue (tendons, ligaments, fascia) is yin, while the pliant and mobile muscles and blood are yang. Applied to yoga, a passive practice is yin, whereas most of today's hatha yoga practices are yang: They actively engage the muscles and build heat in the body.

Much of the Yin Yoga practiced in the United States today was introduced by Paul Grilley in the late 1980s. Grilley's approach has a physical and an energetic aspect. He discovered the physical aspect when he met Taoist Yoga and martial arts teacher Paulie Zink and was immediately inspired. "I'd pretty much exhausted the power of vinyasa, Bikram—you know, anything heavy, hot, and sweaty, I'd already done it," Grilley says. "Paulie's practice was like a huge breath of fresh air, because his approach to the postures was first yin on the floor and then yang, and neither of them was that similar to my previous practice."

When you take a Yin Yoga class, you'll do mostly seated, supine, or prone poses, and you'll hold them, with your muscles relaxed, for long periods of time—up to 5 minutes or more. The theory behind this approach (proposed by Zink) is that staying muscularly passive for long periods of time gently stretches connective tissue, which gets stiff and immobile with age. The asanas focus mainly on the lower back and hips because the abundance of dense connective tissue around those joints requires extra care and attention.

To read the complete article: http://www.yogajournal.com/practice/2677?print=1

To try a yin class, join Chuck Frenkel on Wednesday nights, 7:30pm

To try it for $5 for a limited time, see our latest studio newsletter.