Yin Mary Irby www.WhiteCrowYoga.com Let’s Explore (Learning Objectives)

• Define Yin Yoga and Understand Qualities • Examine Yin History and Evolution • Understand White Crow Yoga’s Yin Influences • Name Yin Yoga Benefits • Assess the Science Behind Yin Yoga • Class Sequencing and Counter Poses • Practice Yin Yoga Yin Yoga Defined

• “Yin Yoga” is a descriptive term used to differentiate between modern vinyasa (“Yang”) styles of yoga and a softer style of yoga. • Yin is female energy, Yang is male energy. Just as both sexes are necessary – one is not “better” than the other. Same with yin and yang yoga. Both are needed. Yin Qualities

• Solid • Hidden • Dark • Plastic (slow to change). Bone and Connective tissue are slower to change/move than muscle. Just like clay and silly putty, they hold their form longer. Yang Qualities

• Liquid • Moving • Visible • Light • Elastic (quick to change). Muscle is quicker to change and move. If you snap an elastic waistband, it returns to its original shape quickly. Muscle is quick to respond, too. Yin Yoga Defined

• Yin and Yang are Relative Terms – Descriptions vary as different aspects are considered. • There is no Absolute Yin or Yang. • Heart is Yin, compared to Breast Bone (more inside/hidden), if using Location as a factor. • Heart is Yang, compared to Breast Bone if using Movement as a factor (more mobile). Yin Yoga Defined

• Truly, no single style of yoga can be called “Yin”. All styles can be described as yin-yang in relation to each other. • Even this categorization changes, depending on what aspect we are considering (movement/stillness, effort/ease) – A long held static pose might be “harder” than a gentle flowing series! Yin Yoga Defined

• For the purposes of this discussion: Muscle refers to muscles and their tendons. Connective tissue refers to ligaments and fascia. • Muscle Tissue – considered more Yang (more movement – moves the blood. It is softer and more elastic). • Connective Tissue and Bone – considered more Yin (less movement compared to muscle. It is more plastic). Yin Yoga Defined

• Yang yoga focuses on Muscles. • Yin yoga focuses on Connective Tissues and Bones – A practice that creates a gentle traction of the connective tissues and bones is a yin practice. • Two unique components of Yin Yoga –as opposed to other forms of yoga or other exercises: Muscles are relaxed and poses are held for a long time. Yin Yoga History

• Term “Yin Yoga” was coined by .* • Other yogis who have helped make Yin popular in the West are Bernie Clark, Steven Birch, Dr. Hiraschi Motoyama, James Oschman and . • None of these are founders of Yin, because Yin is thousands of years old. Simply the TERM Yin is new – not the practice. • Although, certainly there is new research showing us the benefits and why we should practice Yin. • *http://www.yinyoga.com/ys1_1.0_history.php White Crow Yoga’s Yin Influences

• Thirumoolar’s Ashtanga Therapeutic Yoga: They teach a series of yin style postures and these are an important part of their therapeutic programs. They focus not only on the physical benefits but on the influence the practice has on the prana and lines. (Some traditions use the term Meridians – more on this later). • Note that some yogis, especially in the East, may teach yin style postures without calling them ‘yin’. Some of my teachers used yin names and some did not. There wasn’t a feeling of ‘you have to use this name’ as the name wasn’t the important aspect. White Crow Yoga’s Yin Influences

• Desikachar : While in India, I also studied in several workshops with Desikachar. He also did not call these long held postures Yin Yoga, but we would recognize them as such. He would, usually (but not always), use traditional pose names. White Crow Yoga’s Yin Influences • Desikachar became known for a pure and individualized approach to practice. One of his students wrote, “When I opened my yoga school at Delhi many years ago, I called Sir for his blessings and to ask him how I could identify the type of yoga we taught, and his firm advice to me was to just call it yoga, at most Patanjali yoga, and no more. He clearly saw branding or even standardisation of style as antithetical to yoga, the very nature of which was fluid in his view.” http://www.yogajournal.com/slideshow/10-tkv-desikachar-quotes/ Yin Yoga Benefits (Why Practice Yin Yoga?)

• Creates a feeling of lightness and ease in the body by creating flexibility in the joints. • Gently stretches and rehabilitates the joints and other connective tissue. • Long held yin poses help train the mind and body to become calm and endure distraction, both physical and mental. Yin Yoga Benefits (Why Practice Yin Yoga?)

• Helps avoid degeneration that occurs from Prolonged Immobilization. • Works against 2 types of Joint Fixation (Rigidity or Contracture). • Rigidity is the fixation of a joint by involuntary contraction of muscles, and is a sign of disease in deep-seated joints, especially the hips and spine (so it is not surprising that Yin Yoga focuses on these 2 areas!). Yin Yoga Benefits (Why Practice Yin Yoga?)

• Work against Contracture. • Contracture is the term applied when joint fixation is due to shortening of the soft parts around a joint—muscles, tendons, ligaments, fascia, or skin. As the structures on the flexor aspect are more liable to undergo such shortening, contracture is nearly always associated with flexion.

http://manual-of-surgery.com/content/0110-CHAPTER-XXI-DISEASES-OF-JOINTS.html Yin Yoga Benefits (How Yin Works) • Stimulate production of HA (Hyaluronic Acid). This plays a role in Meridians and Prana (Modern Meridian Theory). * HA lubricates joints. What are Meridians and Nadis? • Nadi – A passageway or channel that carries substances into, out of, or throughout the body (Lad, M.A.Sc, Vasant, 2002). • Nadis carry prana – energy or life force. Nadis are in the physical and (Kripalu, 2008). • Reminder of layers on next 3 slides.

*http://sofiamileti.com/restorative-yoga-hyaluronic-acid-meridians-chi/ First is physical body, others are more and more subtle as layers become deeper

Yin Yoga Benefits (How Yin Works)

• In Chinese medicine, nadis are known as meridians, although there are texts that point out differences. * • There are said to be 72,000 nadis in the human body (although some texts state that the Yoga Upanishads give the number as anywhere from 1,000 to 350,000).** • Tantra yoga claims there are 14 principle nadis . • Chinese medicine claims 12 major meridians. • Good resource for Meridian/Nadi exploration: • http://www.healthandyoga.com/html/dissertations/shruddha1/abstract.aspx* http://www.wholebeingexplorations.com/matrix/SpSt/nadis.htm ** Yin Yoga Benefits (How Yin Works) Meridians and Nadis are different than the Nervous System (NS). • Nadis can be found within the subtle and physical body, including the nervous system, but they are not the same. • NS travels 180 meters in a second. Meridian impulses travel at about 1 meter in 4 seconds (very slowly). 4 seconds to travel length of spine. In 4 seconds, NS electrical impulse would have gone 800 meters. (YT Training, Andiappan – Thirumoolar’s Ashtanga Therapeutic Yoga). Yin Yoga Benefits (How Yin Works)

• Chakras are closely related to the nadis. • When 21 nadis converge, they represent a chakra • Nadis – same concept as Meridians (carries energy) • Marma Points – same concept as Acupoints (Points that can be stimulated to balance and restore the flow of energy) Yin Yoga Benefits (Modern Meridian Theory)

Going back to the fact that Yin Yoga Stimulates Production of HA (Hyaluronic Acid) and how this plays a role in Meridians and Prana. What is HA? • Component of synovial fluid that makes it viscous. • Present in all connective tissue. HA holds water in. Without HA, we would “dry up”. • But how does HA relate to Nadis or Meridians? Let’s look! • Yin Yoga Benefits (How Yin Works) First, let’s look at what we know about HA: • What’s the first thing that happens when someone dies? All of the fluids dissipate from all of the tissues and the body goes into rigor mortis. You don’t find a water rich segment of connective tissue in a corpse. • But, if you look with a microscope at a cadaver’s skin, you will find dense layers and lines of HA. If you look at where these lines of HA fall, they are at the points. • The next slide will show us why this is important. Yin Yoga Benefits (How Yin Works)

• In 1977, Dr. Motoyama published “Measurement of Ki Energy Diagnoses & Treatment: Treatment Principle of oriental Medicine from an Electrophysiological Viewpoint” to articulate the correlation between Nadi Lines and Prana (Ki Energy). http://sofiamileti.com/restorative-yoga-hyaluronic-acid-meridians-chi/ • Motoyama discovered that gently stressing joints and pulling bones apart through a series of long holds stimulates production of HA and that HA is the building block of the Nadi Line. • Yin Yoga Stores and Strengthens flow of Prana by increasing HA. Yin Yoga Benefits (How Yin Works) Warm or Cool? • Bernie Clark (a big name in the yin world) recommends NOT warming up the body before a yin practice. He tells us that if the muscles are warmed up, they will steal the stress from the yin tissues (muscles = yang/warm, connective tissue= yin/cool). Source: Complete Guide to Yin Yoga by Bernie Clark

• Ease into the long held poses. There is no need to go to your max capacity in the first 5 seconds. If done slowly, the poses themselves are like a warm-up, so we can start with a cooler body. Yin Yoga Benefits (How Yin Works) Warm or Cool? • Thirumoolar’s Ashtanga Therapeutic Yoga takes the stance that a slight warm-up may make some students more comfortable, but nothing too intense. However, Thirumoolar’s prefers a cold practice if the student is comfortable doing so.

• Morning practice might be best. After sitting all day, a yang practice may be needed to rejuvenate the body followed by a short restorative practice to prepare for sleep Yin Yoga Benefits (How Yin Works) Who Can Practice? • It might be best to practice yin after 2-3 years of yang practice. If the muscles are too tight, it might be hard to get into the connective tissue.

• Also, with practice comes the ability to still the mind for long holds, and to differentiate pain and discomfort. Why do muscles have to be relaxed for Yin?

• Try to create space at the MCP Joint. First, relax the forearm and hand. • Take your opposite middle finger and find the ‘indention’ and now pull. You’ll feel a little space as the bones move apart. • Try this again, but with the muscles of the hands and forearm tense. Can you create space now? Why do muscles have to be relaxed for Yin?

As we’ve just experienced:

Muscular tension compresses the joints and thereby limits their range of motion. Why does Yin need gentle, long held, traction?

• Long holds are calming and train the mind, prana and chi are increased. • Studies indicate this is the method needed to increase HA production. • Yin tissues respond with gentle, long held traction. Think about this: If we want to realign the teeth (yin tissues) would you use repetitive, more aggressive movements (jerking on the teeth) to move them, or would you use braces that provide a long held gentle traction? Does Yin Yoga Work?

• Distraction (often called traction) is the application of a long-held stress that tends to pull bones apart. One study found that distraction stimulates both the growth of bones

and their associated ligaments. * (source: https://theyogaoasis.com/a-scientific-basis-for-yin-yoga)

*The biology of distraction osteogenesis for correction of mandibular and craniomaxillofacial defects: A review by Subodh Shankar Natu et al in Dental Research Journal 2014 Jan-Feb; 11(1): 16Ð26. Does Yin Yoga Work? A study* of contracture repair contrasted movement found in a Yang practice to that of a Yin Practice and found:

“The longest period of low force stretch produces the greatest amount of permanent elongation, with the least amount of trauma and structural weakening of the connective tissues." The shorter, more intense stresses (more yang-like) were observed to have resulted in "a higher proportion of elastic response, less remodeling, and greater trauma and weakening of the tissue.“(source: https://theyogaoasis.com/a- scientific-basis-for-yin-yoga) * Contracture and Stiff Joint Management with Dynasplint by George R Hepburn. See next slide for meaning of Triple Warmer Triple Burner Meridian

• San Jiao means triple burner or warmer • The upper burner relates to organs in the thorax and the breathing function. • The middle burner relates to the organs top of the stomach and the digesting function. • The lower burner relates to the organs below the abdomen and the urogenital functions • If the three burners function well, then the organs are in synergy. According to traditional Chinese medicine, the three burners is essential in transporting fluids throughout the body, removing itching and heat, treating swellings, and overcoming problems with various organs Yin Sequencing and Counter Poses

• Less experienced yin students may be more comfortable alternating forward folds (FF) with (BB). However, placing all forward folds first, followed by all back bends may give tissues more time to release and a better flow of prana. • DO counteract deep poses and lie in or pentacle to feel the prana if desired • Sometimes, a yang pose is nice in the mix. For example, if doing a lot of FF, before going to BB, do a locust. Also, hinge pose (uttanapadasana) is a nice yang to toss in. Yin Summary

• Yin Yoga is not new – just the term is new. • Yin is a relative term – nothing is absolute yin. • Poses are long held gentle tractions that focus on bone and connective tissue, relaxing the muscles as much as possible. • Beneficial to the joints, bones, connective tissues and subtle energy system. Frog Pose Variations Sphinx Pentacle

Snail Variations

Shoelace

Dragonfly Sleeping Swan Twisted Roots

Caterpillar Half Saddle Variations Dragon Pose Variations

Cat Tail Pose