Yin Yoga is a gentle physical practice that utilises relaxed yoga postures to harmonise our bodies, minds and emotions. It therefore balances our overall health and wellness. In one way it is not “yoga” at all; at least not in the sense of how we usually picture yoga - a vigorous physical practice that gets us moving and sweating. Of course Yin Yoga does involve physical postures but these are approached in a very unique way. For example almost all Yin Yoga poses are done seated on the floor or lying down with the support of props; and the instructions involve us releasing, relaxing, softening, melting, etc… inviting us into a state where we are not really using our muscles at all. And that’s the point. Because in Yin Yoga we are accessing a specific part of our anatomy - our “fascia.”

Fascia is a broad term that refers to a body-wide network of tissues that are not really living cells. They are produced by cells, but are made up of inert substances that include various types of proteins, elastin, and special chains of molecules that are expert at attracting and holding water. You can find fascia in almost all parts of the body. It forms the base structure of our bones and organs. It accounts for around 30% of what we think of as our muscles (fascia and muscles are intricately entwined). It is the key tissue of tendons, ligaments and joint capsules. If you want to paint a picture in your mind of what fascia is, it is the “white stuff” you see when you buy any meat at a butcher - eg, a steak, a leg of lamb, etc.

Fascia also has so many important functions within our bodies, such as providing structure and distributing force (ie, it holds our bones and muscles together and helps them coordinate our movement). It provides separation between major structures of the body - eg, it allows our muscles to slide over one another so that we can move fluidly without aches and pains; and it is the tissue that protects our organs, allowing them to perform their specialised, individual functions. It even helps us make our way safely through the world because it sends fast electrical signals to and from the central nervous system so that we don’t fall down when walking. This last feature is called “proprioception.” Here’s how it works in a broad sense.

It takes quite a while for sensory data to get from our extremities to our brain, and then back again. For example when we touch something very hot with our finger it takes roughly 1-2 seconds for the information felt at the finger to get to our brain (which registers the signal as pain) and back again. By then it is too late. We have already burnt our skin. Well, the fascia has its own electrical communication system which feeds into our nervous system. It sends electrical signals direct to the central nervous system (ie spinal cord), which then sends electrical signals back, bypassing the brain. By not having to go all the way to the brain and back again, information is relayed much more quickly. Why is this important? Well, our bodies utilise this feature all the time when we are walking. It’s what keeps us steady. For example if we step on an uneven surface our bodies can quickly adjust so that we don’t fall over. If the signal that the ground is uneven has to go all the way to the brain and back it would take too long and we would find ourselves on the ground. In effect this is why very old people often fall over. The effectiveness of the electrical signals declines with age because our fascia naturally dries and shrinks over time making electrical communication much less reliable and slower. This natural drying and shrinking with age is also the reason older persons have more stiffness in their movements and are less able to support their own body weight.

Here is where Yin Yoga comes in. The method behind the practice targets the fascia, “exercising” it in a way that active, muscular yoga and exercise styles can’t. It is the very relaxation of the muscles that allows us to influence the state of the fascial fibres (eg, that surround the muscle cells and make up the tendons, ligaments and joint capsules). Not only, though, are we improving the fibrous parts of the fascial network with Yin Yoga; we also improve the quality and quantity of the watery parts of this unique body-wide network by “squeezing” out stale and sticky water and replacing it with fresh, more soluble water. In fact we can even increase the amount of water in the tissues. This is super important because water is a great conductor of electricity; as well as providing cushioning between body structures (ie, it protects). In addition, it is the watery parts of the fascial network that allow our joints to move freely - ie, it lubricates us!

All of these vital but specific features of the fascia is why Yin Yoga is called “yin” and not “yang".” But what does that mean?

Attached to this article is an image of a street sign that shows the famous “yin-yang” symbol. This symbol, called the “taijitu,” comprises two contrasting, mirrored swirls of colour contained within a circle. In the case of our image one swirl is white and the other is red, though the symbol is usually presented in white and black. This very simple symbol packs in a great deal of meaning; and that’s really what we want to unpack in this article.

The terms “yin” and “yang,” as well as what they represent, are ancient. Yin and yang are not literal things. I can’t walk up to you and give you a handful of “yin".” Rather, yin and yang are symbolic representations to describe the quality/s of something - or to say it another way, they are a way of comparing one thing with another. The symbolism of yin and yang is very old, dating back at least several thousand years to its origins in ancient China. The Chinese character for yin represents the “shady side of a slope;” whereas the character for yang represents the sun’s rays shining on a slope - ie, the sunny side of a slope.

The basic duality behind “shade” and “light” informs us that yin and yang are terms one uses to contrast one thing with another. This idea of contrasts can be applied to all objects and phenomena, so that if we were to present a table here labelling things either yin or yang, it would be endless. But to give us a flavour of what might be “yin” and what might be “yang” let’s use some basic examples.

Yin characteristics include: shade (ie, darkness), black, inwardness, more dense, lower, tending towards stillness, slow, cool/cold… as well as many more.

Yang characteristics include: light, white, outwardness/expansion, higher, tending towards activity/movement, fast, heat… and so on.

So we can see that yin and yang are useful terms for describing one thing in relation to another, especially when looking at opposite states / phenomena. But we should be careful not to fall into the trap of thinking that something is just “yin,” or just “yang.” For example, take the concept of walking. Is it yin or yang? Well it depends. Walking could be considered yang compared to standing still - eg, it is faster. But it could equally be considered yin compared to running - ie, it is slower. This aspect of yin-yang theory is represented in the taijitu symbol by the little dot of colour that resides in each of the swirls - ie, in our street sign we have a white swirl with a red dot; and a red swirl with a white dot.

The swirls themselves are also significant. They represent the concept that yin and yang are not static, but are dynamic. If yin and yang were static then we would simply have a symbol with a straight line dividing the red and white. But this is not what is shown. One way to consider the dynamism of yin and yang is to use the example of day and night. When night falls it is not that the light simply turns off. There is a gradual change from light to dark. In other words, as yang (day) starts to diminish; yin (night) begins to emerge. This is a gradual and natural process. If it were to be otherwise we would know something was wrong. We can apply this principle of gradual transformation to other things as well - like the cycle of our breath (breathing in - yang / breathing out - yin); or to the way the seasons cycle from cold-yin (Winter) through Spring (getting warmer), to Summer (hot-yang), and then cycling back through cooler Autumn to Winter again.

These natural cycles of transformation permeate our whole existence. How can they not? They are the story of each day, each year, our whole life cycle, and each individual breath we take. And because of this we can see that we need both yin and yang. They form a whole! This whole is represented by the fact that both yin and yang are present within a full circle. Pretty cool huh?

But what happens if we have too much yin or too much yang? Well… we get out of balance. For example, if we consistently burn the candle at both ends we become exhausted. Or if we lift heavy weights as our only exercise we get stiffer joints - nothing wrong with that in a way, because you need more stable (ie, stiffer) joints to lift heavy weights. But in an ideal world we would balance out our activities so that we had the appropriate combination of yin and yang.

Harmony and balance is something we need in all spheres of our lives - work, relationships, exercise, diet, emotions, mental health etc. And knowing when to move from yin to yang and yang to yin is the key - according to the ancients - for living a long and contented life.

This is where Yin Yoga can be a great tool for health and wellness. I’m sure we can all agree that a modern life is hectic. We are pulled from one thing to another, at rapid pace, all the time. Whenever I meet up with a friend and ask how they have been, almost always the answer will be “Busy!”

Yin Yoga affords us the opportunity to slow down, go within, flick the switch from “fight and flight” to “rest and digest.” It is a practice of calmness - for the body, mind, emotions and spirit. And a key reason for this is that the very tissues we are stretching - the body-wide network of fascia (including its watery parts) is exactly where the channels of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) are said to be. When you visit a Chinese Doctor for acupuncture they are sticking the little needles into the fascia and by knowing where to put them they influence how our body communicates from one system to another; bringing balance by either slowing something down, unblocking communication, or speeding something up. In TCM they call the substance that is being influenced by the needles, Qi (pronounced “chee”). From a Western viewpoint we might think of Qi as any form of communication that occurs in the body; eg, biochemistry (energy of the blood supply, electricity between each cell, signals generated by hormones, etc) or just electricity itself (ie, in the way proprioception works).

Regardless of what term we use to describe “communication” - ie, Qi, electricity, biochemistry - the different systems within our body have to work together for us to be healthy and well. And it just so happens that our fascial system connects all parts of our body and is expert as both a conductor and insulator of electricity. Moreover, if it is damaged through injury, habits, or just old age, it doesn’t function as effectively.

And the one specific style of exercise that keeps this system working at its peak? Yin Yoga.

If you’d like to know more about Yin Yoga and its benefits check out our short course here or get in touch at learn@melbourneyoga.academy to open up a dialogue.

Namaste

Jamie