Yin Yoga Poses & Sequences

Lesson Overview

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In this lesson, we explain the distinguishing characteristics of a pose practiced in Yin Yoga style (vs. the yang version) and provide a list of poses commonly found in Yin Yoga plus sample sequences.

Objective

Gain an understanding of the characteristics that distinguish the ways in which a pose is practiced in Yin Yoga and review a list of common poses and sample sequences.

Description

Review the perspective that poses are not typically yin poses or yang poses per se, but rather that there are distinguishing characteristics for how a pose is practiced that creates the differentiation. Give examples of pose naming in Yin Yoga and provide a list of poses commonly found in Yin Yoga.

Are There Yin Poses and Yang Poses?

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Sarah Powers proposes that poses are not distinctly yin or yang. Rather, what differentiates a pose in Yin Yoga is how it is practiced, including:

1. Muscular engagement vs. release,
2. Activity that is slow, steady and stationary
3. The length of time in the pose
4. An emphasis on stimulation of connective tissues

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN YIN YOGA & YANG YOGA

Yin yoga activity is slow, steady, and often stationary, with a sense of core softness and surrender. Yang yoga activity is mobile, builds to an apex before calming down, and maintains a core strength that requires appropriate effort… The main difference between these different styles of engagement is a matter of degrees — a shift not so much in which poses we choose (for a yoga pose is not in and of itself Yin or Yang) but in how we practice, [which] determines whether we target the yin or yang tissues more directly or indirectly. – Sarah Powers