Yin Yoga introduces us to the natural edges of our beings in a graceful way. If we push our edges or lead a life that is constantly yang, we move into too much yang, burning energy rather than conserving. However, if we draw inward too much or lead too passive of a lifestyle, we start moving away from life and being present, into the past, sliding backward. Too much yin or too much yang creates imbalances. They need to co-exist side by side for us to live our lives in harmony and balance.

Yin Yoga is based on the Taoist concepts of yin and yang, opposing yet complementary forces that can characterize any phenomenon. The earliest reference to yin and yang is in the I Ching (Book of Changes) in approximately 700 BC. In this work, all phenomena are said to be reduced to yin-yang.

Yin and yang can be described as two variables; they are either on the opposite ends of a cycle, like the seasons of the year, or opposites on a continuum of energy or matter. The opposition is relative and can only be understood through relationships between the two. For example: water is yin relative to steam but yang relative to ice. Nothing is totally yin or yang. Just as a state of total yin is reached, yang starts to grow. This is evident in the Yin Yoga practice, since after you have gotten deep into relaxation and mental stillness in a Yin Yoga pose, the blood circulation increases and you can start to feel heat inside. They constantly transform into each other, just as there can be no energy without matter and no day without light. The classics state that yin creates yang and yang activates yin. This manifests in yoga practice when your breath brings stillness to the mind and you start to flow through the poses. You experience inner heat rather than extensive sweat (that cools your body). This way the metabolism and circulation increases, and your body is able to burn toxins and impurities better.

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.

If you are accustomed to sweating your way into cool poses, Yin Yoga may at first glance seem too simple, slow, and boring. But this practice of long, passively held floor poses is deeply nourishing and has myriad benefits for any yoga practitioner. After a while of practicing, Yin Yoga is all but boring and easy. In Yin Yoga, we often say, “Lets move inside and have a look at the interesting things we will find.” In Yin Yoga you move inside with the mentality as the observer, not as the force of action where you want to change and go to the edge.

If one does Yin Yoga and aims to push and move away from discomfort, one experiences no effect rather than more frustration and tension and less circulation. With the attitude of the observer, the opposite happens. So when one practices Yin Yoga, it is valuable to have some techniques like breath and visualization to calm the restless and aggressive mind.

Yang styles of yoga are dynamic and focus on building heat in the body to stimulate, strengthen, and stretch the muscular tissue, and to understand, change, and improve the habitual patterns in the body. Yin is a quiet, more modest form of practice, where we want the muscles to relax to increase circulation in the connective tissue, joints, and organs and to cultivate the ability to yield and observe and accept what is in the present moment.

Excerpted with permission from Yin Yoga: An Individualized Approach to Balance, Health, and Whole Self Well-Being by Ulrica Norberg. Photos by Sebastian Forsman. ©2014, Skyhorse Publishing, Inc.

Ulrica Norberg (E-RYT 500) is a wellknown yogi and writer in Northern Europe. Ulrica is one of ISHTA yoga’s senior teachers and is ISHTA yoga’s Scandinavian representative. She is currently teaching teacher’s trainings, workshops, retreats, conventions, and events for yoga, meditation, and personal growth in addition to writing and coaching. Ulrica was one of the first pioneers of yoga in Scandinavia from 1998, and has taught and coached a vast range of yoga students and trained over 500 yoga teachers in Scandinavia. She has made yoga DVDs and written several books, articles and audiobooks. For more info visit www.ulricanorberg.se.