Taoism in relation to YIN YOGA
Flow like water and you will find your way through any rock.
(Unknown)
Taoism* is teaching us basically how to live life like flowing water, with a calm, open spirit and not resisting whatever it is. The pain and suffering that people experience often in their lives comes from the resistance to what life is and not from the actual happenings that are part of it. Overcoming all challenges with this mindset of allowing things to be and responding accordingly to the events around us, we are reminded of the beauty and simplicity of life in its essence. By observing life closely around us, we will be able to notice this flow and non-doing in all rhythms of nature and slowly harmonize ourselves with these patterns. Taoist theory studies the natural principles of healing, the body's natural healing abilities and the capacity to maintain optimum health and longevity. The Taoists believe our ego and our identity can become like a cage, separating us from the world around us. Managing to go beyond the ego’s limitations is the key, as well as going beyond the limitations of our five senses, which give us a limited perspective of the world. At the core of Taoism are the principles of doing without doing (action without struggle or excessive effort) by Wu Wei and the teachings of Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu. Allowing life to be as it is might be the ultimate challenge, when facing grief, pain or suffering in different areas of life. Learning to release attachment and wishful thinking together with our limited beliefs, we come to a deeper understanding of life as not just our own, separate from the rest, but rather as a part of everything around us.
Taoist Yoga is a mixture of Indian ancient traditions and Chinese theories of energy maps of the body (more familiar as meridian or acupuncture system theory, connected to the vitality and well being of internal organs). This type of Yoga is more holistic, presenting the human body as an integrated whole. Some of its main objectives are the increase of blood circulation in the body, the awareness of the connection between the body, mind and breath and overall improvement of physical and mental flexibility. A Taoist Yoga practice normally includes sun salutations, mantras, some standing and sitting postures as well as a longer meditation practice and is adequate for practitioners of all levels. Taoist Yoga is one of the key influences also in the development of Yin Yoga by Paulie Zink, Paul Grilley and other practitioners, by using the theory of complementary energies, Yin and Yang, and the use of postures to improve the conditions of stillness and easiness in a sitting meditation, for instance.
Yin Yoga is rooted in a Chinese Taoist form of yoga. Yin Yoga is rooted in the ancient shamanic tradition of China, and in the Chinese Taoist philosophy of being at one with everything and in harmony with our own nature. It uses postures based on the five transforming energies or elements: earth, metal, fire, water and wood. Everything around us is made of these energies. Yin Yoga is about awakening the body and mind to the energetics of the posture we are holding and the main elements or particular qualities behind each one, like fluidity, strength, lightness. Our health depends upon being in a natural state of balance with these elemental energies. Through the practice of Yin Yoga, the qualities of these energetic states, connected to the 5 elements can be enhanced and harmonized, resulting in improved health, greater vitality, heightened awareness, and freedom of movement and ease with one’s body.
Yin Yoga goes beyond the concepts and theories of the West or a specific framework, because it is an art form in its core, a way to express our uniqueness and individuality, just as our bodies are different and unique in their own way and flexibility develops holistically in our bodies, engaging all the muscles, bones, tendons, ligaments, and not in a separate or fragmented way. Physically, in Yin Yoga we are working with the body’s fascia — the web of deep connective tissue that flows throughout our entire body. The intention in Yin Yoga is that of becoming endowed with the essence of a posture by embodying its core energy and also the purpose of it. For example, the grace behind the Swan pose or the jumpy, playful quality of the Frog pose. Paulie Zink describes the process behind Yin Yoga as such:
“If I see an animal in motion and I want to embody the energy of that animal, then I watch it and become one with it by blending my mind with it and feeling its energetic state in my own body. By doing this, I can create a posture that is based on a living being rather than a symbolic representation of one. It’s about astutely observing nature and the animals around us and becoming unified with them by energetically merging your consciousness with theirs.”
“Animals in the wild don't use theory. They don't have that kind of preoccupation. They are just their true natures. They feel and act without any abstract concepts of reality or analysis about how they are operating their bodies. So if you’re thinking about anatomy and theory while practicing yoga, then you are not able to feel the flow. You’re missing it, because your mind is busy with thinking instead of feeling and being fully present with what you are doing.” (...) “If in my practice of yoga I tried to use the traditional theories of yoga and alchemy I learned from books and lectures, it wouldn’t be an art form, it would be an intellectual formula.”
The purpose of Yin Yoga is to restore our natural ability to move with fluidity. This in turn develops the flow of Chi or life force throughout the body. The most important thing is not achieving a static posture, but rather capturing the essence of the posture, an understanding of its purpose. Yin Yoga practices which are softer and gentle and involve long holds of poses are a doorway to healing what we are dealing with and experiencing a deeper way of living. It is believed that this Chi or vital life force is channeled up and down the spine and through the chakras, and then through the limbs and out the hands, feet, and head. Emotions are often trapped in the body in different ways and working with TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) and Yin Yoga, compressing, stretching, extending the various target areas of the body and our internal organs, affect positively the way Chi is flowing through the body and into the target areas. When we curl or close the body in some areas, a lot of what we are going through and processing goes there. After a Yin practice, when we stretch the body in the opposite direction or extend that target area, we might slowly tap into those emotions, become aware of them and eventually release them.
Yin Yoga utilizes the Taoist philosophy of the opposing yet complementary energies of Yin and Yang in everything. There is a place for action or Yang and a place for Yin or introspection and Taoism invites us to embrace both of them equally, on the mat and in life in general.
* The Tao: Tao (道; dào) literally means “way” in Chinese, but can also be interpreted as road, channel, path, doctrine, or line. Tao can be also viewed as the “flow of the universe”, living in harmony with nature and the surroundings, being attuned to the alternating cycles of nature. *********************************************************
