Yin and yang are relative terms and need a context to be appropriately applied. They can be used as
adjectives, although they are often used as nouns. Within our bodies, if we use the context of
position or density, the yang tissues could be said to be our muscles, blood, and skin compared to
the yin tissues of ligaments, bones, and joints. The contexts of flexibility or heat could also be
used; muscles are elastic, bones are plastic. [1] Muscles love to get hot while ligaments generally
remain cool. However, we are not making an absolute definition here. In the context of water content,
the muscles are yin and the ligaments are yang. Muscles love to get juicy, thus, they have lots of
water in them, which is a yin quality; ligaments have less water content, which means they are
relatively yang.
Despite the context of water, there are more ways in which the muscles are yang-like relative to
the ligaments than they are yin-like. This is one reason this particular style of yoga is called
Yin Yoga. Yang styles of yoga generally target the muscles and employ rhythmic, repetitive movements
to stress the fibers of the muscles. Being elastic and moist, the muscles appreciate this form of
exercise and respond well to it. Yin tissues, however, being dryer and much less elastic, could be
damaged if they were stressed in this way. Instead, the more plastic tissues appreciate and require
gentler pressures, applied for longer periods of time, in order to be stimulated to grow stronger.
This is why orthodontic braces must be worn for a long time, with a reasonable (and not always
comfortable) amount of pressure, in order to reshape the bones of the jaw.
Our joints can be seen simply as spaces between the bones where movement is possible. Stabilizing the
joint are ligaments, muscles, and tendons, which bind the bones together. The tendons and muscles also
provide a force to move the bones relative to each other. Generally one of the muscles' jobs is to
protect the joint; if there is too much strain on the joint, the muscle will tear first, then the
ligament, and then finally the joint itself may become damaged. In this regard, yang yoga is
designed to not stress the joint. This is why there is so much care taken to align the body and
engage the muscles correctly before coming into asanas in the yang practice. However, Yin Yoga
is specifically designed to exercise the ligaments and to create space and strength in the
joints. The topic of tissues is discussed more fully in the
Chapter Three: Our Bodies and Yoga's Benefits.
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In the context of elasticity, our bones and their ligaments can be considered
yin-like compared to our more yang-like muscles
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