Teachers holding yang poses for an extended period of time and calling it yin

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Bernie
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Joined: Sat Sep 23, 2006 2:25 am
Location: Vancouver

Teachers holding yang poses for an extended period of time and calling it yin

Post by Bernie »

I recently received the following question:
  • I would appreciate help articulating the principles of yin poses to a teacher who is simply holding yang poses for extended periods of time and labeling it yin yoga. This teacher has not had specific yin training, and she needs help evaluating/discerning what makes a true yin pose...how to differentiate between a yang pose and a yin pose. What are the criteria for a creating a yin pose that stresses the connective tissue effectively? She needs to be able to check the boxes to know that the poses meet the criteria for safe and effective yin poses. I'm concerned about causing harm to those in the class with spinal and joint injuries. Thanks for any help you can offer! (Of course taking yin training would be the best option for this teacher, but in the meantime, she is teaching on a weekly basis.)….Vicky
Hi Vicky

Thanks for your question. The teacher you are referring to is not alone. Many people have started and continue to teach Yin Yoga with little to no training. It is not great, but there is no yin-yoga-police to say they can’t do this. We have to leave it up to personal integrity to guide teachers to teach what they know and not just fake it. Imagine going to a piano teacher who has only ever played guitar. They might know a lot about music theory and even be a great guitar teacher, but a piano is not a guitar. The same applies to Yin Yoga.

As you point out, ideally the teacher should take a proper training in Yin Yoga before teaching it, and should have a dedicated personal practice. Failing that, they should at least obtain one of the now many good books on the topic and at least familiarize themselves with the basic principles. That is a rather cheap way to start. If they can’t afford even the price of a book, then the website www.YinYoga.com has lots of free instructions in the video section and in the online book, YinSights. Really, there is no excuse for not knowing the basics of the practice; it is all there for free!

You asked for a way to articulate the practice: I would begin with the three principles (see this video) and explain the difference between yin and yang. In Yin Yoga we want the muscles relaxed so the body can soften.

If the teacher continues to ignore the principles of the yin practice, then perhaps a discreet chat with the studio manager is in order.

Good luck; I hope she listens to you.
Cheers
Bernie
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