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I have been reading your whole Yin Yoga guide book, and have fallen in love with the practice.
I am now very aware of the fact that we need long, static, stresses on our myofacial system, in order to get greater flexibility/ a wider ROM.
This leaves me with the question: do we need yang stretches at all? It has become clear to me that we need yang styles of exercize to strenghten our muscles and work on our (active) mobility. But do we need (and is it even effective) to include shorter, but static, yang stretches, in which we are not actively working on our mobility, but rather a more passive flexibility. Think about general hamstring stretches, like in half splits. What are we even 'stretching' in this type of exercize? (Since we are not stressing the myofascial tissue).
I am very very curiouse! If yang stretches are not needed for flexibility, and we can only do that via yin, yang yoga styles could be practiced in a way different manner, just focusing on mobility!
My general philosophy is that physical health has three main axes: strength, endurance and mobility. The best way to build strength is through resistance training (like lifting weights); the best way to increase endurance is through cardiovascular exercise such as sprinting, climbing stairs, riding a bike, or sports that raise your heart rate. The best way to build or maintain flexibility is yin-style stresses. However, none of this means that yang-styles stresses are not valuable.
Consider mobility: this is a combination of range of motion/flexibility along with strength and coordination. Think about getting up off the floor or out of a bathtub; this requires all three facets of mobility. Yin Yoga does not build much in the way of coordination or strength but our yang styles of yoga can. So, there is definitely value in yang yogas, but again, if you want to optimize strength, endurance and mobility, I believe there are better ways.
At the end of the day, it is all good! Do whatever you love that moves you (physically but also emotionally). You are more likely to continue to exercise, build and maintain your health if you choose activities along each of the three axes that you enjoy. If it is a chore, you probably won’t keep at it.
Wauw, thank you so much for this clear reply!
These 3 axes really make a lot of sense and I can now see where yang yoga can come in to contribute. Definitely going to put his into practice!
Bernie wrote: ↑Wed Oct 18, 2023 12:51 am
My general philosophy is that physical health has three main axes: strength, endurance and mobility.
This closely aligns with Dr. Baxter Bell & Nina Zolotow's book Yoga for Health Aging. The four qualities they name are strength, balance, flexibility, and agility. I know they talk about endurance - it might be a part of strength, balance, or both.
