Yoga Yang, the alternative to yin that improves circulation and increases resistance and elasticity


Tamara Villa

the practice of
yin yoga it is very different from the practice of Yang. None is better than the other, since each brings balance to its opposite. Modern life has a tendency to unbalance us and we tend to look for one way than another. But it is important not to focus on choosing a type of yoga that will provide us with optimal health, but to understand that a
balance it is what is required to maintain our well-being.

In today’s growing yoga community, most yoga classes offered are yang in nature. stand out
lengthening, strengthening and increasing flexibility in your muscles These classes can be great for challenging your body and also for building stamina.

It is these types of classes that help us to
feeling physically satisfied while being pushed to the limit. They also feed our growing need to move, sweat, and challenge—all very yang activities. It is a type of yoga more oriented to the cultivation and physical work.

The practice of Yang Yoga is associated with
multiple benefitsall of them very important for day-to-day well-being: it strengthens and tones the body, improves flexibility and circulation, increases resistance, calms the mind by synchronizing movement with breathing, eliminates tension and obstacles in the body to allow the breath and prana/energy to flow…

Woman doing yoga/PEXELS

But if you are looking for calm…

Although these classes are great for stoking your inner fire, also known as agni, sometimes you can miss the whole point of yoga, which is to be present in the body and connected to the breath so that you can go deeper into the practice. It is in the exclusive practice of Yang that you may miss the opportunity to find acceptance in stillness and
find balance with rest.

Yin Yoga, on the other hand, teaches you to
find solace in the calm. This type of practice is for some people more restorative because it does not require the vigorous movements that Yang practice entails. Like anything, a Yin practice can be as challenging and demanding as you choose to make it, just as a Yang practice can also be restorative if you choose not to go deep.

With the Yin it is about reaching our other tissues: the connective tissues, bones and our fascia that runs throughout the body. Yin differs from Yang postures in that it requires you to
relax muscles and release tension so you can go deeper into the body. Again: calm and quiet.

Woman doing yoga/PEXELS

To stretch the colder yin tissues and provide a
healthy compression in all your joints, you’re going to need the muscles to trust that they’re secure and loose so that the deeper work can be done. It is for this reason that almost all yin postures are performed on the floor in sitting and reclining positions.

The key to Yin work is that
each pose should be held for longer periods of time so that the muscles have a chance to loosen up and the body begins to open up in a deeper way. In many ways, a yin practice can be very meditative, as you choose to calm the body, calm the breath, and relax the mind.

So, Yin Yoga or Yang Yoga? Regardless of which practice appeals to you the most, remember that it is in the nature of both practices.
encourage the movement of prana (energy) throughout our being as it opens the body to help clear physical and emotional blockages.

Yin cannot exist without Yang in the same way that Yang cannot exist without Yin. Like all things in life, you need
find and create balance. Yoga is where Yin meets Yang and together they create harmony. So why not combine both to find the ultimate balance?