TITLE: 'YinSights: A Journey into the Philosophy & Practice of Yin Yoga' by Bernie Clark
ISBN: 978-0968-76651-4
Publisher: YinSights
'YinSights: A Journey into the Philosophy & Practice of Yin Yoga' by noted author and Yoga teacher Bernie Clark is a beautifully conceived detailing of the development of Chinese Yoga – a traditionally static Yoga as opposed to the combination dynamic/static form that hails from India.
The asanas and the sequencing are similar, however, in the static Chinese style of 'Yin Yoga', stasis in a position is used to focus on imparting healing, strength, and anti-aging qualities to connective tissues and joints rather than on the muscle tissues that come into play during dynamic or repetitive Yoga styles. Both approaches create profound changes in organs, systems, and metabolism, and both express philosophical and spiritually contemplative elements.
Mr. Clark's biographical statement tells us that his Yoga practice encompasses both the dynamic styles, such as Ashtanga and Power Yoga, and the softer, yin-styles, as exemplified in Yin Yoga, and that he holds thirty years of Zen meditation in his background. However, upon studying 'YinSights', I have found his biographical statement lacking. It does not come close to doing Bernie justice as a passionate champion of Yoga - the exercise, and a master historian and philosopher of East meets West cultural and contemplative consciousness and transpersonal traditions as demonstrated in the historical and philosophical Yoga journey that he traces and is able to unify between China's non-dualistic Buddhism, India's dualistic Samkhya tradition as expressed in 'The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali', and an interesting Western European compare and contrast of Carl Jung's psychoanalytic model culminating in "When Buddha Meets Jung."
Bernie Clark establishes his trademark as a methodical, accessible author when he explains step by step that Yin is a sister term to Yang, two words growing from one another, related, yet used in general parlance to express opposites. In this case, Yin being the gentle Yoga and Yang being the hard Yoga. Yang Yoga targets muscles and stresses muscle fibers with shorter static timing and also repetitive movements. This strengthens muscle fibers but is damaging to connective tissue.
Yin Yoga targets joint tissues, their health being improved using gentle movements and flows with sustained holding times of anywhere from three to twenty minutes. This Yin stasis actually stimulates stronger growth rather than breaking down connective tissues and creates space in the tissue. The muscle's job is to protect the joint. If there is too much strain on the joint, the muscle will tear first, then the ligament, and finally the joint may become damaged.
Bernie Clark explains that understanding anatomy, physiology, energy flow, and how our minds operate, provides a baseline for observing how Yin Yoga influences us. After making the point that the purpose of any Yoga practice is to realize and liberate, Yoga is described as a psycho-spiritual practice.
The reader is advised (by me, not the author) that if you expected a detailed overview of Yin Yoga's journey to be a book of mainly asanas and little else, please recall that traditional scriptures and models of Yoga systems place little value on the descriptions of asanas. Asanas are a means to an end, a finger pointing to liberation. Although, the asana section of 'YinSights' is outstanding and will not disappoint.
'YinSights' details its explanation of the journey of Yin Yoga, and Yoga in general, through clarifying elements using a basic map or traditional model known as the Kosha model. An immediate issue - especially in the West today - is that many different psycho-spiritual models have been developed that are similar on the surface and without the expert experience of an astute teacher this leads students into confusion. This is a forewarning; the author is about to attempt through mixing Chinese and Indian models to extrapolate from each and craft a new model building a bridge between two different styles using the best material possible from all sources - a difficult, and complex task which Bernie Clark manages an extremely coherent job of.
As Zen is apt to state, a finger is needed to point to the moon, but don't mistake the finger for the moon. Mr. Clark reminds us that a map or model is not the reality itself, it is theory. Yoga, he tells us, is experiential and not theoretical, however, examining Yoga through a model such as the Kosha model can help us track an hoary and complex knowledge of humankind's relationship with universal laws. In 'YinSights: A Journey into the Philosophy & Practice of Yin Yoga' the chapters – 'Our Bodies and Yoga's Benefits', and 'Our Joints' – and the Kosha model and its five layers: physical; energy; lower mind; higher mind; and bliss are used to study our physical and metaphysical being.
The author breaks down the model into its constituents: tissues; muscles; fascia; connective tissues (collagen, aging and damage); bone and cartilage; and tendons and ligaments.
A comparative examination is given to understand how stress effects muscle tissue versus connective, tendons, and ligament tissues. The collagen build up is detailed pro and con, and how Yoga exercise helps to create a collagen build up that imparts both strength and flexibility where other styles of exercise create one at the expense of the other. Particular attention is given to damage and aging of connective tissues since this and joint tissues are the areas of focus for Yin Yoga.
The author explains in detail how Yin Yoga prevents, contracture (loss of mobility), degeneration, reduces fixation, and provides hydration of our joints.
Not since I was an anatomy student have I read such accessible explanations for the how and why of joint structure and health.
As well, the energy layer of our Kosha model is discussed in terms of prana (energy) and its journey through the nadis (a multiplicity of channels, including the sushmna with its ida and pingala channels). The seven major chakras are touched upon and there is an overview discussion on the Yoga practice of pranayama (energy breathing).
In chapter six – 'The Daoist View of Energy' - the critical purpose of studying, mixing, and refining a new model for Yoga that is as much Chinese as it is East Indian becomes crystal clear. If Yin Yoga is going to borrow its style or school designation "Yin" from China it is only fitting that the most important element of its model - energy - be discussed within a Chinese approach to the physical and metaphysical qualities of energy as "chi". Experienced yogis will recognize chi as prana, and meridians a nadis. I find the detail in Daoist chi satisfies my Western scientific mind, while prana moves my spiritual aspect. 'YinSights' reminds us that balanced Yoga is practiced from both scientific and spiritual aspects.
The Yin Yoga mixed model makes the philosophical understanding of Yoga more balanced and complete in its aspects. The author treats chi in as much detail and with as much reverence as the detail he previously brought to the Kosha Yoga model. He moves into a complete overview of a Chinese healing model that includes organs and meridians.
Next comes a philosophical discussion through the Kosha model of the mind body. Samkhya, a major dualistic component of a larger Yoga philosophy is discussed in depth, and the dualities of soul and nature and the metaphysical qualities (gunas) of Yoga according to Samkhya.
From this point more general and expansive Yoga philosophy is expounded, which covers the five kleshas and the eight limbs of Ashtanga Yoga. The 'Yoga Sutras of Patanjali' is given an overview with its Yamas and Niyamas (the general and personal do's and don'ts of Yoga as a way of life).
The author moves into the major historical, physical, and contemplative schools of Yoga such as Tantric, Hatha, and Buddhist (in great detail) and then a comparison with the 'Western View of Mind' which spends a lot of time on psychotherapeutic models.
Part two begins the actual physical practice of Yin Yoga, the where, when, and how of asana postures, breathing, and proper sequencing and finally the differences between Yin Yoga and Yang Yoga manifest physically.
In Yin we reach an edge where we become stillness and the pose is held for as long as twenty minutes or as short as one minute. The edge and the stillness and how long to hold a pose are discussed and then the actual asanas are described in detail along with their sequencing.
The critical point to come away with is that an asana which may look familiar from one school of Yoga to the next is approached differently and felt differently. In Yin Yoga an asana is primarily an energy form, and is felt as such. How to consciously move energy within a pose is discussed in detail, along with the flow of an asana sequence.
'YinSights: A Journey into the Philosophy & Practice of Yin Yoga' by Bernie Clark is a labor of love by a brilliant, compassionate yogi who cares. Yin Yoga? A pleasure!