Is DaoYin the Yin Yoga We Practice Today?

 

For over a decade, I practice and teach both Yin Yoga and Qigong and notice that students often think Yin Yoga comes from Chinese medicine.

There is specifically the question whether our modern Yin Yoga comes from Daoist Yoga, or DaoYin.  

So here I wanted to give an overview of the evolution from DaoYin to Daoist internal arts and the modern Yin Yoga we know today. Whilst Yin Yoga is a fairly young style of the Yoga tradition, it draws from and is influenced by ancient eastern traditions such as DaoYin.

DaoYin (导引): An Ancient Longevity Practice

DaoYin can be translated as “guiding and pulling”. Looking at the signs, 导 means to guide, to direct whereas the sign 引 means to pull, to attract. DaoYin is one of the earliest recorded movement systems in China, with some postures found in detailed illustrations in the Mawangdui Silk Texts (circa 168 BCE), that are now housed in the Hunan Provincial Museum.

These early drawings depict figures stretching, twisting, bending and imitating animals such as the bear and the crane. The purpose of DaoYin was not so much pure exercise, but to:

·       circulate Qi along the meridians

·       prevent stagnation in the joints and organs

·       harmonize breath and movement

·       nourish vitality and spirit (Shen)

·       support long-term health

These practices expanded into what Chinese medicine calls the nourishing life arts, which include breathwork, dietary therapy, meditation, and seasonal living (Yang Sheng).

Dao Yin has considerable overlap with practices that are today grouped under the concept of Qi Gong and Nei Gong. When I practice Qigong today, I can see and feel the echoes of these DaoYin concepts: the spirals, pulsing and swinging motions and the animal forms.

Daoist Yoga: equal container for Yin + Yang qualities

Daoist Yoga is a more contemporary phenomenon, a modern interpretation of DaoYin with added breathing techniques (Tu Na). Please consider that the term and practice of Yoga is not classical Chinese.

What matters is that DaoYin practices include both Yin and Yang qualities, they do not isolate Yin from Yang.

  • Yin: yielding, stillness, receptivity, tonification

  • Yang: pulsing, waving, swinging, spiraling, mobilization

Modern Yin Yoga and Where It Fits

Modern Yin Yoga emerged in the late 20th century through several teachers contributing distinct elements to the practice:

  • Paulie Zink (Daoist arts & martial training)

  • Paul Grilley (anatomy, meridians, Taoist philosophy)

  • Sarah Powers (Buddhist mindfulness & Taoist philosophy)

DaoYin is about circulation of qi for health and longevity, modern Yin Yoga emphasizes  healthy stress on connective tissues and joints along with meditative stillness. The Yin Yoga practice focusses mainly on the Yin aspects, such as:

  • long holds, mostly floor based or close to the floor to target a specific area of the body

  • passive muscular engagement, letting go of effort

  • fascial stimulation and hydration

  • nervous system: down-regulation of the sympathetic state

  • internal sensation= interoceptive quality

So in summary:

DaoYin historically includes both Yin and Yang movement, originating in ancient China and influencing Qigong and Neigong.
Modern Yin Yoga primarily retains the Yin part of that equation originated in the West using Eastern influences.

But: Paul Grilley did introduce short Yang sequences, for example the Golden Seed sequence (which I really like). These Yang forms often remain optional in Yin Yoga curricula and the Yoga studio culture more highlights the stillness of the practice without the mobilizing Yang component that DaoYin used to circulate Qi.

Curious to hear: If you are teaching Yin, do you include Yang sequences or short movements in your classes?

Let me know!

If you wish to find out more about DaoYin, find some references below.

Best, Simone x

 

Sources

DaoYin / Daoist Internal Arts

  • Kohn, Livia. Chinese Healing Exercises: The Tradition of Daoyin. University of Hawai‘i Press, 2008 [Book]

  • Zhang Guangde. Dao Yin for General Health: Dao Yin Bao Jian Gong 1st Form. Singing dragon 2016 [Book]

  • Kenneth S. Cohen. The way of Qigong. The Art and Science of Chinese Energy Healing 1999 [Book]

Modern Yin Yoga

  • Grilley, Paul. Yin Yoga: Principles and Practice. White Cloud Press, 2002

  • Powers, Sarah. Insight Yoga. Shambhala Publications, 2008

  • Clark, Bernie. The Complete Guide to Yin Yoga. Wild Strawberry Productions, 2012

  • Zink, Paulie. Interviews and trainings on Daoist Yoga / Yin Yoga https://www.pauliezink.com

 
Simone Reinwald