Balancing Body & Mind – Yin Yoga for Meridians
Yin Yoga for Meridians
The meridians are the energetic pathways through which chi, life energy, flows throughout the body. This vital energy, pronounced “chee,” is associated with organs and tissues as well as influencing our emotional and mental states. It is believed that good health is experienced when chi is abundant and balanced between yin and yang energies.
When yin and yang energies are out of balance, a variety of physical and emotional ailments may arise. Popular therapies such as acupuncture and acupressure work to remove blockages in the meridians and encourage their flow. Yin yoga is another modality that can be used to enhance the movement of qi throughout the body and help balance the meridians.
Yin yoga is a slower-paced form of yin yoga teacher training for meridians that targets different areas of the body than most other forms of exercise. Yin classes feature long holds of poses (between 3 and 5 minutes) which stretch the deep connective tissue of the body, such as the fascia and ligaments. The postures in yin yoga are designed to gently and slowly release the tension held within the dense connective tissue.
Balancing Body & Mind – Yin Yoga for Meridians
In addition to the physical benefits of yin yoga, the practice helps cultivate patience, stillness and mindfulness. During a yin class, students are challenged to observe their physical sensations as they move through the difficult poses. This allows them to recognize their patterns of tensing up and holding on to emotions that do not serve us. When we can learn to sit with discomfort and stay present in the moment, this is a profound skill that can be applied outside of the studio as well.
The practice of yin yoga also provides the opportunity to explore how the meridians are related to the five elements of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Each of the elements—water, wood, fire, earth and metal—are linked to specific meridians in the body and when a meridian is working in harmony with the element it is associated with, we can experience a sense of balance.
The meridians are a key aspect of the yin yoga practice because they can be used as a guide for creating yin yoga sequences that are specifically designed to balance certain energy principles throughout the body. For instance, the liver meridian is yin in nature and therefore can be accessed through hip-opening poses like dolphin pose (natasana) or dragonfly pose (parsva bhuja dandasana). This particular meridian is paired with the emotion of happiness and when it is out of balance, symptoms such as anger and frustration may appear. By working to open this meridian, we can encourage its flow and promote feelings of happiness.