This course is intended for people who teach, or have practiced yoga

for several years. Please plan to wear comfortable clothes.

Yin Yoga and AnatomyTraining

This course transforms the way a teacher sees bodies move. It is a condensed presentation of the 100 hour YYTT:

Anatomy and Theory. All the fundamental anatomical and philosophical concepts are covered. It covers  skeletal proportions,

skeletal variation, muscle groups, and analysis of the 20 basic yin yoga postures.

To analyze why a yoga student can or cannot do a pose we must learn to look past the surface of the body to see it as a moving skeleton.

All yoga poses are simple combinations of 14 joint segments. Learning to identify the joint segments in each yoga pose is essential if

we are to understand why every person practices poses differently.

After learning the 14 joint segments of the body we move on to explore the four myofascial compartments of the thighs and the seven

myofascial compartments of the torso. These muscle groups are involved in every yoga pose and once a student understands them all yoga

poses become a transparent combination of these simple muscle and joint movements. These anatomical principles apply to all yoga poses –

regardless of style.

Key Concepts:
Learning model: Shravana, Manana, Nididhyasa
20 basic yin poses
14 joint segment analysis
Tension and compression
Skeletal variation
4 compartments of the thigh
6 compartments of the torso
3 layers of a joint
Muscle contraction
Fascial contracture
Theory of exercise

Yin and Yang Asana practice
In addition to anatomy lectures and demonstrations we will have two hours of yin and yang yoga each day.

Yin Yoga is the relaxed practice of floor postures for three to five minutes at a time. A Yin practice emphasizes the

connective tissues of the hips, thighs, pelvis and lower spine. It prepares the body and mind for longer meditation practices.

By drawing the student’s awareness away from the muscles and deeper into the bones a deep level of relaxed focus is achieved.

Yang Yoga is the rhythmic, flowing repetition of movements that require strength and balance.

A Yang practice emphasizes the muscle tissues and circulatory system. Yang Yoga leaves

one feeling invigorated and alert.

CHECK OUT YOUR BONES!

Paul is an advocate of

Yin Yoga is not "yet another" brand name of Yoga postures, it is part of a larger conception of Yoga

that can be called Taoist Yoga. The fundamental tenet of Taoism is that all things can be described by their

mutually complementary Yin and Yang aspects. Yin and Yang can be used to describe all things we are capable

of experiencing whether they are clouds, stars, forests, our thoughts or our bodies.

Basic examples of Taoist analysis would be: There is always a front and a back to a coffee cup but we

can never experience both at the same time. The exposed part of the cup is Yang, the concealed part is Yin

but both are necessary to form the cup. Or consider the fact that inhaling and exhaling are opposite movements.

Inhaling is Yang, exhaling is Yin but together they are the "Tao of Breathing".

A Taoist analysis of Yoga practice emphasizes the critical difference between Yin and Yang tissues of the body.

Muscles and blood are Yang, connective tissues and joints are Yin. Yin and Yang tissues do not respond to

training in the same way and a student’s practice becomes more effective when the difference is understood.

Most forms of Yoga practiced today are Yang, they emphasize muscular movement and contraction.

By contrast Yin Yoga targets the connective tissue of the hips, pelvis and lower spine. Yin postures are

held three to five to ten minutes at a time. This type of practice complements the more muscular styles of

Yoga and is a great aid for learning to sit in meditation.

The book I have written and the workshops I present emphasize the

Yin approach to Yoga postures. Not because Yin Yoga is better but only because there

are many good forms of Yang Yoga available and the Yin approach is under-represented.

ABOUT PAUL

Paul Grilley has been teaching Yoga since 1980 and his special interest is the teaching of Anatomy.

He practices Yoga postures in the style of Paulie Zink and patterns his philosophy on the writings and researches

of Dr. Hiroshi Motoyama —a Yogi and scientist from Tokyo, Japan. This philosophy integrates the Taoist Meridian and

Acupuncture theories of China with the Yogic and Tantric theories of India. Paul lives in Ashland, Oregon with his wife Suzee.