Formosa Neijia

If you’re looking to incorporate more flexibilty training into your routines, Paulie Zink’s Taoist Yoga may just be what you’re looking for. As compared with Indian yoga, Zink’s Taoist yoga is based on the five elements and incorporates qigong into the practice. As you can see above, he’s clearly got the goods.

Here’s a brief description of Taoist yoga by Zink:

Taoist yoga draws upon the doctrine of the five elements used in Chinese medicine and acupuncture. Taoist yoga is an ancient tradition that encompasses the yin and yang properties of these five energies. Specific postures are used to invoke the spiritual attributes of various creatures, both real and mythical, and to activate the transformational properties of alchemical elements, thus enlivening and harmonizing these energies within the body and animating the primal spirit that resides within us all.

Paul Grilley is a student of Zink’s that branched out on his own with what he learned. (He’s also known for his yoga anatomy work, hence the photo above.) This system then became known as yin yoga (meaning soft yoga). Grilley and his student Sarah Powers picked this name to distinguish it from the more “yang” type of yoga. The difference is that yin yoga stipulates spending lots of time relaxing into a few postures. The idea is to not superficially stretch the muscles, but to obtain a deep stretch of the muscle, fascia, and the connective tissue. That last part has gotten an interesting response from the yoga community, and may be a clue to Zink’s incredible flexibility.

This is how Grilley describes his yoga:

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.

Taking cues from the description of this yin yoga, I’ve started working my stretches over longer periods of time and I’ve begun to incorporate the qigong and breathing exercises that I’ve learned. While it’s not proper “yin yoga” perhaps, I’d had some good progress from this type of stretching so far. For those of you that do Ashtanga or other types of faster power yoga, you may find this type of yoga to be more relaxing and calming.

I’ve also wondered about the authenticity of this yoga, so I did a little research at my local Chinese bookstore. I did find numerous older books with yoga-like poses that focus primarily on sitting postures and that incorporate all the elements that the Taoist and yin yoga apparently have. These types of systems are normally known as daoyin instead of qigong (daoyin is the older name). Given their proximity, India and China have had lots of influence on one another, and their exercise systems should be no different. So it shouldn’t be too surprising that a Chinese system of yoga developed with distinctly Chinese characteristics.

Paulie Zink’s DVD’s on Taoist yoga are available here and Paul Grilley’s are available here.