Paul Grilley is one of the great teachers of yin yoga. In an interview with Yoga Spirit magazine he stresses one idea: yin isn’t new, people are rediscovering it.
Origins
He learned this way of practising in 1988 from Paulie Zink, who came from martial arts and taught Taoist yoga. When he published his book he adopted the name “yin yoga”, already used by his colleague Sarah Powers. His yoga teacher was Dr Hiroshi Motoyama.
What yin aims for
While other gentle styles aim to relax muscular tension, yin aims to place healthy stress on the fascia of muscles and joints. With age, fascia shortens and stiffens; according to Grilley, yin can slow or even reverse that process.
Meridians and nadis
Motoyama held that acupuncture meridians are fluid channels within the fascia, and compared them to the nadis of Indian tradition.
Yin and yang
We need yin and yang exercise, but not necessarily yin yoga and yang yoga: dance, martial arts and weights are yang too. And before the 1990s, he notes, much of yoga was already slow and gentle.
Source: Yoga Spirit – Paul Grilley interview.
