Beyond Anatomy
Yin Yoga through the wisdom of the Tao Te Ching
Over the years, many of us who teach Yin Yoga become familiar with different ways of understanding the practice. We learn about anatomy and the body’s structures. We explore the meridians and the Five Elements. We develop language for sensation, tissue, stress and release. All of these perspectives can deepen our understanding of Yin and give us valuable maps to work with.
But at some point, we may begin to wonder about something that cannot quite be found on a map.
What is the quality of the teacher behind the teaching? How much are we actually guiding, and how much are we allowing? What happens when we use fewer words, create less stimulation and stop trying to produce a particular experience for the student? What becomes possible when we are willing to leave more space for the student to listen for themselves?
This is where my exploration of the Tao Te Ching comes in.
I have become increasingly interested in the Tao Te Ching not as another system of knowledge to add to Yin, but as a different lens through which we can experience and teach it. The Tao offers a very different relationship to effort, control, simplicity, silence and allowing. These ideas can become surprisingly practical when we bring them into the Yin classroom.
This is the inspiration behind Beyond Anatomy, a series of stand alone online pop up immersions exploring Yin Yoga through the wisdom of the Tao Te Ching.
Each immersion will take one chapter of the Tao Te Ching and spend time exploring what it might reveal about the way we practice and the way we teach. There is no need to commit to a longer programme, and there is no expectation that you complete a series. Each chapter stands completely on its own.
You also do not need any previous knowledge of the Tao Te Ching. This is not about becoming a Taoist scholar or adding another philosophical system to your teaching. It is an invitation to become curious and to see what happens when we bring these ancient words into direct relationship with the experience of Yin.
The first immersion: Chapter 12 — Beyond Stimulation
Our first exploration will be Chapter 12.
The chapter speaks about the effects of excessive sensory stimulation and the way our attention can become pulled outward by everything that demands to be seen, heard, tasted, felt and experienced.
I find this particularly interesting in relation to Yin Yoga.
Even a practice that is intended to be quiet and contemplative can become another form of stimulation. We can offer increasingly detailed anatomical information, layers of theory, constant verbal guidance, strong sensations, music, visualisations and an endless stream of things for the student to experience.
What happens if we begin to take some of that away?
Could less stimulation actually allow us to perceive more deeply?
Could fewer words create more awareness?
Could silence become part of the teaching rather than simply the absence of teaching?
And as teachers, what might we discover if we stop asking, “What more can I give my students?” and instead begin asking, “What can I remove so they have space to discover for themselves?”
These are some of the questions we will explore together.
The immersion will be three hours online. We will spend the first 90 minutes exploring Chapter 12 and its possible relationship to Yin Yoga, teaching and our experience of practice. We will then move into a 90 minute Yin practice where we can allow some of these ideas to move from the conceptual into the embodied.
The session will be recorded and available afterwards, so you can participate even if you cannot join the live session at the scheduled time.
November 28
10:00–13:00 Swedish time
Online
1 250 SEK / 125 USD
Payment is available through PayPal or Swish.
This is for Yin Yoga teachers who already have some familiarity with anatomy, meridians or the Five Elements, but sense that there may be something beyond the map. It is also for yoga teachers who want to explore teaching with less effort, the power of silence, deeper listening and presence, and Yin as a contemplative practice. And it is for experienced practitioners who simply feel drawn to exploring the Tao through the body.
You do not need to know the Tao Te Ching. You do not need to commit to a long training. You do not need to become a Taoist.
You just need curiosity.
Perhaps one chapter will speak to you.
Perhaps another will not.
Come for one chapter and see what it has to teach you.