Bernie Clark - Yinsights: A Journey Into the Philosophy & Practice of Yin Yoga

Bernie Clarks Yinsights is one of the best yoga resources now available, no matter what your preferred style of practice. It is really three books in one: It is a scientific explanation of yoga and how it works. It is a practical handbook on how to get started. And it is a guide to developing mindfulness during practice. It is the book we will use in our own training programs.

Paul Grilley

Yin Yoga is a practice much needed in todays difficult, divisive times. It offers us a way to leave behind our ideas of how we should be, and return to our true selves, where all lasting healing takes place. Bernie Clark has written a wonderfully detailed account of the history, philosophy, and practice of Yin Yoga. YinSights is written with compassion and deep understanding, and I recommend it not only for those interested in Yin Yoga, but for all yoga practitioners.

Biff Mithoefer author of The Yin Yoga Kit

YinSights is an intelligently written, extensively researched, and comprehensive study of the system of Yin Yoga that Paul Grilley and Sarah Powersteach.

Master Paulie Zink

I love the YinSights book I am in yoga teacher training. I have a love for Yin Yoga and want to teach this form of yoga. The book is a great resource for me; being a newbie, as it breaks down each pose giving the meridians affected, counter poses, etc. Invaluable for a new teacher trying to put a class together. Thanks again for this wonderful resource!!!!

Jann McGinnis, training yoga teacher

YinSights is a comprehensive guidebook for both curious students and dedicated teachers of Yin Yoga. Bernie is thoughtful and thorough as he arranges the immense body of knowledge, which influences the practice of Yin Yoga. He manages to weave threads of historical foundation, theoretical elucidation and practical application into a tapestry rich in spiritual tradition. This work could only come into being authentically through the efforts of a passionate spirit who has dedicated his life to the journey and has experienced some harmony along the way thank you Bernie. I hope this lovely book finds its way into the hands, heads, hearts and bodies of many people that they may experience a glimpse of what we know to be true and real.

Marla Erickson - creator of Yoga Inspired Functional Fitness

ISBN 9780968766521

Library of Congress Control Number: 2007902489

First Printing August 2007

Second Printing November 2007

Printed in Canada

Copyright 2007 by Bernie Clark. All Rights Reserved

The content of this document is copyright protected. With the exception of items obtained from www.Wikipedia.com, no part of this book may be reproduced in any form or in any media without permission in writing from the author.

All Wikipedia information and images are copyleft. Copyleft means that Wikipedia content can be copied, modified, and redistributed as long as the new version grants the same freedoms to others and acknowledges the authors of the Wikipedia article used (a direct link back to the article satisfies their author credit requirement). Information that has originated from Wikipedia is labelled courtesy of Wikipedia.

If you would like to use any other part of the information or images found in this book please contact the noted copyright owner or the author.

Do your work without attachment and with being

balanced in success or failure.

Balance is called yoga.

Bhagavad-Gita

Yin balances Yang

A lesson from the Dao-de-ching

Y inSights was originally envisioned as an online resource to help students and teachers learn more about the philosophy and practice of Yin Yoga. As an online resource, the document allows the reader to link to other resources by simply clicking on the Web links embedded within the text. It is also easy to jump from one place in the document to another. This, unfortunately, is not possible in a print version. We have attempted to keep some of the links in the print version; however, they can only be typed and are offered as footnotes. An e-book is also easy to update and keep current, which again is not possible for a printed book short of publishing a new version on a regular basis. Unfortunately some of the links listed in this book will be out of date by the time you try them. A little searching on your own may help you rediscover where the page has gone.

Also, due to the nature of the Internet, readers can jump into and out of the book at any point, so many key concepts were deliberately repeated at many places within the book. This is especially noticeable for the warnings about the possible dangers of the practice. We could have removed these duplications from this print version; however, most of them stayed. The reason? Repetition builds familiarity. When we see something once, we hardly ever remember it. When we see it twice, it seems familiar but is again forgotten. By the third time, we start to remember it. For this reason, we retained the original duplication we put into the Web version. If this is annoying to some readers, please breathe deeply pause and smile slightly and move on.

Despite the advantages of the electronic version of YinSights, there are several drawbacks to that format: it is not comfortable to curl up at night with a computer, and it is not easy to lay a computer on the floor beside you and flip to the page you want to study as you do your practice. It is also difficult to read an electronic book when you are traveling: laptop batteries do run down. So, due to many requests, I decided to transform the e-book YinSights into a traditional print version.

The two versions of YinSights, the print version and the e-book, are not identical. The differences will grow over time. The Web-based version has more images and will be continually updated, while the print version is, by its very nature, static. However, both versions are available, so the reader is encouraged to check the online version of YinSights occasionally to see what is new. We do expect to add new Yin Yoga asanas and flows over time. And as new research relating to Yin Yoga is conducted and released, this too will be documented. You can continue to find YinSights online at www.YinYoga.com.

One final note, on the use of gender-specific pronouns in this book: although yoga in India was predominantly a male practice, today, in the West, by far the greatest numbers of practitioners are women. Yoga has benefited greatly from this infusion of feminine sensibilities. In recognition of this fact, whenever the opportunity demands the use of the cumbersome phrases he or she or his or hers, I have chosen to simplify the wording and use just the feminine pronoun. Hopefully, any of my fellow men who are traumatized by this choice will get over it quickly. The term yogi is defined to be a person who practices yoga and so is gender neutral. When we wish to specifically refer to a male practitioner, the term yogin is used, and for a female practitioner, yogini is used.