Yoga has come a long way since its origin in Ancient India. Today, when most people think about yoga, they generally picture a person stretching and holding poses – what we recognize as Hatha yoga.
As yoga spread to the Western world throughout the 20th century, dozens of new styles developed, most of which stem from the traditional Hatha style. Vinyasa, Ashtanga, Bikram, and many other modern styles fall under the umbrella of Hatha yoga.
Yin yoga, on the other hand, sets itself apart from Hatha and its derivatives. Although the resulting health benefits are similar, their methods take different approaches, making these two styles complementary opposites.
Any form of yoga is highly beneficial to overall well-being. It can improve flexibility, increase circulation, help alleviate symptoms of anxiety and depression, and even change your brain chemistry. If you’re curious about the various benefits of different styles, this article can help you decide which type of yoga suits you best.
Here, we will break down the differences between Hatha vs. Yin yoga. I’ll explain what you can expect from each type of practice, from their intentions and principles to types of poses and movements.
Keep reading to discover the main distinctions between these two significant styles of yoga, and find out which one fits your needs best. Or, if you’re like me, you may find appealing aspects in both complementary yoga styles.
Article Topics
What Does Yin and Yang Signify in Yoga?
Yin and Yang is a Taoist concept that everything in creation possesses two complementary qualities – dark and light, cold and hot, or night and day. Holistic practices like Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda, and yoga apply this dualistic principle to personal wellness, striving to balance yin and yang. When these qualities are in harmony, you achieve optimal health.
Here are some of the general characteristics of each quality:
- Yin: Passive, receptive, cooling, gentle, introspection, internal
- Yang: Dynamic, active, warming, powerful, outward expression, external
There are many ways we can apply these complementary traits to yoga in types of movement and even parts of the body. For example, your connective tissues (ligaments, tendons, fascia) carry Yin energy, while muscles are yang.
Much of the movement in yoga and other forms of exercise focuses on muscle engagement through external body positioning. Yin yoga, on the other hand, brings an internal focus through passively holding a pose. One is not inherently “better” than the other; instead, they are two sides of the same coin, aiming to create balance.
Is Yoga Suitable for Beginners?
Yoga is a beautiful practice for people of all abilities, especially beginners. Everyone has to start somewhere, right? Even the most advanced yoga gurus were beginners once. As yoga continues to evolve, so does its accessibility. There are countless ways to modify beginner yoga postures to make them more accessible.
As a yoga teacher, I highly enjoy giving classes to beginning students and guiding them through their first flows. Just like everything else in life, if you continue to work at it, you’ll be able to do more as time passes.
A Bit of Yoga History
Yoga itself began in India more than 2,000 years ago. It was a series of breathwork exercises, meditation, and rituals used in spiritual practices. Ancient Sanskrit texts like the Rig Veda and Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra outlined these practices that would later expand to include physical posture. Yoga is among the six philosophy schools of Hinduism and has roots in Buddhism.
Hatha Goes West
From the ancient forms of yoga, Hatha Yoga emerged and developed over a long period between the 9th and 15th centuries CE. The 15th-century text, the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, considered the first manual on practicing yoga, describes the first Hatha yoga postures. The Gheranda Samhita, a 17th-century text, offered further practice instructions, taking a practical and systematic approach to asana and other yogic techniques.
Finally, in the late 19th century, yoga debuted in the Western world when Swami Vivekananda demonstrated the practice at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair, sparking great interest in those who witnessed it. Indian teacher and scholar
T. Krishnamacharya, lovingly dubbed “the father of modern yoga,” was instrumental in spreading yoga throughout the West. His 1934 publication, the Yoga Makaranda, provided instructions for practice blending traditional Hatha yoga with a modern approach. His students, K. Pattabhi Jois and B.K.S. Iyengar continued to spread the practice, creating modern lineages of yoga we recognize today, like Vinyasa and Ashtanga.
Throughout the 20th century, new yogis adapted the practice, blending it with the popular exercises of the day to develop a unique style of yoga focused more on the physical body. By mid-century, it had entered popular culture worldwide, featuring on a 1960s television program, Yoga for Health, and promoted by iconic figures from the Beatles to Madonna. Yoga’s popularity continues to grow even today.
Yin’s Modern Origins
While many modern styles of yoga follow the lineage of prominent Hatha teachers Pattabhi Jois and B.K.S. Iyengar, Yin yoga has its own origin story.
In the 1970s, martial arts champion and yoga enthusiast Paulie Zink felt that the popular yoga styles of the time, being vigorous and dynamic, lacked the balance of the more meditative aspects of the practice. Influenced by his knowledge of Taoism, Zink developed and began teaching his new “Yin and Yang Yoga” style to complement martial arts training.
Paul Grilley, a student of Paulie Zink, adapted his teachings into the Yin yoga most people practice today. His studies took him into the foundations of Traditional Chinese Medicine’s meridians and flow of Qi, which he related to the yogic concept of the nadi and chakra.
Grilley’s student Sarah Powers continued Yin Yoga’s evolution when she began teaching in the late 1980s. She helped expand the practice by incorporating Buddhist psychology and emphasizing Yin’s meridian system. She also established a systematic and conscious approach to breathing during Yin practice.
Because Yin Yoga’s methods and philosophy are deeply rooted in ancient principles, many people are surprised to learn this form of yoga is relatively modern!
3 Key Differences Between Yin Yoga and Hatha Yoga
If you’re a new yoga student perusing a studio’s schedule filled with different types of yoga classes, not knowing what you’re signing up for can feel intimidating. When I began my yoga practice two decades ago, I had no idea what constituted Hatha vs. Yin.
To help you make the distinction, let’s break it down into three main points. You can identify the differences between Yin and Hatha Yoga as:
- Intention
- Principles
- Methods
Let’s take a closer look at each.
Intention
I’ve heard this distinction within the yoga world: Hatha yoga uses the body to arrive into the pose. In Yin, we use the pose to reach into the body.
Hatha yoga aims to bring overall harmony to one’s being. It strives to cultivate balance, strength, flexibility, and complete physical and mental well-being. Relating to the yang qualities, you can think of Hatha yoga as an external expression, dynamically moving your body into different positions to achieve the desired transformation.
Conversely, Yin yoga aims to transform through a process of release. Bringing the external body into stillness lets you focus your intention on your internal energy flow – prana in yoga, or qi, in the Taoist tradition. While all yoga is introspective, Yin’s transformative emotional and energetic effects are the style’s primary focus. Some Yin sessions may even have the distinct theme of emotional release.
Distinct Pose Names
To clearly distinguish the intention of Yin vs Hatha yoga, identical asanas may go by different names. Here are a few examples:
Sanskrit Pose Name | Hatha Pose Name | Yin Pose Name |
Uttana Shishosana | Puppy | Melting Heart |
Paschimottanasana | Seated Forward Bend | Caterpillar |
Upavistha Konasana | Seated Wide-Legged Straddle | Dragonfly |
Supta Virasana | Reclining Hero | Saddle |
Gomukhasana | Cow Face | Shoelace |
Even though these are the same postures, we use different names to identify whether we are practicing the asana with the energy of yin yoga vs yang yoga.
Principles
When exploring what is Hatha vs. Yin yoga, it’s essential to consider the foundational principles of each.
Hatha Yoga Defined
Hatha represents the yoga style’s central principles of balance and energy.
- When broken down into separate syllables, Ha refers to the sun, while Tha means moon. Put together, and you have two complementary elements, signifying balance.
- The word Hatha also translates to “force,” which may refer to a physical, dynamic practice or the “life force” energy (prana) within.
Through these definitions, we understand that Hatha seeks to balance the whole self – body, mind, and spirit – through its practices of asana (physical postures), pranayama (breath control), and meditation. Balancing the life force energy within the body brings holistic wellness.
Interestingly, although its name means “force,” traditional Hatha is a gentle form of yoga.
Yin Yoga Explained
Yin yoga also works with the energetic concept of prana by targeting specific body meridians similar to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Yin takes a systematic approach with clearly defined practice instructions.
Here are the three tattvas (principles) of Yin yoga:
- Edge: come into the pose at an appropriate depth where you feel resistance but no painful sensations.
- Stillness: resolve to be still without fidgeting. Become attuned to what is moving inside you in your energetic body.
- Time: soft tissues and ligaments in the body take longer to release than stretching a muscle. You’ll often feel a shift after the one or two-minute mark.
Some yin teachers also emphasize the importance of controlled and gentle release from a pose to avoid injury. After holding a posture for several minutes, it’s crucial to return to a neutral position without sudden movements.
Since Yin includes slow movements and long periods of stillness, many people assume it must be even gentler than Hatha. However, that’s not always the case. If you hold a lot of internal tension – physically, in your tissues, or even emotionally – Yin can be a profoundly intense practice that varies significantly from one individual to the next.
Methods & Movement
Hatha and Yin yoga aim to balance your overall well-being, but the methods to achieve this balance differ. Here are some technical aspects of hatha vs. yin yoga you’ll notice in each class type.
Pacing
- In a typical 60-minute Yin session, you practice fewer than 10 postures in total, depending on the intention of the class and the time spent in each pose. Between each posture, you’ll typically rest in Savasana, allowing the body to integrate the energetic effects of each asana as you move through the class.
- Traditional Hatha yoga moves gently but includes various poses in each session. You might encounter some resting postures throughout the class, with ample time in Savasana saved for the end of the session.
Holds
- In Yin yoga, you might hold each posture anywhere from 2 to 10 minutes. This time gives the external body time to relax, allowing internal transformation.
- Hatha yoga may include dynamic movement or static holds to help build and tone muscle or induce relaxation. However, maintaining a posture for more than a few minutes in a Hatha session is uncommon.
Physical Targets
- Yin yoga aims to release connective tissues (tendons, ligaments, fascia) rather than stretch or strengthen muscles. You might use complementary muscles to move into and hold a posture, but they are not the main target of a pose. Some Yin classes may also target a specific meridian line or its corresponding emotion.
- Hatha yoga targets muscle groups and actively engages them to build strength, tone, and stability. Or, a muscle group may be the focus for lengthening, stretching, and release. Some teachers may also offer Hatha classes for a specific purpose, like improving digestion or releasing stress.
Breathing
- In Yin yoga, we typically use deep diaphragmatic breathing throughout the practice, using the entire exhale length to exit a pose.
- Hatha yoga may include a variety of pranayama breathing practices or dynamic breaths paired with movement.
Yin vs Hatha Yoga: Which is More Challenging?
Every person will find challenging elements in both styles, as yoga is a highly individualized practice.
Yin can be more challenging mentally. When you hold your body in stillness for several minutes, your mind has more chances to wander. In this way, Yin provides an opportunity for a deeply meditative experience.
As a dynamic and physical practice, Hatha keeps you anchored in the present moment, which can help build breath awareness and mindfulness through physically challenging postures.
In either case, both styles of yoga are precious, providing enlightening and transformative experiences.
Final Thoughts
Whether you practice yin or yang yoga depends on your preferences. There are remarkable advantages to each, and when practiced simultaneously, they are perfect complementary practices to balance the body’s internal systems.
Adding a new style of yoga to your routine can help bring balance to your life – it’s a way to broaden your perspective and maybe even learn something new about yourself. Why not give Yin or Hatha a try?
Or, perhaps, you’ve already fallen in love with Yin or Hatha yoga. If you’re ready to deepen your practice or pursue a teaching certification, there are many fantastic online teacher training programs for Yin Yoga and Hatha.
Remember, yoga is all about balance – literally and figuratively! We are here to support you through your journey to achieve harmony and wellness through yoga.
