We often encounter yin and yang yoga classes offered at a yoga studio or retreat.

Sometimes, there is confusion and misunderstanding around these two concepts and yoga styles.

Here are the guidelines for you to understand what we refer to when we talk of yang yoga and yin yoga.

Yang yoga refers to all active and dynamic styles of yoga such as Hatha yoga, Ashtanga Vinyasa, Bikram yoga, Rocket yoga, Jivamukti yoga, Power yoga, and so on.

The common denominators of all yang styles of yoga are the stimulation and activation of the muscular system, the warming of the body, the use of rhythmic movements, focus on the alignment of the body, and the adoption of a specific breathing technique.

A yang yoga class may recur to sequences of yoga poses connected by fluid transitions or to individual yoga poses separated by a short pause. In the first case, we exercise the muscles with fast and rhythmic movements, and in the latter, we exercise the muscles in a proper isometric way.

It is crucial during this practice to protect the joints involved in our yoga poses. The most common way of injuring ourselves during these classes is not being fully aware of our body movements. When this happens, usually our joints and ligaments pay their price.

For this reason, a good yoga teacher throughout the whole yoga class reminds the students to engage all the muscles involved in the asana correctly. This approach will avoid harming our joints involuntarily and benefit from our yoga practice to the maximum.

In addition to the muscular system, a yang practice also boosts the respiratory system, the nervous system, the digestive and the endocrine system.

We must remember that each yoga pose works and stimulates the body intensely, enhancing the practitioner’s overall health.

On the other hand, the yin style refers to a passive and static practice called yin yoga and restorative yoga.

Yin yoga is the highest form of passive practice compared to any other yang yoga style. The definition stems from the specific way of exercising the body without the engagement of the muscles but instead using the body’s weight and the force of gravity to stimulate the connective tissues and organs of the body passively.

Indeed the body’s components that gain the maximum nourishment from a yin practice are the joints, the ligaments, the bones, and the fascia. In a yin practice, the more relaxed the muscles are, the better.

The main difference between yin and a restorative yoga class is the use of props. In a yin yoga class, we use props only when necessary. In a restorative yoga class, we always support the body with props—moreover, restorative yoga help recover from specific body conditions or injuries.