A Journey Into Yin Yoga

26 A JOURNEY INTO YIN YOGA

Happiness comes from within you. When I say happiness, I’m not talking

about a fleeting emotion. I’m talking about a deep state of happiness and

peace that is unaffected by external factors. To reach this state, you have to

look within. When you look within through the practice of meditation, con-

templation, prayer, or practicing yin yoga, you find there is a world within. In

this internal world are thoughts, feelings, memories, sensations, and emotions.

The richness found there is worth more than money can buy. Everything you

could ever want already exists within—all the knowledge, creativity, strength,

inspiration, wisdom, and love is inside of you.

“The quieter the mind becomes, the more that you

can hear.” —Ram Dass

By quieting the mind and finding the stillness of the inner world, the

Taoist begins to experience a reality under the hardness of the muscles and

concreteness of the bones, just as the ancient Chinese did in their solitary

study of nature. On this deeper level is a river of energy. This subtle flow of

energy exists anywhere and everywhere. It manifests out of space and then

disappears into space, almost like the flicker of fireflies on a warm summer

evening. Human life is like that firefly. One moment it is animated, and the

next moment it is gone. Our human life arises out of its source, and then one

day disappears back into its source.

As one Taoist master put it, the source of who we are is like a river of

infinite oneness. Eventually, the river tumbles over a cliff and transforms into

a waterfall. From far away, the waterfall looks like a big blanket made of a

unified substance; a closer look reveals trillions of tiny drops of water falling

toward the ground. Our human incarnation is like that drop of water—seem-

ingly inseparable, flowing through space. Eventually the individual particles

join together with all the other droplets of water.

WHAT IS CHI?

The Taoists call source energy chi. In modern Chinese the word chi means

breath or air. However, the ancient definition encompasses much more than

that. In fact, the concept of chi is so nuanced, it’s next to impossible to trans-

late it properly. Words like life force, energy, and vital energies get us closer

to its meaning. In the yogic tradition, source energy is called prana. Both

terms refer to the same thing; they just use different names.

Chi is the underlying energy that permeates all life, reality, nature, and

existence. Chi powers the sun, which is the source of light that travels to earth

and is absorbed by plants. The energy that we acquire from plants helps to

fuel the human body. Chi is the source of all nature that governs the primary

elements, which we will discuss later in this chapter. Chi sustains the rhythms

of nature. When you walk outside on a brand new spring day and everything

is fresh and alive, it is an expression of chi. When you see the flash of lightning