Yin Yoga, Part 2: Meridians

    Yin yoga is a practice of coming into postures, with passive muscles, and staying in them for several minutes.  The purpose of staying in the postures for longer periods of time is so that we can stimulate chi to penetrate deep into the connective tissues of the body, bringing chi(energy) to the meridians.  Now that we have briefly defined meridians as the watery pathways in the body that flow through all body tissues and bones which when flowing strong are essential to the health of the body(more can be found in part 1 of the yin yoga blog), I feel that we now need to discuss the meridians in more detail.  The meridians conduct energy, or chi, along the circulatory and nerve pathways in the body.  Instead of being a hollow tube of tissue that holds fluids inside(like blood vessels), meridians are postulated to have tissue on the inside and fluid on the outside. The inner tissue of meridians, modern meridian theory states, is composed of molecular strings of hyaluronic acid .  What is hyaluronic acid, you ask?  Hyaluronic acid is an ionized molecule made in the connective tissues which draws and holds fluid which also becomes ionized and a great conductor of energy(chi).   When we stress the connective tissues(with activities such as yin yoga) we help the connective tissue produce more hyaluronic acid and with more efficiency, therefore creating strong energy flow through the meridians.  Strong flow of chi(energy) in the meridian system yields health and vitality of the body.
     So, we have discussed the "stuff" that makes up the meridians.  Now it seems appropriate to take a more detailed look at the individual meridians and their unique functions.  Meridians are listed in pairs, one line with a yin organ and one line with a yang organ.  Yin organs are concerned with the pure energy of substances we need to maintain life such as chi, blood, essence, and spirit.  The yin organs are the kidneys, liver, spleen, heart and lungs.  Yang organs are involved with impure substances such as urine, undigested food and waste.  The yang organs are the urinary bladder, gallbladder, stomach and small and large intestines.  The meridian pairings are kidneys and urinary bladder, liver and gallbladder, spleen and stomach, lungs and large intestine and heart and small intestine.  My intention from this point in our discussion of yin yoga is to present each meridian pair in detail.  Each meridian pair will have an entire blog dedicated to exploring their qualities and some suggested postures to try(your homework and practical application so you can feel it in your body).  Digest the above information over the weekend, maybe sit on the floor and stretch in ways that feel nourishing to you and tune in next week for more about meridians.