The Six Stages: Traditional Chinese Medicine and Yin Yoga

The Six Stages: Develop your understanding of Traditional Chinese Medicine within the context of Yin Yoga in this forthcoming workshop. Visit the event page for further details.

The six stages, also known as the six levels, form a diagnostic framework in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). Most Yin Yoga teacher-training courses cover the interior–exterior relationship between the Yin and Yang (Zang-Fu) organs associated with each element. The six stages, however, pair the hand and foot channels to describe how external pathogenic factors-particularly cold-travel through the body's internal pathways and organ systems.

The Six Stages in Traditional Chinese Medicine

The Six Stages model comes from the Shang Han Lun, one of the key foundational texts of TCM. Its theories emerged during a period when febrile illnesses were widespread. Each stage corresponds with the way pathogenic influences, including wind, cold and heat, move through the body, demonstrating the connected nature of Yin-Yang dynamics and the Zang-Fu organs.

It can be helpful to view this as a framework for supporting practitioners in the diagnosis and treatment of particular conditions according to the stage and character of the disease process. It may also be used to understand the body's energy flow and overall sense of balance.

When Yin Yoga is practised alongside breathwork, particular postures can be selected to help rebalance the body. Through an understanding of hand and foot channel pairings, Yin Yoga teachers can work with greater intention in deciding where and how Qi is moved within the body.

A brief overview of the six stages

1. Tai Yang (Greater Yang) = Urinary Bladder and Small Intestine channels: this represents the first stage of external invasion. Symptoms can include chills, fever, headache, neck stiffness and an aversion to cold. Emotional imbalance may involve fear and insecurity, being excessively critical of oneself or others, mental inflexibility and resistance to deeper connection.

2. Yang Ming (Bright Yang) = Stomach and Large Intestine: this signals a deeper level of accumulated heat. Possible physical signs include high fever, profuse sweating, thirst and constipation. Emotional imbalance may appear as ‘emotional’ indigestion, anxiety, overthinking, an inability to let go of past pain or reluctance to release established patterns.

3. Shao Yang (Lesser Yang) = Gallbladder and Triple Burner (San Jiao): this is the ‘pivot’ between external and internal disease. The body must work more intensely to remove the pathogenic factor. Symptoms may include alternating chills and fever, a bitter taste in the mouth, dry throat and hypochondriac pain. Someone may also experience indecision, hesitation, frustration, irritability and considerable inner conflict.

4. Tai Yin (Greater Yin) = Spleen and Lung: this stage indicates a movement from external cold towards internal cold or deficiency. Symptoms can include abdominal fullness, diarrhoea, poor appetite and fatigue. Tai Yin emotional imbalance may present as worry or dwelling on the past.

5. Shao Yin (Lesser Yin) = Heart and Kidneys: this is a still deeper state of deficiency or imbalance, potentially involving cold limbs, fatigue, insomnia or heart palpitations.

6. Jue Yin (Terminal Yin) = Liver and Pericardium: this is the final stage and commonly involves a combination of extreme heat and cold. A person may experience thirst, a feeling of energy rising, vomiting or patterns of extreme cold. Emotional imbalance at this final stage may manifest as powerful anger, frustration or hopelessness, as well as difficulty expressing emotions or feeling emotionally isolated.

Yin Yoga, channel pairings and emotional balance

Yin Yoga can be a particularly valuable practice for encouraging a balanced and healthy emotional flow within the body. At any stage, choosing postures that open the channels connected through hand-foot pairings may create relief and support change. Through its focus on stillness, deep stretching and meditative attention, Yin Yoga aligns closely with TCM principles, addressing both physical and emotional imbalances associated with each stage.

Please visit the event page for the next upcoming four-part module

This four-part module is suitable for Yoga therapists, Yin Yoga teachers and anyone wishing to deepen their knowledge of the six stages through an applied learning framework. It brings together Yin postures, energy pathways and pressure points with relevant, up-to-date theoretical insights.