About Paulie Zink
Who Founded Yin Yoga?
Yin yoga was founded by Paulie Zink. He created the art in the late 1970’s during his ten years of private training with Chinese Kung fu and Taoist yoga Master Cho Chat Ling. Paulie's art of Yin yoga is rooted Taoist alchemy, Chi kung, and years of watching how animals move, as well as his own energetic awareness.
Three people are often confused in this story, and each played a different part. Paulie Zink originated the art. Paul Grilley, who studied with Paulie in the late 1980s, popularised a portion of it. Sarah Powers gave the practice the name Yin yoga.
Paulie calls his complete art Yin and Yang yoga, because in his practice the two are never separated
Students often ask Paulie Zink if he was always extremely flexible. He was not. He was rather average as a teenager. It wasn't until he trained long and hard in Taoist Qigong and Taoist yoga that he developed his exceptional flexibility.
Paulie studied the Chinese 5 Element theory on his own initiatve while he was being privately trained. In addition, he observed a variety of animals, studying their behaviors and movements. As a result, Paulie deepened his energetic awareness and primal spirit. Drawing on this embodied awareness, he developed numerous yoga postures, variations of postures, movements, and meditations, thereby creating his own style he calls the Art of Yin yoga or Yin and Yang yoga.
What is now commonly taught as Yin yoga is a beginner-level portion of Paulie Zink's complete art of yoga. However, yin and yang are inseparable. Paulie never intended for his art to be taught as a single polarity. The yin aspects of his yoga should be balanced with its Taoist yang aspects.
How Yin Yoga Got Started
Paulie Zink began studying Hatha yoga when he was 14 and martial arts two years later. In 1977, while he was in college, Paulie met a Kung-fu master from Hong Kong named Cho Chat Ling. Master Cho had been imparted with secret martial arts knowledge by his uncle and was obligated to pass on the legacy. He wanted to choose a proficient, worthy practitioner who could show the art to the western world. He found in Paulie the potential and the tenacity of spirit necessary to meet this aim.
After some time Master Cho chose Paulie to become his sole protege. Master Cho came to Paulie’s home and instructed him privately every day for six to eight hours. Two to three hours of his daily practice were devoted to flexibility training and Chi Kung. Paulie was taught the Taoist arts of yoga and Chi Kung as a foundation for his martial arts training.
Master Cho taught Paulie three distinct Kung-fu styles collectively called Tai Shing Pek Kwar (Monkey kung fu) combined into a discipline that demanded tremendous mental concentration, harsh physical exercise, and esoteric spiritual practices.
For seven years Paulie Zink continued his daily intensive level of study with his master. After seven years time Master Cho began to taper the frequency of his visits, although Paulie continued to train just as vigorously. By his tenth year, Master Cho declared Paulie to be his own master and his training ended.
(Photo: Paulie with his Master by Jeferson Applegate)
Paulie Zink, The Reluctant Competitor
Master Cho told Paulie he had transmitted to him in ten years time what would usually require twenty-five years or more to learn. Paulie Zink is the only Westerner to be traditionally trained in the secret knowledge of the art of Tai Shing Pek Kwar in a direct Chinese lineage from the arts’ originators. Master Cho never charged Paulie for his lessons.
Master Cho insisted Paulie compete in the martial arts arena. Paulie entered the solo “Empty Hands” and “Weapons” divisions of approximately one hundred martial arts tournaments from local to regional to national levels. He won the Grand Championship in all of them, often in both divisions. Master Zink’s tournament career culminated in winning the Grand Championship at the Long Beach International Karate Championships for three consecutive years, 1981-'83.
Classes With Paulie Zink In The Old Days
Master Cho obligated Paulie to teach some of the arts he had learned. So, for many years Paulie taught semi-private classes from his home. These classes were held on Thursdays and Saturdays. They started at 8 pm and usually lasted five to six hours. The yoga-only students stayed for the first two hours.
Students practiced in the garage on a cement floor. And for a long time, they had no heater. Numerous students came to these classes briefly or sporadically. However, Master Zink had a small group of deeply devoted students who attended his classes on a semi-weekly basis for several years.
Paulie also taught occasional workshops at Martial arts and yoga schools. Eventually, he started teaching weekly yoga classes at local schools. And later he became a traveling master teacher.
Yin Yoga Today
Paulie began teaching yoga and movement arts in 1975 and Yin yoga in 1979. He continues to evolve his Taoist art of Yin yoga by adding postures and variations, movements, and insights.
Paulie's Complete Art of Yin Yoga goes way beyond the simplified, mainstream version of Yin yoga that is commonly taught. It incorporates numerous additional postures, flow movements, and elemental and animal energetic awareness. These deeper dimensions of the art can greatly facilitate healing and expedite growth.
Paulie Zink's Celebrity Students
David Lee Roth
Master Zink privately instructed rock star David Lee Roth for extended periods of time over the course of twenty years. Master Zink also choreographed routines for David’s performances with Van Halen and music videos.
Michael Hedges
A guitarist & composer extraordinaire.
Michael was brilliant and had a great sense of humor.
He was quite inflexible when he began his private instruction with Paulie.
But he was a devoted student and excelled in his practice.
Paulie Zink privately instructed musician Michael Hedges in Yin yoga for six years
in the 1990's. Master Zink performed live with Michael on numerous occasions,
including at Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California, and at The Greek Theatre
in Los Angeles, opening for Crosby, Stills and Nash.
Paulie has also taught
guitarists
Joe Walsh
Steve Vai
actors
Joan Chen
Julie Christie
Ali MacGraw
Maud Adams
Paulie Zink Credits and Media
The Art of Yin and Yang Yoga by Paulie Zink, Yoga International magazine
A Lesson in Yin Yoga from Founder Master Paulie Zink, Elephant Journal, May 2016
Paulie Zink has been inducted into three Martial Arts Halls of Fame, 1983, 1987, 1989.
Paulie co-authored two books on Monkey Kung-fu:
Monkey Kung Fu
By Paulie Zink & Michael Gonzalez, Unique Publications, 1986
The History of Monkey Kung fu, 1999
By Paulie Zink & Michael Matsuda
Paulie starred in two separate Kung fu and Yin yoga training videos series produced by Unique Publications, 2002, and Panther Productions, 1986-1992.
Dozens of articles about Master Zink and his art have been published in major martial arts magazines from 1982 through the 1990's. And he has been featured on many magazine covers.
Wikipedia: "Yin Yoga"
Wikipedia: "Paulie Zink"
Paulie Zink was featured in the BBC series “Jerry Hall’s Gurus”, 2003, a documentary on spiritual teachers produced by Tiger Aspect Productions, UK. (Jerry Hall is a former supermodel and was the long-time partner of Mick Jagger, with whom she has four children.)
Paulie Zink has taught Yin Yoga and medical Chi Kung at:
Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, Stockbridge, MA
Omega Institute for Holistic Studies, Rhinebeck, NY
Esalen Institute, Big Sur, CA
Yo San University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Los Angeles, CA
University of California Los Angeles, International Student Center
Deaconess Hospital, Cancer Treatment Program, Billings, MT
Midwest Yoga Conference, Chicago, IL
Yoga Journal Conference, Lake Geneva, WI
Illinois Neuro-Spine Center, Rush Copley Hospital, Chicago, IL