YIN, YANG & YOU
Volume 2

Fire and water! Day and night! Male and female! Life and death! We live in a majestic Universe of duality.

The ancient Chinese understood this concept of Yin and Yang, which became the foundation of many of their classical sciences as well as philosophy. The most well-known symbol of Yin and Yang (not merely a religious symbol), shown above like two opposing “tadpoles” in an eternal harmonious dance, reveals a subtle secret: in the sea of black, there is the seed of white, and vice versa. One can seemingly understand it on a rational level, and yet continually find new expressions of it in everyday life. You may be curious and ask, “What has this got to do with me?” and “How does this benefit my life?” And the answer to that is… “Everything!” Let’s find out how.

But before we begin, let’s get familiar with Yin and Yang using some examples:

While Yang represents movement/activity, heat, masculinity and assertiveness, Yin represents stillness/rest, coolness, femininity and nourishment. Think of the honeybees – they are full of Yang energy compared to the Yin flowers that they visit.

The bees provide the “male” aspect in this equation, spreading pollen to fertilize the flowers and get them turning into fruit, while the flowers, in the Yin role, attract and yield to the bees, providing sweet, nourishing nectar, which is eventually turned into honey by the bees, said to be nature’s most complete food and classified as a Yin nutrient in traditional Chinese medicine.

Now keep in mind that Yin and Yang are always relative and contextual.

So, for instance, if we compare Arnold Schwarzenegger to say, Steve Jobs, we could say that in terms of physical presence, Arnold is more Yang and Steve Jobs, more Yin.

But if we’re talking about techno-savviness, then Steve is more Yang compared to Arnold. But wait. Before one gets the idea that Yang is “better” than Yin, let’s be certain about one thing: there is no “better”. Both Yin and Yang are equally important, just different, opposing and complementary.

Fire is Yang and water is Yin, but each has its role. For instance, a car engine is all about internal fire; moving pistons and gears. But too much fire and what happens? The engine overheats. This is why a car engine has pipes running around it containing moving water, which is the radiator system.

Fire and water working together – both are opposite sides of the coin, yet equally important.

The above introduction now brings us to how the Yin-Yang duality affects your life:

1. Harmonious & Complementary

Yin and Yang are inseparable, and need each other! At first glance it looks like they are opposites that just don’t get along. But if we look at the symbol again we notice that the two “tadpoles” are actually rotating in the same direction.

They are complementary opposites, like night and day. The warmth, brightness and energy of day allows living things to flourish and thrive, but the cool, dark and peacefulness of night allows them to rest, heal and grow. There is harmony, with both sides participating in an eternal dance.

Picture a cow chewing grass. In this context, the cow is Yang, being more active, assertive and “destructive”, while the grass is Yin, being dormant, yielding and nourishing. The grass nourishes the cow, and… the cow nourishes the grass in turn, with its manure! Here’s another example: after her chicks hatch, the female eagle (Yin) stays at the nest and does most of the feeding of the chicks, while the male eagle (Yang) does most of the hunting to provide food. The male also stands guard nearby to protect the nest and territory. Harmony in duality.

A key lesson here is to realize that in one way or other, we are part of this eternal dance of duality, and it is helpful for us to realize the role(s) that we play in our everyday life. There is a time for giving and there is a time for receiving. Knowing how to receive is as important as knowing how to give, allowing us to flow in harmony. Seek to enjoy both the Yin as well as the Yang moments of your life, for both experiences are essential to the fullness of life.

2. Balance

A natural force of the universe is balance; all things are constantly striving to achieve this. For instance, if you are working in a highly stressful job which sacrifices your health, peace of mind, and relationships, you will feel “pain” as a result, which manifests itself in various ways. It is simply the Universe trying to reel you back into balance.

Honoring natural cycles is part of this idea. For instance, day is the time for work, and night is the time for sleep. One can do the opposite, but not in good health for very long – many studies show that long-term night-shift workers are at higher risk for many diseases. Other studies show that using back-lit devices (bright screens) before bedtime will affect your sleep quality – this makes sense if we recognize that bright light belongs to day and not to night. Our ancestors had only candlelight or oil lamps before they went to bed!

The principle of balancing Yin and Yang also plays out in our diet, for instance. Yang foods like spicy foods, alcohol and meats, need to be balanced by Yin foods like vegetables, fruits and honey.

Too much Yang will burn out Yin, and in fact this is what we are seeing on a large scale in modern, stressed-out lifestyles – much like an engine burning up all the water in its radiator system, and then melting down.

Excessive or extreme effort in any endeavor if not balanced with an equal and opposite amount of rest builds up tension and stress in your body. Yin and Yang energies ultimately balance out and you should seek balance regularly so that the tension and stress do not build up to the point where they manifest as illnesses and disorders. There is a season for everything in life: a time for birth, a time to grow, a time to labor and a time for rest.

3. Continually Transforming

Yin and Yang give us comfort in the knowledge that nothing lasts forever – neither good times nor bad times. This is because Yin and Yang are not static, but they actually transform into each other. As pointed out before, summer changes into winter, day changes into night, life into death, joy into sadness, and vice versa. You can see this gradual “blending” happening in the Yin-Yang symbol too.

It is only by embracing the natural cycle of things, in recognition of this principle, that we can find peace no matter what our circumstances may be. Peace is simply the letting go of the idea of permanence and accepting that the environment and things around you are constantly changing like the ebb and flow of the tides. Embracing change aligns you with the great forces of the universe and results in synchronicities of events which makes for a more harmonious and successful life in the universal flow.

4. Interconnectedness

Finally, Yin and Yang teach us about the interconnectedness of all things. Even though they seem to be opposites, at odds with each other, they are really “one house”. This teaches us the universal principle of Oneness. A passage from a commentary of Zhuangzi (an ancient Taoist text) illustrates: “There are no two things under Heaven which do not have the mutual relationship of the ‘self’ and the ‘other’. Both the ‘self’ and the ‘other’ equally desire to act for themselves, thus opposing each other as strongly as East and West. On the other hand, the ‘self’ and the ‘other’ have at the same time the mutual relationship of lips and teeth… therefore the action of the ‘other’ on its own behalf at the same time helps the ‘self’. Thus, though mutually opposed, they are incapable of mutual negation.”

When every human being sees that we are all interconnected and interdependent in this bio-energetic system known as “Earth”, we will become more trusting and compassionate towards each other instead of harboring the mutual fear and suspicion.

Now wouldn’t the world and you be more loving, peaceful and happy if seemingly opposing views recognize this interconnectedness?

The Long & Short Of It

Even though Yin and Yang seem quite simplistic, the applications of this concept are endless. Through understanding the harmony of duality and the principles of balance, constant transformation and interconnectedness, you can realize the ancient wisdom of the sages, and apply these universal principles to the attainment of love, peace, happiness and abundance in your life.