Yin and Yang

In life (as well as yoga!), we try to maintain balance.  The reason we find it difficult to stay in balance is because everything around us, and even within us, is made up of dualistic energies.  Our feminine side, our masculine side.  Our inner lightness contrasting with our even deeper shadows. Existing only in light is not possible because you cannot know light without knowing darkness.  You cannot always be happy because, in order to be happy, you have to comprehend sad. Yin and yang.

Most people would say they are familiar with the yin and yang symbol, also recognized as the symbol for Tai Chi.  And, maybe, half could guess by merely looking at the symbol that it has something to do with duality or contrasts or opposites. But, in fact, yin and yang are not opposites, though they may appear to be. They are rooted in eachother. One does not exist without the other.  Were you to draw a diameter through the yin yang symbol, you would separate the circle into two halves that both contain some white and some black because they are entertwined.  A line through the center does not divide yin yang into white on one side and black on the other. Therefore, they cannot and do not exist alone. Yet they do exist everywhere.

Let's take a look at the yin side, the black side with the white dot. Yin is a feminine lunar energy. This energy associates with the earth and water elements and is slow, cold and passive.  Sadness is yin. Even the physical aspects of your body are either yin or yang.  Imagine you are outside and it is really hot and sunny out. You turn away from the sun to shade your eyes.  The front side of the body, which is softer and now shaded is yin.  Your back, structurally supported by your spine and now facing the warm sun, is yang.

The terms yin and yang originally appear in early Chinese culture to describe how when the sun comes up, people get up and go to the fields to work. When the sun goes down , people go to bed.  Movement and sun and warmth are yang.  Darkness and immobility are yin.  But note that as the sun fades away to be replaced by darkness and vice versa, one reveals what was hidden while the other hides what had been revealed.

Yang is the white side of the symbol with the black dot.  It is a masculine energy.  It is heat and solid and agressive and is associated with the elements of fire and sky.  Because of its solar energy, daytime is yang.

Let's go back to the body. Anything below the waist is yin because it is closer to the earth element. Anything above the waist is yang, closer to the sun and sky.  The outside of the body, yang, protects the inside, yin.   The upper part of the body, being yang, is more affected by yang elements, ie. heat, sun, wind.  The lower yin body parts are more affected by cold, damp and wet.   When you have a cold, yin has taken over yang. When you are really mad, yang has overtaken yin.  If you are cold and pale, yin is excessive. If you are red in the face, yang is in excess.  Are you beginning to see how life is about attempting to stay in balance?  It really is a lot like chakras. When one chakra is out of balance, illness manifests in that part of the body.

People themselves can have yin or yang tendencies. How you determine if you are more yin than yang is based on the year you were born according to a Chinese calendar.  The chart is listed below.

How does this relate to your yoga practice?  Let's assume you find yourself in a challenging pose.  The body is a little stressed by this, ie yang. If you allow the mind to start in with the self-judgement and get angry at the yoga instructor(!) for introducing such a ridiculous pose anyway, your mental being adds even more yang energy to that of the physical body.  So we look for the softness in the pose as well as the strength; the easy versus the challenging.

So here's a great example I came across online.  Let's say you are in the midst of a conversation and the person you are speaking to suddenly becomes very mad.  You can choose to raise your voice as well or you can choose to stay calm, right?  The person who is upset has excessive yang energy. If you get mad, too, there is no balance; yang abuts yang. But if you choose to take a breath and stay calm, your yin balances his yang.  You have altered the yang energy. Yin and yang are always changing.  Situations and people can never be fully one energy or the other because they constantly change, melding with one another.  That is why the yin yang symbol is encased in a circle depicting constant motion and interactions of the two polar energies.

“Accept your dark side, understanding it will help you to move with the light. Knowing both sides of our souls, helps us all to move forward in life and to understand that, perfection doesn't exist.”
― Martin R. Lemieux

 

 

Year Sign/Element Dates
1900 Rat Metal (1/31/1900 to 2/18/1901)
1901 Ox Metal (2/19/1902 to 2/7/1902)
1902 Tiger Water (2/8/1902 to 1/28/1903)
1903 Cat Water (1/29/1903 to 2/15/1904)
1904 Dragon Wood (2/16/1904 to 2/3/1905)
1905 Snake Wood 2/4/1905 to 1/24/1906)
1906 Horse Fire (1/25/1906 to 2/12/1907)
1907 Goat Fire (2/13/1907 to 2/1/1908)
1908 Monkey Earth (2/2/1908 to 1/21/1909)
1909 Rooster Earth 1/22/1909 to 2/9/1910)
1910 Dog Metal (2/10/1910 to 1/29/1911)
Year Sign/Element Dates
1911 Pig Metal (1/30/1911 to 2/17/1912
1912 Rat Water (2/18/1912 to 2/5/1913)
1913 Ox Water (2/6/1913 to 1/25/1914)
1914 Tiger Wood (1/26/1914 to 2/13/1915)
1915 Cat Wood (2/14/1915 to 2/2/1916)
1916 Dragon Fire (2/3/1916 to 1/22/1917)
1917 Snake Fire (1/23/1917 to 2/10/1918)
1918 Horse Earth (2/11/1918 to 1/31/1919)
1919 Goat Earth (2/1/1919 to 2/19/1920)
1920 Monkey Metal (2/20/1920 to 2/7/1921)
Year Sign/Element Dates
1921 Rooster Metal (2/8/1921 to 1/27/1922)
1922 Dog Water (1/28/1922 to 2/15/1923)
1923 Pig Water (2/16/1923 to 2/4/1924)
1924 Rat Wood (2/5/1924 to 1/23/1925)
1925 Ox Wood (1/24/1925 to 2/12/1926)
1926 Tiger Fire (2/13/1926 to 2/1/1927)
1927 Cat Fire (2/2/1927 to 1/22/1928)
1928 Dragon Earth (1/23/1928 to 2/9/1929)
1929 Snake Earth (2/10/1929 to 1/29/1930)
1930 Horse Metal (1/30/1930 to 2/16/1931)
Year Sign/Element Dates
1931 Goat Metal (2/17/1931 to 2/5/1932)
1932 Monkey Water (2/6/1932 to 1/25/1933)
1933 Rooster Water (1/26/1933 to 2/13/1934)
1934 Dog Wood (2/14/1934 to 2/3/1935)
1935 Pig Wood (2/4/1935 to 1/23/1936)
1936 Rat Fire (1/24/1936 to 2/10/1937)
1937 Ox Fire (2/11/1937 to 1/30/1938)
1938 Tiger Earth (1/31/1938 to 2/18/1939)
1939 Cat Earth (2/19/1939 to 2/7/1940)
1940 Dragon Metal (2/8/1940 to 1/26/1941)
Year Sign/Element Dates
1941 Snake Metal (1/27/1941 to 2/14/1942)
1942 Horse Water (2/15/1942 to 2/4/1943)
1943 Goat Water (2/5/1943 to 1/24/1944)
1944 Monkey Wood (1/25/1944 to 2/12/1945)
1945 Rooster Wood (2/13/1945 to 2/1/1946)
1946 Dog Fire (2/2/1946 to 1/21/1947)
1947 Pig Fire (1/22/1947 to 2/9/1948)
1948 Rat Earth (2/10/1948 to 1/28/1949)
1949 Ox Earth (1/29/1949 to 2/16/1950)
1950 Tiger Metal (2/17/1950 to 2/5/1951)
Year Sign/Element Dates
1951 Cat Metal (2/6/1951 to 1/26/1952)
1952 Dragon Water (1/27/1952 to 2/13/1953)
1953 Snake Water (2/14/1953 to 2/2/1954)
1954 Horse Wood (2/3/1954 to 1/23/1955)
1955 Goat Wood (1/24/1955 to 2/11/1956)
1956 Monkey Fire (2/12/1956 to 1/30/1957)
1957 Rooster Fire (1/31/1957 to 2/17/1958)
1958 Dog Earth (2/18/1958 to 2/7/1959)
1959 Pig Earth (2/8/1959 to 1/27/1960)
1960 Rat Metal (1/28/1960 to 2/14/1961)
Year Sign/Element Dates
1961 Ox Metal (2/15/1961 to 2/4/1962
1962 Tiger Water (2/5/1962 to 1/24/1963)
1963 Cat Water (1/25/1963 to 2/12/1964)
1964 Dragon Wood (2/13/1964 to 2/1/1965)
1965 Snake Wood (2/2/1965 to 1/20/1966)
1966 Horse Fire (1/21/1966 to 2/8/1967)
1967 Goat Fire (2/9/1967 to 1/29/1968)
1968 Monkey Earth (1/30/1968 to 2/16/1969)
1969 Rooster Earth (2/17/1969 to 2/5/1970)
1970 Dog Metal (2/6/1970 to 1/26/1971)
Year Sign/Element Dates
1971 Pig Metal (1/27/1971 to 2/14/1972)
1972 Rat Water (2/15/1972 to 2/2/1973)
1973 Ox Water (2/3/1973 to 1/22/1974)
1974 Tiger Wood (1/23/1974 to 2/10/1975)
1975 Cat Wood (2/11/1975 to 1/30/1976)
1976 Dragon Fire (1/31/1976 to 2/17/1977)
1977 Snake Fire (2/18/1977 to 2/6/1978)
1978 Horse Earth (2/7/1978 to 1/27/1979)
1979 Goat Earth (1/28/1979 to 2/15/1980)
1980 Monkey Metal (2/16/1980 to 2/4/1981)
Year Sign/Element Dates
1981 Rooster Metal (2/5/1981 to 1/24/1982)
1982 Dog Water (1/25/1982 to 2/12/1983)
1983 Pig Water (2/13/1983 to 2/1/1984)
1984 Rat Wood (2/2/1984 to 2/19/1985)
1985 Ox Wood (2/20/1985 to 2/8/1986)
1986 Tiger Fire (2/9/1986 to 1/28/1987)
1987 Cat Fire (1/29/1987 to 2/16/1988)
1988 Dragon Earth (2/17/1988 to 2/5/1989)
1989 Snake Earth (2/6/1989 to 1/26/1990)
1990 Horse Metal (1/27/1990 to 2/14/1991)
Year Sign/Element Dates
1991 Goat Metal (2/15/1991 to 2/3/1992)
1992 Monkey Water (2/4/1992 to 1/22/1993)
1993 Rooster Water (1/23/1993 to 2/9/1994)
1994 Dog Wood (2/10/1994 to 1/30/1995)
1995 Pig Wood (1/31/1995 to 2/18/1996)
1996 Rat Fire (2/19/1996 to 2/6/1997)
1997 Ox Fire (2/7/1997 to 1/27/1998)
1998 Tiger Earth (1/28/1998 to 2/15/1999)
1999 Cat Earth (2/16/1999 to 2/4/2000)
2000 Dragon Metal (2/5/2000 to 1/23/2001)

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