…you can start to realize if parts of your life are balanced or not you can start to realize if parts of your life are balanced or not
The Yin-Yang principle, the concept of equal and opposing forces, is a symbol, idea, and lifestyle that stems from the interest the Chinese had in the patterns and relationships that occurred in nature. Yin is the relaxed, passive, and overall more dense energy. Yang is the opposite, it’s the explosive energy; active, bright, fast.
In martial arts, we use it as a guideline for our training; we make sure to train both our left and right sides, we practice our techniques slow and fast, we train equally our physical endurance and our stretching, we also strive to train our internal practices (meditation, ki gong, tai chi, etc.) as often as our external training (conditioning, cardio, etc.).
However, one of the main philosophies of Yin and Yang is that everything has a Yin Yang concept. They create, control, and transform each other, so you can find them in your daily, even hourly, life. Daytime is more Yang than Nighttime, which would be more Yin. Water would be more Yang than Milk, milk has more density so it would be the Yin in that relationship. Hanging out with your friends versus relaxing at home, generally would be Yang and Yin, respectively.
Keeping this in mind, you can start to realize if parts of your life are balanced or not. For example, how much water do you drink compared to soda, or coffee? Maybe you’ve been neglecting to properly hydrate yourself. You can even take it a step further and think, when you’re at a bar do you make an effort to drink water alongside your alcohol?
Do you try and get some physical exercise somewhere in the day attempting to counteract sitting at a desk all day, hunched over a computer? You don’t have to be a black belt or live at the gym to find a physical way to balance out your energy; walks are great! What about the balance between your work productivity and taking breaks for yourself? It’s very easy to get burnt out by working too hard and not allowing time for a mental break, however on the other hand, it is very easy to get distracted while on the clock and you become less ambitious with your work.
What is the ratio of the time you spend indoors to outdoors? Obviously in some areas it’s hard to constantly be outside, and we need our shelter to survive, but how often do you allow yourself time with nature? Even if it’s just breathing in the fresh air for a little bit, it’s not good to just stay indoors all the time in our material world.
Remember, the yin-yang was derived from observing nature, and humans are no exception. What is the balance you need in your life?
