Cultivating Balance: Yin Yang Theory in Health and Yoga
Cultivating Balance: Yin Yang Theory for Optimal Health
Our health is in a constant state of flux. Health isn’t something we achieve one day, and we’re set for life - Health is cultivated every day. Our state of health is a continuous balancing act of Yin and Yang. It is this balance we cultivate in our lifestyle, that reflect our health and well-being.
We can think of our health to be like a garden, that must be tended to and cared for every day. This is a difference in Eastern and Western Medicine. Where in western medicine a doctor is like a mechanic who helps us put things together after we fall apart, in Eastern medicine a doctor is more like a gardener who helps us maintain a balanced environment and Eco-system. Both views on medicine are equally valuable and have a lot to offer us.
Yin Yang Theory is rooted in Chinese medicine, that views our health as a constant balance, not an end point.
It is the balance of these forces within us that determines our health or disease. Eastern medicine also takes our connection to nature and the environment around us into account. Our health is linked to the changing seasons and environment. Suggesting that nothing exists in separation. Yin and Yang continuously transform into each other in a continuous process of natural change.
Yin is night, dark, cold, passive, gentle, slow, feminine, and receptive.
Yang is day, light, warm, active, fast, masculine, and expansive.
Where yang suggests movement and regular exercise is key for our health, yin suggests sleep and rest is key for our health. BOTH exercise and sleep are key ingredients to a balanced healthy lifestyle – you just can’t have one without the other. Our modern-day lifestyle is inclined more towards yang, we tend to be focused on our to do list and putting out energy. In general, we tend to be more deficient in yin. We don’t usually put relaxation on our to do list.
However, Chinese Medicine sees yin as a precious thing, and it should not be overlooked when it comes to our health. The current times has given us a lot more opportunity for what I like to call – yin time - but it’s important to honor both energies still.
Here are some ways we can harness our Yin and Yang energy now:
Yin:
Yin time is unstructured downtime, when we receive and take in energy. Here are some ways to harness our yin energy:
Read a book
Meditation
Gentle stretching (try restorative or yin yoga)
Take a relaxing bath
Draw, paint, or color
Mindful Walking
Yang:
Yang is movement time, when we give out and expend energy. Many of us expend energy everyday at our job but here are some other ways to harness our yang energy:
Dance (put some music on and move your body!)
Weight train or strength building exercises (If you don’t have equipment at home: Push-ups, sit ups, squats, plank holds)
Take a power vinyasa yoga class
Go for a run, hike, or vigorous walk
What’s on your to-do list? Organize room, clean home, De-clutter.
When both of these energies are in balance, we feel our best and function at our optimal health! Try out some of the above to cultivate balance in your own lifestyle.
It’s important to note that everyone holds both energies within them, and what brings you into balance may be different than your friend or partners. For example, someone who moves and expends a lot of energy in a stressful work environment, may benefit more from meditation and gentle stretching after work. As an intense strength building class may be too much yang and result in yin deficiency for this person. This is generally speaking, everyone is different. It may be that someone needs to burn off energy and get moving at the end of a work day to free up stagnant energy.
Use your intuition to discern what energy you need to cultivate a balanced lifestyle.
The yoga practice also has yin and yang aspects.
Yin yoga or restorative yoga is still, quiet, and introspective. In yin yoga, typically poses are done seated or laying on your back and held for longer periods of time. The stretching in yin yoga is passive, with little to no muscular contraction. Passive stretching can help down regulate the nervous system, and promote our relaxation response. The yang yoga practice is our movement oriented, active, power vinyasa flow style. The stretching in a yang yoga class is typically dynamic or active. Dynamic stretching is our fluid breath linked movement that creates warmth and circulation. Where the yin practice targets our skeletal and connective tissue, the yang practice targets our muscular tissue. The combination of these yoga practices helps us reach our optimal level of function and state of health in the body.
If you want to try out both of these styles,
I offer a Yin Yang Yoga class.
Created to cultivate balance in the body and align us with our center. The class is a balance of effort and ease. We spend part of the time strengthening, moving dynamically, and actively stretching. The other part of the time we spend restoring and passively stretching. We balance our stability work with mobility. When we cultivate balance and move from center, we align with well-being and find ourselves in a calm state. When we are calm and aligned with well-being, we are guided by our intuition, and equipped to maintain a balanced healthy lifestyle.
I’ll be offering this class online through zoom! This coming Monday, April 20th at 6 pm (PST).
Sign up here.
Stay tuned for when I am back offering this class weekly as “Power Yin” at Seattle Yoga Lounge.
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Hopefully this post gives you ideas of how you can incorporate balance into your lifestyle.
With love,
Brooke