Monday, November 29, 2010

Yin & Yang

Balance is something we strive for throughout our entire lives. As an infant we struggle to find our footing, literally grasping for whatever is in our reach in order to lift ourselves off of the ground. Lying on our backs, we begin by lifting our head and when we find enough strength we may even try to pull ourselves to our feet. But with too much strength and power, we may overcompensate, and find ourselves flat on our bellies. Through trial and error, and lessons learned, we may finally find just the right amount of strength, mixed with the perfect amount of patience and care, or softness, that we can finally pull ourselves up to stand on both feet.

This process is something we repeat throughout our life cycles. Once we have owned the standing, walking, balancing act, we move on to more challenges. We try to balance roles in our lives, parent, child, friend, student, teacher, sibling, partner. We discover what the “right” amount of sleep is for us— although we may not always follow through with it. In the same light, we discover our ideal serving of each of our life’s endeavors.

This is Yin and Yang. It is the experience of finding balance in all that we do and all that we are. Although we may pigeonhole ourselves, (or others may do it for us!) we are not wholly one thing or another. We, like everything in the universe, is defined by a balance of Yin and Yang. We are feminine and masculine. We are body and spirit.

Just how we, in our yoga practice, move fluidly while also remaining still and finding stillness in each of our movements; we find the softness in the strength, and the strength and power in the softness. Off of our mat, we take the practice of yoga with us. We do this by finding stillness and peace during a hectic moment at work. We discover strength and power as we experience pain and loss. We find the ability to give and be open to receiving all at once. It is when we can tap into the union of opposites, that we can experience divine consciousness, wholeness, enlightenment.

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