essential
The iconic and well known yinyang, an ancient symbol of the fundamental necessity for balance between opposites.
Superimposed over a healthy spine, a yinyang will have a center point intersecting the face of T12, a crucial point of postural awareness. This is the house of the kidneys, the
seat of yin and yang.
The yinyang is an ancient iconic symbol representing one of the most fundamental and essential teachings, simple and yet so very profound. We are reminded of it in countless ways and it is at the root of all things physical and energetic. Paradox. Duality. Opposites. Light and Dark. Masculine and Feminine. Human and Divine. Sun and Moon. Birth and Death. Inhale and Exhale. It is in the beating of the heart and the rhythm of breath.
Each cannot exist without its partner. They are one in the same. Yin and yang, and the simple relationship that exists between them, represent the tangible, physical world, with all its fantsatic oppositions, and the inner turning tides of the energetic realm. But literally reading between the lines we are forced to see that the yinyang duality is a teaching mechanism for the non–dual. And as much as this ever–present play between opposites stares us in the face, it is literally what lies at the indescribable space between them that is the point of understanding; the moment of peace and clarity. It is balance. It is yoga in its purest and simplest form.
a middle
A simple illustration from Anatomy Trains
of the superficial front and back lines of the body. This is perhaps the most critical pair of opposites we must balance in our practice.
The hamstrings and quadriceps are a significant partnership in the upper leg. Both muscle groups must exhibit balanced qualities of yin and yang. Image from
Thieme.
Practicing yoga properly is a time tested method of finding this middle way. It can be found in the yoga sutras of Patanjali, in
the definitions of asana, in which asana is described as being stable and comfortable. This is very different than practicing in such a way as to be stable
then comfortable. Here we could say that "stable" (sthira) is to yang as "comfortable" (sukham) is to yin. On a more subtle level, both qualities of stability and comfort
each contain a balance of yin and yang. Real stability is quiet (yin) while real comfort or ease cannot be without strength (yang). In essence it is a study of simultaneity and balance between
polar aspects of the same thing.
Balance is personal, as we must cope with our individual constitutions and tendencies (samskara). Eventually, in order to find balance, we must explore both sides of the paradox of yin and yang before we reconcile them and stand clearly in the middle. Another yoga sutra [2.48] describes how asana ends affliction from dualities or pairs of opposites. This can be applied to the grandest of themes, or as simply as in the complementary opposites in the physical body. For example, the union of yin and yang can be analogous to the union of our personal sense of the divine (ishvara) with cosmic intelligence (purusha). On a more physical level, the thigh muscles of the front of the upper leg (quadriceps) are partnered with the hamstrings on the back of the upper leg. When these two groups come into balance within themselves and each other, there is no more affliction, and natural peace emerges.
the dance of
The inhalation contains both upward and downward moving energies, energetic and physical, but simultaneous and inseparable.
The exhalation is the perfect mirror of the inhalation. And like the inhalation, the exhalation is a balance between ascending and descending currents.
Our breath demonstrates the same elemental balance. The rhythmical pulse of breathing in and breathing out, inhaling and exhaling, is an all too often forgotten reminder of fundamental relationship,
and our intimate sharing of the Divine flow of prana. Maybe you have experienced the quiet peace that exists in the natural pause (kumbhaka) between breaths, especially after the exhale.
This equilibrium is easy to understand, as the breath in and out are in perfect zero balance. The same thing exists in the brief transitions between light and dark, dawn and dusk. And yet if we look
closer at breathing, there are deeper layers of the opposition of energetic flow. While the inhalation gives us a feeling of lift and expansion through the spine and trunk, there is a simultaneous downward
motion of the physical breath into the lungs, while the respiratory and pelvic diaphragms also descend. The exact opposite happens during exhalation. What this teaches us is that at any given moment
in time, things are perfect the way they are. We need not wait for the exhale to find stillness.