Yin Yang Theory & Symbol
I’ve always been drawn to yin yang theory – it’s difficult to find a more encompassing theory that explains life, our planet and dynamic balance. Over the years, balance has been central to all that I teach. All of my logos have represented this concept of balance, borrowing from the ancient Eastern symbol of dynamic balance – the Yin Yang.
From a child, I was attracted to the Yin Yang symbol, without understanding what it represented. In my teen years I even bought a beautiful silk flag with the Yin Yang symbol on it – I hung it up on my wall. This didn’t go down well with the church community that I’d become a part of. Their simplistic view of this ‘evil’ symbol was that that it represents ‘good in evil and evil in good’. To prove I wasn’t dabbling in this ‘evil’, I had to hide my flag.
Many years later, working in the health and fitness industry, I came across a book that explained this Eastern concept of Yin and Yang. It resonated with me on such a deep level. I started to seek more and more information on Eastern practices and philosophy (this was before the days of the internet – where you had to physically find books and people you could speak to).
Qualities of Yin & Yang
This lead me to study Shiatsu and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) theory. It felt like coming home. This was when I started to learn more about Yin Yang theory and the concept of dynamic balance. The main characteristics of the Yin Yang are:
- Yin-Yang are opposites
Yin and Yang are opposites, but this is only relative e.g. steam is yin compared to air, but yang compared to water. Yin and Yang are also never static but in dynamic balance with each other, as Yin increases, Yang decreases and vice versa.
- Yin-Yang are Interdependent
Yin and Yang cannot exist without each other. Yin contains the seed of Yang, and Yang contains the seed Yin. Nothing is totally Yin or totally Yang. They are also constantly transforming into each other. When Yang reaches its peak, it transforms into Yin and vice versa. e.g. Air (Yang) reaches a certain level of density and then transforms into water (Yin).
- Mutual consumption of Yin and Yang
Yin and Yang are constantly changing. Usually this is a harmonious change, but sometimes they can go out of balance – one can start to consume the other, like a raging fire getting out of control and consuming all the water.
- Inter-transformation of Yin and Yang.
Yin changes into Yang, but only when the time is right. E.g. Boiling water only changes into steam when it reaches its boiling point.
My Yin Yang
After all these years of studying, and fascination with, Yin Yang theory, the universe has manifested within me with my own personal yin yang – I’m pregnant with twins. They are identical boys and share a placenta – which means their very lives within me depend on finding a balance. If one gets more than the other, both suffer. My responsibility as their mother right now is to visualize and meditate on this balance within me. Time to put these years of study into practice within me.
Finding Balance in our World
As with most things in life, the microcosm represents the macrocosm. We are all joined to the same placenta – our Mother Earth. We all need to find balance with each other so that we can all survive, and thrive.
I’m in awe of this world we live in and how life unfolds. There are so many questions unanswered, yet there are answers all around us all the time if we are open to it. I don’t know if it was my focus on duality and balance that created our twins, or if it was a message many years before that I would one day be pregnant with twins. All I do know is that I’ve accepted this new path before me, whichever way it may lead, and I’m living in each moment – focusing on balance.
