The Red Dragon of Heaven descends from the light of the sky.
The Yellow Horse of Earth comes forth from the darkness of the Underworld.
Uniting in ecstasy, clashing in war, from their play arises all life and death.
~ Richard Herne
I’ll try to keep this simple.
Yin and Yang are fluid concepts representing polar opposites of interrelated
phenomenon which in a state of constant flux create a whole.
One cannot exist without the other, for example the concept of down cannot exist without the idea of up, nor the concept of slow without the corresponding idea of fast.
Constant change in the universe is a dynamic interaction between Yin and Yang in which the interplay of these basic forces creates, and is created by the universe itself.
The Yin and Yang symbol itself is a call for balance. Too much of anything is not good i.e. courage taken too far leads to recklessness, too much strength becomes stubbornness, too much desire leads to obsession; too much power brings on corruption (as all Tai Chi practitioners know extending too far or committing too much force leads to a loss of balance).
The symbol shows us that there is always a touch of black within white and white contained in black. For instance a good man has some feminine qualities, a great lie has a semblance of truth, a good sword has some flexibility and a good leader is sometimes subservient.
The whole of life is made up of such opposites, and all is a continuous cycle of these opposites. Good times follow bad, sun follows rain, and smiles follow tears.
This is why when times are good we cherish them, and when times are bad we don’t worry too much, because we know that they can’t last forever.
I may have drifted away from simple, let me try something else. First some examples.
YIN : Female, Negative, Cold, Night, Moon, Intellectual, Stillness, Civilised.
YANG : Male, Positive, Hot, Day, Sun, Physical, Motion, Wild.
Take for example breathing. To breathe in is Yang to breathe out is Yin. If you breathe in softly it is still Yang (the act of breathing in) but has a Yin aspect (the softness of the breath), if you breathe in forcefully this is considered Yang in aspect as well as Yang the act of inhalation.
During the Chi Kung exercise ‘Opening the Chest’ we draw forward advancing (Yang), tense the fists hard (Yang), open up (Yang ) and use a warriors breath (Yang). Then we sit back retreating (Yin), lowering softened hands (Yin), closing slightly (Yin), and use a scholars breath to release (Yin).
If we then switch to ‘Dove Spreads It’s Wings’ we draw forward (Yang) but at the same time softly embrace (Yin). Then we sit back (Yin) but also open up the arms at the same time (Yang). The breath is relaxed (Yin). As there is no dynamic tension the physical aspect of the exercise is Yin, the exercise energetically works predominantly the heart and lungs which are Yin organs.
It’s a little like assigning le & la within the French language only with a great deal more depth, once again – fluid concepts!
Bemused Blessing
Mathew
Facebook post 09/04/24
As always this is an interesting article.
My understanding is that the other aspect of yin and yang which relates to the practice of Tai Chi is that the starting position is neutral or wu chi but by moving the foot we create yin and yang,thus emulating the creation of the universe .