Respect the Yin ☯️

I periodically have to remind myself to respect my yin side. The yang side of each of us is on the right. It’s the sun, the masculine, the active, the doing side. The yin is the moon, the feminine, the more passive, more patient side. Being a textbook Ayurvedic Pitta, my fire center usually burns hot and bright, raging at times. Not in a crazy way, just in a passionate, super proactive way. I often imagine a stove burner in my belly, with the flame being lowered. I’ll do this when I’m too hyped up about something and could stand to temper myself. The visual instantly works. It’s a good inner teacher. Since balance and equanimity is always the goal, both the yin and yang need equal airtime. Restoration is vital. Patience, trust, and the calm belief that all things flow as they must are extremely necessary in daily life. I have been calling on my yin more lately. Don’t act on impulse, just wait; yin. Don’t send that text and resist present circumstances; yin. Take child’s pose instead of that extra vinyasa; yin. Sit for a few minutes absorbing the sun; yin. Don’t search for extraneous ways to fill the silence; yin. As I’m consciously working through certain arising triggers, it really helps to honor the pause. This is a great tool for curbing reactivity. The trance of doing and reacting is just not where we want to be. My yang side serves me very well. I love him. But he needs a nap on a regular basis. I’m writing this from bed. My back is completely out and I’m frustrated. I wanted to start packing camp trunks, work on DJing, clean up little messes in the house. I’m not one to complain but I literally cannot walk. I was tensing up further thinking of all the things I should be doing right now, but then I said to myself, “Ok breathe. This is a good opportunity to embrace the yin. It’s a gift really.” Feeling that there is purpose in stillness calmed me down. After all, stillness is indeed wonderfully productive. Without it we’d miss life entirely. Looking at a sleeping loved one or into someone’s eyes requires stillness. Reading. Cuddling. Listening. Some of the greatest joys of life are born of stillness of yin. How blessed are we that we are built with the ability to both do and be? We are remarkable creatures; let’s all pause to really take that in. It feels good to not live life in this frenzied, frenetic pace. We charge our phones but not ourselves. That’s our yin, it’s our built in charging system. We are human beings not human doings. When I tap into that inner stillness it always feels soothing. Lean into your spiritual design; there are times to do and there are times to be.