Yin and Yang: Our Case for Balance

Yin and yang. It’s a symbol that we can all see with our mind’s eye, that’s how ingrained it is in the collective consciousness. But how many of us really know what it stands for?

I’ve often heard of yin and yang described as a representation of good and bad, that even in the very best things there is a bit of bad, and even in the very worst of things, there is a bit of good (think Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader).

Actually, that’s not what it means at all. We need to jettison this idea that yin and yang have anything to do with good being balanced by bad, or that bad needs to exist for good to exist. There is no moral judgment when it comes to yin and yang.

This common misunderstanding probably came about because yin is “dark” and yang is “light”, and in western culture, darkness is bad and light is good. But these terms originally referred to the sunny and shady sides of a hill; one side is not better than the other, it just depends on what you need at the moment.

Think of yin and yang as opposing forces that, when balanced, result in health and harmony. Like breath, you must inhale and exhale. One might be inclined to say, “Oh, but inhaling is better because that gives you air, that gives you the oxygen you need to live.” Okay, try inhaling, then inhaling again, and inhaling again, without exhaling the whole time. It doesn’t feel great. Exhaling lets you get rid of the waste produced by your body as the byproduct of respiration, carbon dioxide. Also, you can feel the sense of relief you get when you exhale, can’t you? Exhaling releases tension, which is a very good thing, too.

You might say animals and plants have a yin and yang relationship: plants create the oxygen we need to breathe, and we create the carbon dioxide they need to live; there is balance between the two. Good conversation requires a balance of how much we talk and how much we listen (ever had a conversation when one person did most of the talking? It’s not very dynamic). We all crave work-life balance; too much of one and not enough of the other leaves us feeling imbalanced and unhappy. Yin and yang are everywhere in our lives: sleeping and waking; stillness and movement; form and function; the list is endless.

To be clear: how two opposing forces are balanced is not always obvious. Take, for example, the elementary school riddle, “What weighs more, a ton of lead or a ton of feathers?” A ton is a ton, they are equal, but it looks like you have a lot more feathers than lead.

With this in mind, we need to carefully consider what it really means to balance yin and yang. I’m not suggesting you should have 12 hours of sleep for every 12 hours that you’re awake; I am saying that there is a balance that will keep you healthy and happy. That is actually the entire premise of this blog:

When we achieve balance, the result is happiness.

Yin and yang serve as a reminder that we can actively balance the facets of our lives to create happiness. Balance is not a foregone conclusion, nor is imbalance a state we must be resigned to accepting. We can make a conscious decision to work towards and achieve balance in our lives.

But how do we know what to balance? The short answer is, we need to balance the five elements of our lives (much, much more on this to come). This blog is dedicated to developing the emotional literacy to be able to identify what needs to be balanced, and how, so that we can live happy and healthy lives.