Understanding the Yin and Yang

The ancient Taoists, those natural philosophers of change and balance, used the concepts of yin and yang to symbolize the polarity of existence. Everything that exists can be assigned either to yin or yang, thus identifying its polar aspects. In this way, all elements are paired and balanced with each other—night and day, sun and moon, moist and dry, dark and light, fire and water, male and female. It is through this interdependence and interrelationship that the universe, and we humans within it, remains in balance and harmony.

The principle of yin/yang is fundamental to any understanding of Taoist philosophy or sexual yoga. As do so many Taoist ideas, this concept of yin and yang comes from nature. Originally yang stood for the light side of a hill, the side facing the sun. Yin stood for the shady side, away from the sun.

The qualities of yang are brightness, heat, activity, upward and outward direction, aggressiveness, expansion and what we might think of as maleness. The qualities of yin are darkness, water, cold, rest, inward and downward direction, stillness, receptivity, and what we might think of as femaleness.

It is very important to understand that when we talk about yin and yang we are not talking of gender or sex. We all have both yin and yang qualities, whether we are male or female. The balance of these two qualities is not static and concrete, but ever moving and shifting. At times our yin side may assert itself, at other times our yang side.

By being aware and sensitive to the balance and subtle shifts of our own yin and yang qualities we are better able to make proper decisions and conduct ourselves with greater integrity and foresight in our dealings with others.

Yin and yang are not two completely separate forces. They are, instead, different facets of one unifying principle.