Balancing,the,Yin,amp,Yang,You DIY Balancing the Yin & Yang in Your Life

When starting a new work at home business it is very easy to become consumed by it. We spend so much time trying to get the business up and running that we may end up becoming burned out and lose our motivation. There is so much to learn and Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;mso-style-noshow:yes;mso-style-parent:"";mso-padding-alt:0in

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;mso-style-noshow:yes;mso-style-priority:99;mso-style-qformat:yes;mso-style-parent:"";mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;mso-para-margin-top:0in;mso-para-margin-right:0in;mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;mso-para-margin-left:0in;line-height:115%;mso-pagination:widow-orphan;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;}Theessence of Yin and Yang from a Chinese perspective is that we live in anever-changing world.  The qualities ofchange that exist within us and around us can be described and understood byapplying the principles of Yin and Yang. These qualities of energy underpin all traditional Chinese practice andare applied in: acupuncture, acupressure, Chinese herbal medicine, Chineseastrology, martial arts and Feng Shui. EarlyChinese sages acknowledged that humanity was affected by two dominantforces.  Namely: Heaven and Earth.  Heaven was regarded as the space above us,incorporating the stars and the Chi from the cosmos, and was given the termYang, which also represents Father.  Itsdominant force is that of a descending tendency towards the earth.  Earth was regarded as the source of Chibeneath the ground that rose up vertically and returned to the cosmos.  This Earth Chi represents the landscape, ourenvironment and the food we eat.  It wasalso given the feminine connotation of Mother. Thefirst sage to write about Yin and Yang was Lao Tzu in his classic, the Tao TeChing, written 500 BC.  In his poeticprose, Lao Tzu describes how all human affairs are governed by the changingworld in which we live, which can be categorised by the forces of Yin andYang.   LaoTzu gives many practical examples of this working dynamic.  For example, it is impossible to understandheat (Yang) without having any knowledge of cold (Yin).  How is it possible to describe the daylight (Yang)without any knowledge of the dark and the night (Yin)?  History of thefamous Yin/Yang Symbol Historically,the followers of Lao Tzu, known as Taoists, are acknowledged as the authors ofthe Yin/Yang symbol.  The symbol itselfbeautifully expresses the concept of a universe with two dominant forces – Yinand Yang and their perpetual motion. Tobegin with, the circle represents the ‘wholeness’ of the entire universe.  Next, the circle can also represent acycle.  As far as the symbol isconcerned, the cycle begins at the bottom, which from a Chinese perspectiverepresents the night or the winter, and when the forces of Yin are at theirpeak.  The colour black always representsYin – the night and the winter, whereas the colour white represents Yang – thedaytime and the summer.   Asyou progress clockwise around the cycle from the bottom, after the peak of Yin,the tail or the beginning of Yang starts to form and rises towards the top ofthe cycle, which represents the noon and the mid-summer.  It is at this point that the white (the Yang)sector of the cycle is at its peak.  Atthe top of the cycle, the tail of the Yang – the beginning – starts to form andas it descends, on the right side of the cycle, towards the bottom, the Yin isbecoming stronger. Withineach half of the symbol appears an eye with the opposite colour.  This represents another facet of the Taoistphilosophy, that nothing is totally Yin or Yang.  In other words, within the Yang there isalways a small amount of Yin, and within the Yin there is always a small amountof Yang. Practicalexamples of this thinking would be to take extreme Yin (cold) which ultimatelyfreezes and becomes hard or sharp (Yang). Theseprinciples of Yin and Yang are used as the basis for the oldest system ofastrology in continuous use today, I Ching Astrology.  Yin& Yang in your living environment Thelocation of our home or office and its surrounding landscape can have Yin orYang qualities that can affect us. Within our homes, the colours, the interior design and the layout cancreate and embody qualities of Yin and Yang – stillness or activity. Making Balancewith Yin and Yang Oneof the earliest mentions of Yin and Yang in relationship to Feng Shui appearedin the 6th century A.D. regarding Landscape of Form School FengShui.  Yin and Yang were simplyepitomised by the location of a dwelling on the shady (Yin) side of the hill orthe sunny (Yang) side of the hill. Theattributes of Yin and Yang.  It’simportant to remember that all the qualities of Yin and Yang are tendencies andwould have been drawn from the sages’ experience of the natural world in whichthey lived and that we continue to do so also. These tendencies or qualities can be classified as follows.   Yang HotDaySummerFasterActiveBrightHarderPracticalWhite,red, greenRigidMasculine Yin ColdNightWinterSlowerPassiveDarkSofterSpiritualBlack,blueFlexibleFeminine The Principlesof Yin and Yang Thereare two vital dynamics of Yin and Yang that are well worth noting andremembering. 1.If there is a dominance of one of the Yin or Yang characteristics present inyour life or your environment, it will ultimately make you take on thatquality.  For example, if you live in acold, damp, dark basement (Yin), this Chi will affect you and you will becomecold, passive and unenthusiastic.   2.At their extremes, Yin turns into Yang and vice versa.  For example, if you apply extreme heat to arock or a piece of metal it will ultimately Yin-ise and become fluid and flexible.  If, on the other hand, you apply theprinciple of extreme Yin – cold – to water, it will freeze and becomehard.  If you take a holiday in a veryhot Yang climate, you will become very relaxed and lethargic (Yin).  On the other hand, if you live in the extremecold mountainous regions of the world, you will become very active, focused andresilient (Yang). Yin & Yangand Feng Shui Generallyspeaking, our home is a more Yin environment compared to the workplace.  Our home is where we retreat, where we relaxand recover our strength and energy.  Tohelp achieve this, we bring many Yin qualities and features into ourhomes.  These include: soft furnishings,softer lighting, mellow colours, soft carpets, music, plants and artwork thatis either comforting or relaxing. Conversely, within the work environment, where our Chi needs to be moreYang, we tend to bring in more: brighter lighting, clear and practicalfurnishings, Yang colours, in particular white, imagery that is focused andpractical, e.g. wallcharts and calendars, fewer plants, harder floors, and lessmusic. Evenwithin the home, we can create more Yin or more Yang rooms or themes within thehouse.  If you are raising healthy,young, boisterous children, they need a more Yang and uplifting environment.  This can be achieved with brighter lighting,brighter colours and stimulating imagery. If, on the other hand, the home is occupied by elderly people, theyprefer a more Yin environment where the lighting is softer and darker, imageryis peaceful and the general ambience is more mellow. Making Balance Auseful tip using Yin and Yang is always to bring in a little of the ‘opposite’into your environment.  For example, ifyou occupy a Yang bright office, bring in a touch of Yin – a plant, a flower,an image that is either romantic or mellow. On the other hand, in a Yin darker room at home, use brighter colours, abright light.