Embracing Yin and Yang Energies To Achieve Balance and Bliss

The cock-a-doodle-duality that is us.

What came first, the chicken or the egg? You've been pondering this trick question since you first heard it in second grade.

You're old enough to know now.

The correct answer is the rooster and the hen were first.

Shocking, right?

We’re tricked into pondering questions that are stupid. No one mentioned the rooster, but you knew he lurked there.

There are no hens to lay eggs without a rooster to fertilize them. The rooster has another job, too— he preserves the pecking order. While he's got Numero Uno status in the flock, he also serves as a protector and fighter for his hens.

Together, roosters and hens work in harmony.

The truth is we need both male and female energy in this world.

In Shaivism, one of the four Hindu branches of yoga philosophy, we call male energy “Shakti” and female energy “Shiva.” Shakti is symbolized by the sun and Shiva by the moon.

Two opposite images but equal in power. ☀️ 🌗 ☀️ 🌗 ☀️ 🌗

Even though most will agree that both genders are essential to society, the hostile political climate in the US has empowered forces to take away women's fundamental human rights. Unbridled male power has manifested in aggressive and dangerous ways.

No one gender should predominate, although it would be beneficial if the pendulum swung and stayed in favor of women for a while.

I would love for women to finally be treated as co-equal.

When women and men are vibing together, it’s a beautiful thing. It reminds me that we can complement each other despite our differences. Yin and yang, like in this John Prine song.

Relationships where each gender has equal power are rare.

As with most things, balance is elusive.

Balance is fluid yet unapologetically precise.

I encountered this chap in Covent Garden in London two weeks ago. He maintained his balance for 20 minutes while cracking jokes and engaging with the audience.

When he was juggling a set of three knives, a break in precision and balance could end in severe injury or death. Yet, he constantly swayed and flowed to keep himself upright.

Keeping balance requires movement, recalibration, and continuous energy.

Think of the power in your most important relationship and how the dynamics are always shifting.

Consider what's happening with LGBTQIA+ voices as the line between males and females blurs. Some don't want to choose their gender and consider themselves gender-neutral.

I don't know for sure, but could gender-neutral be another way to say that the person balances their feminine and masculine energy in such a way they can't choose which one to be?

Why does one need to choose as long as we are in equilibrium?

Keeping balance is an endless journey.

Do you know what can help keep you in balance? This isn’t a trick question. You already know what I’m going to say.

It’s yoga.

One of the first things you'll notice when entering a pose or asana is how unbalanced your body is. One side is weaker, shorter, and tighter than the other.

It's inevitable. We fall into routine movements with our bodies, repetitively using one side over another.

Routine movements are engrained in us to save energy so our brain doesn’t have to make endless energy-consuming decisions. The price to pay for these shortcuts is an unbalanced body-vessel.

Yoga is all about balance and union of feminine and masculine energies. The right side of the body harnesses male energy through a channel called Pingala Nadi. The feminine channel, known as Ida Nadi, governs the left.

Yoga seeks to unite the masculine and feminine through a central channel which is called Shushumna Nadi. When equilibrium is achieved, the Shushumna Nadi is a conduit for a clear and joyful mind for meditation and bliss.

Everything is designed to work together cosmically.

As above, so below. As within, so without. As the universe, so the soul.

Hermes Trismegistus

Here is a silly video I did last week in Bermuda that inspired today’s newsletter. It involves a rooster, a chicken, a butterfly, and me under a gazebo in the Bermuda Botanical Gardens.