Transition

In the temperate zone, the time of transition from summer to winter has begun.  Even as the weather becomes cooler, the contraction of summer continues.  The trees become drier and colors become more yang, reds, yellows, and oranges.  Other plants contract as well.  Annuals reach the end of their cycle and some put out seed.

It is time to start transitioning your diet as well.  More cooked foods become appropriate and more yang cooking styles such as longer cooking, stewing, roasting, etc.  Less fruit and more root and ground vegetables are the foods of fall and winter.  These are naturally the foods that preserve well in cool places as well as those foods that pickle well.  Make your own sauerkraut and pickles to last through the winter.  Squash and pumpkin store the sunshine and make it available through the winter.  Hard greens, in some places, will winter over or almost winter over so keep harvesting them and enjoy them as long as possible.

Now is the time to begin to turn inward so close your eyes and sit.  Meditation can make a gloomy day joyful.  Find the marvel of your true self.

Thanks for reading.

Going to the mountains?

Once when I was talking to a health counselor, I mentioned that I was going to take a trip to the Himalayas.  He cautioned me that that environment, being extreme yin, would not be good for my illness which was caused by extreme yang.  I was confused by his statement so I asked him to explain.  It was my opinion that the yin environment would help my condition become more yin and therefore help my illness.  He said that the extreme yin environment would make my body react and actually become more yang.  He said that I needed to go to a more yang climate which would make my body react and become more yin.

First, let's talk about the mountains and why the environment there is more yin.  Increasing altitude in the temperate zones and tropical zone actually results in a much stronger yin force.  Why is that?  Yin is created by the spinning of the earth.  The farther you go away from the center of the spinning, the stronger the centrifugal force generated.  At the surface of the earth the spinning is actually moving from west to east at about 1000 miles per hour.  At 20,000 feet elevation you are moving in a much larger circle then at sea level so you are actually moving much faster then 1000 miles per hour.  I'm sure there is a mathematical formula to compute the speed difference but I don't know it.  Perhaps one of you might know it.  Anyway the extra speed translates into increased yin force.

When you live in an environment dominated by yin force then you will naturally eat more yang foods to counteract the cold.  Thus you will become more yang.  This balances the yin environment.  Conversely, if you live in a more yang climate in the tropical zone then you will naturally eat more yin foods and become more yin as a result.

Think about it.  Thanks for reading.

Rice is in the center.

We discussed in a previous post about whole grain brown rice and how, in the temperate zone, it is in the middle of the yin and yang spectrum.  We learned that rice therefore brings balance to the human organism.  So, having learned this, we would expect rice to have a special place in many cultures in recognition of its central role in the diet in much of the world.  Indeed, rice is worshiped as a god in some cultures.  There are rice goddesses worshiped in many southeast Asian countries.  In India rice is so woven into the fabric of the culture that it is the first solid food given to babies.  It is showered on newlyweds as a sign of prosperity even in the United States.

When I started practicing yoga in 2001, I was exposed to a ceremony called Guru Puja.  This is a ceremony of gift giving to the past masters and gurus that have walked the earth.  It is also called "16 ways to treat a Guru".  I was interested to observe that of the many gifts that are presented, rice is not only one of them, but it is the element that is set in the center of the puja set up, and if there is an element missing, rice is substituted for the missing element.  So rice is recognized as the center of life itself.  This is a beautiful expression of the balance that rice brings to life.

I am sure there are many other ways that rice is celebrated for its life giving role in many cultures.  Please share some of them in the comments if you are aware of some.

Thanks for reading.

As important as genetics?

If you are going to have children, consider the impact of excess yin and yang on your child.  Let's say that both partners in a relationship are extreme excess yang from consuming meat and salt.  If they conceive a child under those conditions the child could be born with an excessively yang constitution.  Since babies are already yang this excessive yang could manifest itself as a disease or syndrome.

We haven't talked about "constitution" yet but essentially it means the state of balance that you have when you are born.  A person could have a yang constitution.  Such a person would tend to be small and compact, intense, tight, etc.  A person with a yin constitution might be large and expanded, loose, and very easy going.  A person who has a balanced constitution would be centered in the middle of these factors.  Obviously there is a continuum between the two extremes.

Much research needs to be done in this area but it stands to reason that passing an extreme unbalanced condition to your child could have serious consequences.  We need to consider the importance of passing balance to our children biologically as well as socially.  By ignoring this issue we could be exposing our children to needless danger.

This issue was mostly taken care of when the cultures of the world were intact and unspoiled because the very fabric of each culture was developed to successfully live in a particular geographical location.  Over hundreds of years, each culture "learned" how to live successfully in their place.  Many developed a genetic pattern that was also tied to the location.

Today every race and ethnic group has scattered themselves all over the globe.  So there are millions of people living in places where biologically and culturally the methods that they know that brought them success in their geographical place of origin may not be appropriate to their new location.  So it is much easier for people to become unbalanced in places where their traditional way of living no longer works to their advantage.  Unfortunately it takes hundreds of years to develop new successful cultures the old fashion way.  It takes even longer to develop new genetic patterns tied to a new location.  We must be conscious of these dynamics and account for them.

Genetics is important but the balance of yin and yang may be as important in the future of our human race.

Thanks for reading.