YIN
AND YANG
-II
Nothing in this universe is static or unchanging.
These universal processes of change are in complimentary opposites of yin and yang.
Yin (expansion) and Yang (contraction) are continually interacting with each other.
For example:
-The alternating expansion and contraction of the heart and lungs.
-The movement of stomach and intestines during digestion.
- In winter our bodies contract to conserve heat.
- In summer our tissues and organs expand to cool the body.
- In cold climates the vegetation is smaller and more compact.
- In hotter climates plants are larger and more expanded.
However these tendencies are not static. They change into one another in a continual cycle such as day into night, night into day. Summer into winter etc.
Since they are relative tendencies, all phenomena express both yin and yang in varying degrees and characteristics.
Nothing is absolutely one or the other.
All of nature and the universe is organized in this way.
These yin/yang tendencies also exist in food:
Yin foods produce expansion of body cells, tissues and organs.
Yang foods produce contraction.
Fruit is an example of a more yin food. However there are fruits that are more yin and others that are more yang. Tropical fruits are the most yin - they produce a greater expansive cooling effect. The yin force is stronger in them.
Another way to observe the yin/yang tendency in food is to see how it affects us mentally.
Sugar and ice cream are strong yin foods. They have a highly expansive and dissipating effect on our nervous system. It makes us feel lightheaded, spacy or dizzy.
Meat on the other hand is a strong yang food. It has an very focusing effect. So it tends to make us overly analytical, skeptical, or have a narrow view of life.
Eating in this way the body´s blood quality fluctuates constantly. The swing from yin to yang is too great. Our physical and psychological conditions become over stressed and weakened.
To minimize these shocks the body starts storing excess in the form of fats and toxins which in time can crystalise to become cysts and tumors.
The ideal way of nourishing our bodies would be to avoid those extremes and seek a more even balance of yin and yang.
These include whole grain cereals, beans, sea vegetables, fresh vegetables, soups made of miso or tamari, etc.
EXAMPLES OF YIN AND YANG
YIN
YANG
| TENDENCY | EXPANSION | CONTRACTION |
| FUNCTION | DIFFUSION | FUSION |
| DISPERSION | ASSIMILATION | |
| SEPARATION | GATHERING | |
| DECOMPOSITION | ORGANIZATION | |
| MOVEMENT | MORE INACTIVE AND SLOWER | MORE ACTIVE AND FASTER |
| VIBRATION | SHORTER WAVE AND HIGH FREQUENCY | LONGER WAVE AND LOW FREQUENCY |
| DIRECTION | ASCENT AND VERTICAL | DESCENT AND HORIZONTAL |
| POSITION | MORE OUTWARD AND PERIPHERAL | MORE INWARD AND CENTRAL |
| WEIGHT | LIGHTER | HEAVIER |
| TEMPERATURE | COLDER | HOTTER |
| LIGHT | DARKER | BRIGHTER |
| HUMIDITY | MORE WET | MORE DRY |
| DENSITY | THINNER | THICKER |
| SIZE | LONGER | SMALLER |
| SHAPE | MORE EXPANSIVE AND FRAGILE | MORE CONTRACTIVE AND HARDER |
| FORM | LONGER | SHORTER |
| TEXTURE | SOFTER | HARDER |
| ATOMIC PARTICLE | ELECTRON | PROTON |
| ELEMENTS | N,O, K, P, Ca, ETC | H,C,Na, As, Mg, ETC |
| ENVIRONMENT | VIBRATION..AIR...WATER | EARTH |
| CLIMATIC EFFECTS | TROPICAL CLIMATE | COLDER CLIMATE |
| BIOLOGICAL | MORE VEGETABLE QUALITY | MORE ANIMAL QUALITY |
| SEX | FEMALE |
MALE |
| ORGAN STRUCTURE | MORE HOLLOW AND EXPANSIVE | MORE COMPACTED AND CONDENSED |
| NERVES | MORE PERIPHERAL, ORTHOSYMPATHETIC | MORE CENTRAL, PARASYMPATHETIC |
| ATTITUDE | MORE GENTLE, NEGATIVE | MORE ACTIVE, POSITIVE |
| WORK | MORE PSYCHOLOGICAL AND MENTAL | MORE PHYSICAL AND SOCIAL |
| DIMENSION | SPACE | TIME |
Source:Michio Kushi
