Wellness and the myth of balance, part one: Balance is death

In this series, I will explore the concept of “balance” as it is peddled in the multi-trillion dollar wellness industry. I will explore why I think balance as a goal is unrealistic, false, and sometimes dangerous.

Since I’ve had so much exposure to the wellness industry, when I think of the concept of balance, the image that comes to mind is of a perfectly trained monk, whose body is flexible and strong, whose appetites are tamed, and whose mind obeys their command to be still.

A monk on a mountaintop, in perfect balance, trolling me

To emulate the monks of this ideal state of balance, regular people terrorize their daily schedules with long lists of wellness activities, such as yoga, meditation, “clean” and home cooked meals, exercise, affirmations, therapy, and yes, even acupuncture. We may feel we fall short when we are carried away by strong emotions, when we succumb to big appetites, when we experience strong passions or complete disinterest. Is this sense of failure really warranted? Let’s take a moment to examine Chinese cosmology, and the dynamic of Yin and Yang.

In Chinese cosmology, the universe starts with the Source, which is one. From the Source emanate Yin and Yang, which are two. It is the interplay of Yin and Yang which then generates everything else. You are likely familiar with the yin yang symbol, also known as the taiji symbol. It contains two fish shapes, one black and one white, with a small circle of the opposite color where the eye of the fish would be.

Yin yang symbol

The overview of the yin yang symbol is that Yin and Yang generate each other, and the seed of each lies within the other. Deep, right? Let’s explore.

What are Yin and Yang? When we are talking about Chinese medicine, Yin and Yang are actual substances in the body that perform a variety of functions in human metabolism. That is not how we are talking about Yin and Yang for this topic. Rather, we are talking about Yin and Yang as cosmic forces, and as philosophical categories of things. Yin encompasses darkness, substance, stillness, cold, moisture, and potential. Yang encompasses light, energy, action and heat. When we look at the yin yang symbol, we can see this ever-turning dance between Yin and Yang, forever whirling in perfect balance in the universe. On a cosmic, level, sure, but what about our everyday lives?

Another way to examine the symbol is from the perspective of moments in time. If you take a pie slice out of the symbol, how much of the pie is Yin and how much is Yang? Depends on where you take your slice. One slice may be nearly all Yin, and one may be nearly all Yang, and it is possible to cut a slice that is close to balance if you time it just right. This brings a very different picture, doesn’t it? The whole symbol is made up of moments that are quite out of balance. What would the Yin Yang symbol look like if every slice was fifty-fifty? It wouldn’t look like that at all. Why do we elevate perfect balance to such a high ideal if it is cosmologically flawed?

We can find multiple examples from the natural world of the dynamic interplay between Yin and Yang. Seasons are generated by day length, which happens because our planet is tilted, creating a fluctuation of Yin and Yang. Our winds, our ocean’s currents, and the interaction of the continental plates on the roiling mantle layer below are all examples of Yin and Yang interacting, each opposing and nudging the other to create dynamic, living systems.

Likewise, in the life cycle of the human being we see fluctuations of Yin and Yang. Childhood is a very Yang time. We are full of energy, easily get excessive heat/ fever, and we are changing rapidly. Old age is a more Yin time; our energy declines, we have less energy, and our bodies decline in vigor. Still, within that pie slice of the life of a child, we can see the Yang moments of activity and the Yin moments of deep sleep and restful cuddling represented. And we can see the elder’s eyes sparkle with life as she speaks to one of her passions, her Yang not yet fully expended.

Human life, like the natural world, is defined by the constant interplay, the rising and falling, of Yin and Yang. There is one moment in our lives in which Yin and Yang are in balance, and that is death. According to Chinese philosophy of life, in the moments before death, Yin and Yang are in perfect balance. A consequence of that balance is they lose their grip on each other and we die. Without the rising and falling, without the cycling, when we are reduced to nothing but a fifty-fifty pie slice, we are done.

In our lives, sometimes Yang is dominant and sometimes Yin is dominant. That is what makes the days and nights for us, our seasons and currents. Without that dynamic dance, we die. Why aspire to that? Rather, we should aspire to live securely in the gyroscopic world of Yin and Yang.

The wellness ideal of perfect balance is false, and is not observable within our natural world. Our bodies are part of the natural world, and our lives are subject to the same forces. In coming installments, I will explore better ways of conceiving of balance, so we may free ourselves to live dynamically, as we are intended.