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Chinese Medicine and the concepts of Yin and Yang can be an excellent
way to understand fertility. In Chinese Medicine, Yang is masculine and
Yin is feminine. It requires the right balance of Yin and Yang to
foster your fertility.
Yin and Yang can be used to describe many things in our world. Here are some other examples of Yin and Yang:
Yang>>>Yin
GivingReceiving
Daytime>>>Nighttime
Light>>>Darkness
Movement>>>Stillness
Activity>>>Rest
Sun>>>Moon
Time>>>Space
Brightness>>>Shade
Heaven>>>Earth
Father>>>Mother
Conscious>>>Subconscious
Gold>>>Silver
Thoughts as Action >>>Thoughts as Creativity
Yin is blood, egg quality, essence, and nourishment to foster a new
life. Yang is smooth flow of Chi, warmth in the womb, and energy to
foster new life. Yin nourishes Yang’s flow, and Yang in turn carries
Yin (nourishment) throughout the body. Yin is the capacity to receive.
To receive sperm and nourish the growth of an embryo is predominantly a
Yin function. To make choices that are nourishing to oneself is a
function of Yin.
Being is Yin, Doing is Yang
In our culture, we are highly focused on productivity. I don’t judge
productivity as bad. Chinese Medicine sees productivity without
rejuvenation as incomplete balance and therefore, less than optimal. I
notice that when we are overly focused on productivity and “doing,” we
can lose balance. Losing balance is what is not optimal, particularly
when it comes to fertility success!
Women who are working hard in a world focused on doing and productivity
are putting forth a lot of Yang energy. Since Yang takes its
nourishment from Yin, if we don’t pay attention to nourishing our own
Yin, then it’s only a matter of time before our Yin energy is
exhausted, and we slip out of balance.
Another thing I’ve observed is that women who struggle with fertility
begin feeling like they are “less of a woman” because they can’t
conceive. This directly sabotages fertility because this is the kind of
belief that depletes Yin energy. Feeding the belief that you are less
of a woman becomes an energy loop that does not support feminine
wholeness, expression, and fertility. If you’ve given energy to these
kinds of beliefs, you must find ways to stop this if you want fertility
success..
When we are depleted of Yin energy, fertility tends to suffer. When we
continue to overwork our Yang energy without proper nourishment of Yin,
then Yang becomes depleted, which also tends to cause fertility to
suffer.
I’m sure you’re getting the point here: Fertility success requires that
you balance “doing” with “being.” You must cultivate ways of nourishing
yourself by finding ways of being in touch with, and honoring your
femininity. You must balance what you do—activity—with being receptive
and feminine—rest. This is absolutely crucial in fostering health,
balance, and fertility.
I urge you, then, every day, to identify at least three ways that you
will nourish yourself. For example, you might commit to taking 10
minutes at lunch and just sit quietly under a tree. Or you might choose
to take 60 seconds every hour just to breathe deeply and remind
yourself that every day you are getting better and better.
Some days you might have extra time to dedicate to self-nourishment,
and other days you might need to be creative and nourish yourself with
less time. The key is to spend some time every day focusing on
cultivating receptivity, nourishment, and being-ness. Begin a list of
things that you sense nourish you, or that you would like to try so you
can find out if they do nourish you. Start a “Things That Nourish Me”
list in your journal, and continue to add to it as you discover new
ways. This way you not only will have instant access to these ideas
when you need them, but you will also be building your Yin and bringing
it more into balance with your Yang. |