Yin or Yang?

Are you more Yin or Yang? You might have heard the terms Yin and Yang before. They are typically associated with Yoga or Chinese medicine. Knowing which one you are can really be beneficial. Yin and Yang refers to the contrast between some of these characteristics:

• feminine and masculine (personality not sex / gender)
• darkness and light, night and day
• water and fire
• cold and hot
• passive and active
• introversion and extroversion

Therefore the balance of the two is crucial.. You might be Yin if…you allow others to make decisions for you, you drink little to no caffeine, you prefer yoga or a more relaxed workout as opposed to cardio and HIIT styles, and you prioritize sleep. If this is you, you may want to find some time in your routine that you could step it up! Nothing crazy, but maybe your life needs a little metaphorical espresso shot here and there. You might be Yang if…you have to be the BOSS, you drink coffee like a fish drinks water, you prefer high intensity / cardio intensive workouts, and you go to sleep late and wake up early to fit every inch of your busy schedule in. If this is you, take a CHILL PILL. I know that for me…I relate to Yang 100%. And I have found that when I do not make a conscience and daily effort to infuse Yin into my life, it gets bad quick. I am a people pleaser and I am very internally competitive. In other words, I don’t like to say no to people and I am myself’s biggest critic. I am quick to fill my schedule to where I have little time to myself. I love cardio and I pretty much bleed coffee. I will sacrifice my sleep or rest in a heartbeat. But then I ALWAYS get burnt out and end up hurting myself one way or another. However, I know that I am this way. So when I find myself burning out, I have to find ways to slow down. I make myself walk instead of run. I drink more water. I do a little more stretching and opening Reformer flows rather than Jump Board or Piloxing. And I just give my body and my mind a break. Or else (as I have had to learn the hard way multiple times) your body WILL break if you don’t. The goal is to find BALANCE. Have a great weekend and I will see you all next week! -Jennie