I see Tai Chi everywhere. The perfect balance between Yin and Yang is visible in all of nature’s cycles and patterns. New life pops up around me, born from the remains of other things that passed on. Movement born from stillness, and everything eventually returning to the source. These perfect patterns produce, impregnate and govern human beings as much as anything else, and anyone who realizes and experiences this is blessed. To realize Tai Chi in a Yang-dominant person, they should therefore embrace the Yin. This article focuses on one very interesting Yin quality:

acquiescence

a readiness or willingness to yield to the wishes of others

Male or Female?

It is important to understand that both male and female qualities are present to some degree in every person, regardless of their gender. For this reason we talk about these male qualities as Yang and their complementary female qualities as Yin, thereby making them easier to relate to without gender-based bias getting in the way.

Acquiescence vs Resistance

People have a tendency to resist anything that does not align with their intentions, which includes most changes. This tendency produces imbalances in mind and body that, over a lifetime, can cause both mental and physical health problems. Of course we can visit our shrink and|or osteopath to look at these problems, but it is also important to address the root problem to avoid further troubles. One might learn to incorporate acquiescence into their way of life to bring balance and harmony. To illustrate, consider the image of a bamboo that bends under the pressure of the wind rather than breaking or being uprooted.

Acquiescence can be defined as: ‘a readiness or willingness to yield to the wishes of others’. If resistance is the Yang side, then acquiescence is its Yin complement. When your brother wants to grab the remote control for the TV from your hand - you can fight for it (resistance) or just hand it over (yielding). One action produces strife whereas the other brings peace among the siblings, for however long it lasts.

The power of yielding

In the martial arts that I practice (Kung Fu, Tai Chi, Ba Gua), we are taught to yield and listen for an opportunity to present itself. Whenever someone is launching an attack at me, I could block that attack and then strike back with more power, which is the Yang response and very easy to understand and apply. There is a lot of hard contact and aggression when following this approach and one will quickly reach their limits (stronger opponent, getting older, injuries). In contrast, the Yin approach is to yield to the attack, to only slightly redirect its path so consequently it cannot find its target. At the same time, to borrow energy from the attacker and use that to uproot the opponents center. This response is smooth and playful and makes the opponent wonder how they were defeated by a physically weaker body. Anger can turn to surprise, then frustration and then to the realization that they were only fighting themselves to begin with.

Tai Chi as an art can be extremely instrumental in demonstrating a principle. When practicing push hands with a student, they basically try to push me over. They feel my hands, look for resistance and follow the path of resistance to find my center. Sometimes I allow them to find my center so they can push me over and the game starts again. Sometimes I yield and borrow, expand and redirect so they are pushed over and the game starts again. Either way - a lesson is learned.

Yielding in everyday life

They say you practice Kung Fu until you become Kung Fu. You practice Tai Chi until you become Tai Chi. If we look at ourselves as practitioners of life, then we can say that we practice living until we become truly alive. At any moment during the day we can find ourselves in a situation that might trigger resistance. Consider your options - can you find it in you to yield? Are your interests in the long term not better served by accepting the situation and can you see the opportunity that yielding brings?

If you think that yielding is cowardly or you feel it is not manly enough or are afraid that your peers might think you're gone 'soft' - Let those thoughts go...