Yoga On & Off the Mat

The Yin and Yang of Cats and Dogs

By Brooke Hewes, 8-30-07

“Luna!” I scream at the top of lungs, again. And again, and again until frustration fills and reddens my face. “Come, Luna,” I say once, twice and then yell about five more times until I see her stop, stare at me with her tail and head erect, then bolt in the opposite direction towards my sacred, dog-free zone: the garden.

Despite her naughtiness, Luna is very lovable. Half lab, half wire-haired pointer, her black coat is as soft and shiny as her eyes deep and brown. She explores the world with insatiable curiosity, and when she tilts her head and looks at you with such earnest expectation, she is down-right irresistible.

Let it be said, however, that I am a cat person, and currently the proud and protective mother of two. So despite Luna’s cute puppy ways, bringing her into our less-than-1000-square-foot home took lots of convincing and promising from my husband that “you won’t have to do anything.”

And as it turns out, I really haven’t: he takes care of the midnight bathroom breaks; he did the whole puppy school thing; he is in charge of daily exercise. As it also turns out, I have (willingly, mind you) helped too, and in the process allowed the yin and yang of cats and dogs to settle into a balance all of their own — a balance, in fact, that has given a lot more than it has taken.

Yin and Yang

	Yin and Yang complements can describe the world and all its material, emotional and energetic phenomena. Yin and yang qualities are relative — the characteristics co-exist in relation to one another and naturally strike balance. Yin Polarities: Dark, Hidden, Wet, Stable, Cold, Downward, Earth, Calm, Feminine, Moon, Autumn, Winter. Yang Polarities: Light, Exposed, Dry, Dynamic, Hot, Upward, Heaven, Excited, Masculine, Sun, Spring, Summer. Yin Foods: Almonds, Apples, Bananas, Barley, Beer, Broccoli, Cabbage, Celery, Corn, Cucumber, Duck, Fish, Grapes, Honey, Ice Cream, Lemons, Mushrooms, Oranges, Peppermint, Pineapple, Salt, Spinach, Strawberries, Soy beans, Tomatoes, Water. Yang Foods: Beef, Sugar, Butter, Cheese, Chilles, Chocolate, Coffee, Eggs, Smoked Fish, Garlic, Green peppers, Ham, Kidney beans, Lamb, Leeks, Onions, Peanut butter, Potato, Rabbit, Turkey, Walnuts, Wine. Yin Yoga postures target the body’s connective tissue, and therefore are held for several minutes. Unlike muscles, connective tissue doesn’t respond to quick, rhythmic stretches. As Paul Grilley writes in his book Yin Yoga, “connective tissues are tough and fibrous and stretch best when pulled like taffy.” Just as you would lengthen taffy by pulling gently and slowly, you work with connective tissue by relaxing your muscles and letting gravity slowly lengthen the tissue fibers. Yang Yoga postures contract, stretch and pull muscles using force. Movement is rhythmic rather than relaxed. Popular forms of Yang Yoga include Ashtanga, Bikrams and Core Yoga.

Yin and Yang describe the opposing, complementary attributes of all things. The terms are adjectives, not nouns, and characterize the way things feel, appear and act.

Take for instance light and dark. Light is yang, dark is yin.

Consider active and passive. Active is yang, passive is yin.

Yang is masculine, fiery and upward seeking. Yin is feminine, watery and downward spiraling. Yang is linear, while Yin is curvy. The sun is considered yang, while the reflective moon is thought to be yin. Thoughts and emotions can be described as either yin or yang as can as body parts, cats and dogs. According to the Feni Shui Institute, even food is allotted yin/yang attributes. (See sidebar for more on yin and yang polarities.)

Together, yin and yang elements strike emotional, physical and spiritual balance and health. Like OM, the yin-yang symbol is synonymous with yoga: the union of opposites.

The terms originate from Chinese philosophy and are central to Taoism (Paul Grilley calls Yin Yoga, which he teaches in Ashland, Oregon,“Taoist Yoga”) and Chinese medicine. In yoga, yin and yang forces constantly assert themselves — where there is an inward rotation, an outward rotation is nearby; where there is upward, pranic energy (yang), there is downward, aponic energy (yin). Where there is an inhalation (yang), there is, inevitably, an exhalation (yin).

In general, I consider cats yin, and dogs yang. Of course, just as with people, places and objects, each cat and dog has their own, unique balance yin and yang despite any dominating tendencies.

Cat and Dogs, An Inherent Balance?

Recently, my own yin-yang pendulum (finally! thankfully!) has swung from years of yang domination toward yin. During and directly after college, my mind and body ping-ponged somewhere close to 90 percent yang. I was too busy and tired, however, to even realize what I was missing. Now, instead of always running, I walk; I make time for baths and sipping wine with women friends; I even relish in doing nothing at all. And supporting this unfolding are my two cats and their quiet, sleepy, introspective selves.

In conflict, I have decided, are the noisy, hyper, attention-seeking dogs creeping into my life. First by mere association, i.e. the overwhelming presence of canines in Missoula; then by proximity, i.e. the 10 dogs within in ear shot of my bedroom window; and finally, by personal plea, i.e. a year’s worth of hearing about my husband’s childhood dream of owning a puppy. In fact, as the pressure mounted to get our own and visions of my yin life began to slip away, I would defer to my hardcopy defense: David Quammen’s essay “The Descent of the Dog” (in his book The Flight of the Iguana) where he writes that we live “amid a plague of domestic dogs, a ridiculous and outrageous proliferation of the species.”

I, like Quammen, would insist while there are many likable dogs, there are just too many, and far too many that are “ill-trained, intermittently hysterical, [and] half insane from sensory deprivation.” That, and the fact that I like just prefer cats.

I prefer the purring, cuddling self reliance to the barking, poop-in-the-yard messiness.

I prefer the yin to the yang in this stage of my life.

Why, then, at this very moment, am I watching a black and white puppy (who has apparently lost interest in the garden) hop around the yard in pursuit of grasshoppers? And not just watching, mind you, but so enchanted by her simple delight that I’m smiling!

The answer, of course, is love — love for my husband who loves dogs, and love (yes, it’s true) for the pup herself.

Yep, she’s wiggled her way my heart. I guess there’s room for a little more yang in my life after all, especially when a bit more yang brings a bit more yin: the opening and loosening of my four-legged stipulations on love.

Next Week: An Interview with Yin Yoga instructor and author Paul Grilley. In the meantime, you can listen to an audio interview between Grilley and Yoga Peeps.

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