ESSENCE OF THE TAO 27and hear the crash of thunder, this is a manifestation of chi. It is the source
of all forms of gravity and magnetism, helping to hold everything together in
a state of balance. It is the gasoline in our cars, the electricity in our homes,
the heat in our ovens. It is the fire in the digestive system, the movement of
nerve impulses throughout the body, the source of our breath, the driving
force for the sperm that reaches the egg. It is the spark of all life!
The Taoists dedicated much of their lives to harnessing the power of chi.
They discovered that the more of this energy they could tap into, the greater
the possibilities of human experience. One could be strong, vibrant, and radiant,
transcending suffering and eventually reaching the supreme state of immortality.
From my point of view, I don’t think they meant a literal state of immor-
tality, although there is part of me that would like to believe it. They found a
way to live in the spirit body, not just the human body. They knew that their
purest essence was beyond destruction. From this place, they could transcend
the very things that bind normal mortals. They transformed fear into courage,
disease into health, conflict into peace, weakness into strength, ignorance
into wisdom. A Taoist is an alchemist. Chi is the ingredient necessary for this
transformation to take place.
WHAT ARE YIN AND YANG?
The Tao is the undivided oneness of the universe. From this Tao of oneness,
chi gives birth to two opposing but complementary forces of energy known
as yin and yang. Yin and yang are configurations of chi.
The school of yin-yang is attributed to a man named Tsou Yen. He is said to
have lived in the early part of the third century BCE. Tsou Yen studied topics
such as math, astrology, politics, and geography. Certain historians credit him
with writing numerous essays on the concept of yin and yang, although these
writings have been lost.
The literal translation of yin and yang are shade and light. This meaning
comes from the Taoist describing the absence and presence of sunlight on a
mountain slope. All things in the world of form and duality have a polar nature.
Everything has an opposite: male and female, day and night, hot and cold,
external and internal, positive and negative, and heaven and earth. Also, in a
physical yoga practice, we have counterposes. For example, we might follow
a backbend with a forward bend. We might follow a twist to the right with
a twist to the left. So, part of our humanity is to move through this dance of
constant change—with yin and yang. In our lives, we experience gain and
loss, pleasure and pain, praise and blame, victory and defeat, life and death.
This is the nature of the Tao.
While writing this book, I was honored to officiate a wedding for two very
good friends. The groom is one my best friends from college who directed
many of my yoga DVDs, including The Ultimate Yogi. His bride-to-be com-
pleted my 200-hour teacher training a few years back. I spent the week before
their wedding crafting their ceremony, focusing on the theme of beginning