The Yin and Yang of Covid-19

This past year, Covid-19 was a yin type of event. Yin is dark, quiet, introspective, and reserved. Yang is bright, active, loud, and outgoing. Meditation is a yin activity, running five miles is a yang activity. The balance of yin and yang is the balance of life. Optimal physical and mental health is the perfect balance between yin and yang. The yin-yang symbol depicts this. The white circle in the black half represents a little bit of yang within yin. The black circle in the white half represents a little bit of yin within yang.   

Covid lockdown meant massive closings and an instant halt on all movement anywhere other than in our own homes. Covid caused us all to experience a good dose of yin in our lives. As we all tried to grapple with the concept of a pandemic, complete with the uncertainty of the future - our own individual futures, the future of our businesses, of our kids and their education, the future of the whole country, and eventually the uncertainty of all the world - we were forced to stay home. All activities canceled until further notice; school, work, play, travel, dining out, live entertainment, in-person meet-ups - all shut down. Cease and desist. Some people freaked out, some outraged, some fought it by refusing to comply - all a yang-type reaction to this yin event.

Over the year and a half, people adapted in their own style. My neighbors spent the winter in their ski house at Stowe. Virtual classes for the kids in the morning hit the slopes in the afternoon. What a way to spend the school year! Some kids were happy to continue on with in-person school like normal - except for the masks, social distancing, and no sports - but otherwise “normal.”

Other people like me, had a happier reaction to this yin time in history - it’s all ok! We get to stay home and not feel guilty about it! We can play and work in our PJs, warm, cozy, keeping to ourselves and our families. Virtual yoga classes meant that I could make it to more classes. I could stay in child’s pose or Savasana for as long as I wanted! I found so much freedom in the confines of lock-down in my own home.  Covid in and of itself could be considered yin - a less active, quieter time with less go, go, go kind of year. But for me, it turned into a yang type of year because of all the mental activity I had going on.

Temporarily closing my acupuncture practice meant more time for writing and more time to put into my parent coaching business. With this, I also found a lot more time for inner work - webinars, courses, readings, online groups to join, and countless zoom presentations. I learned more than I ever knew possible about mindfulness, manifestation, spirituality, writing from the heart, out-of-body experiences, holistic and complementary health, the Time of the 6th Sun, and the conscious evolution of humanity. The list goes on.  There were times I could barely contain my excitement for all the novel information and ideas and thought leaders presented to me. I was getting more mental stimulation than I had in years. I was high with new approaches to living, eating, thinking, existing. It was turning into a yang experience for me creating enthusiasm, curiosity, and connection with others, if only virtually across the ethers.

I was so excited every time a new offer crossed my screen. I identified myself as a perfect Covid participant, eager with my newfound time to experience and learn more practices and insights. I signed up for so many webinars that I developed a backlog of ones I’d missed. I would register knowing that I could always watch the replay if I missed the live event because they were scheduled in a different time zone, or conflicted with other webinars. I still haven’t seen them all but they are on my laptop, waiting to be opened and viewed.

My covid experience went from yin to yang - so much to learn and experience, right from the comfort of my office looking out to the bay beyond. I was giddy with excitement as I realized all the events I could attend virtually because I didn’t have to get in my car and go anywhere.  Into my office, I’d go, gaze out at the scenery and consider the weather outside, for once in my adult life unconcerned with how much snow fell because I didn’t have to get to work. I would put on my headphones and, whoosh! - I’m off into another world of creative writing,  meditation, or learning about a myriad of proven alternative health therapies - whatever it happened to be that day.  The power of the mind for self-healing. The expansiveness and power of our consciousnesses - both individually and collectively. Frequency-specific microcurrent for pain relief and numerous other modes of treating pain. How to have an out-of-body exploration experience. The gratitude I felt every day.

I felt there was no limit to all of the incredible information out there that I found because of a pandemic-induced lockdown. I loved it. Except now my yang exuberance is turning yin.  Yin becoming yang, and yang becoming yin is the natural inevitability for the balance of life to be maintained.

My brain is overloaded, I have no more bytes in my hard drive to absorb the enormity of all of the knowledge, insights, and information that is out there and accessible with the tap of a key. I’m still trying to process the enormity of what I have heard and learned so far.

We are now free to go out about our business as usual. But I’m not ready for that! I have hours and hours of all those backlogged recorded zooms and webinars still to watch and it will take me at least another six months to watch them all. I’m grateful for the vaccine, thank you Moderna.  I’m glad to be able to move about more freely, and that I don’t have to worry quite as much about a friend or family member getting sick with Covid. But please, could we maybe have another lock down? I could use one.