The “concepts” of yin and yang provide a way of perceiving all phenomena in the universe.

v      The Tao Te Ching states:  Tao gave birth to One, One gave birth to Two,  Two gave birth to Three, Three gave birth to all the myriad things.

v      The Bible states:  In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  The     earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep.  And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.    Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.  And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness.  God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night.  So the evening and the light were the first day.

·     Yin and Yang is of change.

·     Yin and Yang are relative. 

·     Nothing is absolute.  All things have some yin and some   yang. 

·     Yin or yang will predominate. 

·     Yin and yang characteristics can be further divided into yin and yang.

·     Yin becomes yang and yang becomes yin.

¨   Yin is centrifugal force.  Yang is centripetal force.

¨   Yin is expansive, upward, feminine, soft, watery, mental, emotional, inactive, dispersing, and cold.  Yin translates as “the dark side of the mountain”.  Yin is the mysterious, the unconscious.

¨  Yang is contractive, downward, gathering, hard, dense, strong, masculine, physical, active, and hot.  Yang means “the light side of the mountain”.  It is what we can see.  It is the physical and material.

¨   Plants are yin.  Animals are yang.  Plants are stationary.  They grow by expanding towards the heavens.  Animals have strong muscles and can move great distances.  They grow through movement (chewing and exercise) and are very active.

¨  Roots are yang.  Leaves, flowers, and fruits are yin.  Seeds are yang.

    This represents a cycle: yang to yin to yang...

¨   Legs are yang.  They are the strong, low part of the body.  Hair is yin.  It grows upward.

¨   Females are more yin.  Males are more yang.

¨   The American diet is of extremes.  Processed, junk foods are more yin.  Meat is yang.  Most drugs are yin.

¨   Whole vegetarian foods are more balanced.  Grains, beans, and root vegetables are more yang.  Leafy vegetables and fruits are more yin.

¨   Summer is yang and yin foods are craved.  Winter is yin and yang foods are craved. 

     Nature provides yin foods for yang seasons and yang  foods for yin seasons.

    Nature provides yin foods for yang climates and yang foods for yin climates.

¨   Macrobiotics is based on understanding the principles and manifestations of yin and yang and making the appropriate changes in diet, activity, et cetera in order to maintain balance.