right and left brain“There is no right or wrong, only right or left.”
-African Saying

We all know that the left brain controls the right side of the body and the right brain controls the left side of the body.  In addition, the left brain manages logic and reasoning whereas the right brain manages creativity and imagination.  We need both for our bodies to function, and we need both for our daily life tasks.  When starting any project, we need to access the imagination and creative side of our brains to visualize where we want to go and what we want to do, then the logical side of the brain makes it realistic.  All inventions, creations, projects, and manifestations begin in the right brain and become real by the mechanisms of the left brain.

masculineLeft Side - Masculine
Although we call the left side energy “masculine” that does not mean that it is entirely male.  Masculine holds the energy of strength, providing, power, effort, logic, reasoning, analysis, structure, calculation, producing, giving, doing, processing, manipulating, movement and doing.  In yoga, we call this energy sthira.  It is the yang.  As westerners, we tend to depend more heavily upon the masculine energy as we are a masculine or patriarchal society.  Corporate America is very masculine in its energy, always looking to the bottom line of production, seeking results based on data and analysis.

feminineRight Side - Feminine
The right side energy is feminine, but that does not mean weak.  The feminine holds the energy of receiving, holding, nurturing, compassion, creating, visualizing, relaxing, supporting, stillness, surrendering, and grace.  In yoga, we call this energy sukha, or the letting go and giving up to Spirit.  It is the yin.  As westerners, we tend to think of this energy as weak, but in reality it is exactly the opposite.  It takes a great deal of strength to step back and hold the space and let things unfold naturally through Spirit, to know when action is not to be taken.

yin yangSthira/Sukha or Yin/Yang
As a yoga instructor, I teach that yoga means union or the yoke between the two polar opposites, the merging of the masculine/feminine, the uniting of the yin/yang, the balance of sthira/sukha.  Each yoga pose is to be practiced with equal energy of giving and receiving, and balance of effort and relaxation, and thus everything in life becomes a walk on the scale of humanity and spirituality.  We’ve all heard the phrase “we are spiritual beings living a human experience”, yoga teaches us how to bring our spirituality into our humanity and vice versa.