From the Metaphysical to the Material - Exploring the Implications of Masculine - Feminine Forces Through Yoga Philosophy and Practice
Hello everyone! This is a shorter clip from my full length video on the ‘Principle of Gender’, discussing some specific metaphysical concepts - distilling that down into certain attributes in the 3D and outlining some specific philosophies and practices through Yoga, pertaining to internal masculine/feminine coherence.
If you’d like to watch the full video, here it is, otherwise scroll on for the clip.
So let’s talk a little bit about what the masculine/feminine principles actually are.
We live in a world of opposing forces. The fundamental fabric of our reality springs out of a dynamic relationship between the polarities of masculine and feminine forces. This is a metaphysical phenomenon that occurs both in the greater fields surrounding us, as well as within our own internal subtle energetic anatomy.
The dynamic interaction of these forces, when harmonized, leads to the evolution of our consciousness, our expansion into unity consciousness.
The foundation of what it is to be human is predicated metaphysically, on this internal alchemy between masculine and feminine forces. While these principles can be limited, defined, and socially constructed in ways that are not necessarily indicative of their true essence, they can actually be pretty accurately described and translated into certain qualities within the human in the 3D.
So what are some of those qualities?
Feminine: Receptive, Drawing inward, Magnetic, Dark, Water, Moon, Intuitive, Subjective, Feeling
Masculine: Active, Directed outward, Energetic, Light, Fire, Sun, Analytical, Objective, Thinking
The feminine and masculine can also be seen in the brain as the right and left hemispheres. Yoga brings balance to these hemispheres and brings them into communication. Which is also partly what leads to the expansion and evolution of our consciousness into reunification with Universal Intelligence.
Many traditions talk about the masculine-feminine forces through both practice and myth, including but not limited to the Hermetica - through the Principle of Gender, Taoism - through the Yin/Yang, as well as Hinduism, Buddhism and even Christian Gnosticism in the myth of the marriage between Christ and Sophia.
Yoga is the clearest example of this for me, because this is the system I’m most familiar with in my own internal experience as well as through my studies.
In Yoga the masculine and feminine forces in the human body flow through two main channels called the Ida and Pingala, that reside on either side of the central channel, feminine or cooling on the left and masculine or warming on the right.
One of the yogic practices most commonly used for balancing the masculine and feminine flows through the Ida and Pingala channels is Nadi Sodhana pranayama. Because these channels flow through the right and left nostril respectively, the controlled flow of breath through each nostril becomes a tool for clearing and balancing these channels.
In yoga it is much about the balance between masculine and feminine. Through this dynamic harmony the internal energies become unified into the central flow. The harmonies between the masculine and feminine energy flows build into a greater union with the divine. (They don’t really become homogenous but are harmonized together, each in their unique energetic function, into a dynamic interplay that facilitates unity consciousness). This happens both metaphysically-energetically and at the level of one’s consciousness-psychology.
So when one comes into this type of internal harmony, you no longer feel at war with your biology or either your masculine or feminine side, because you can actually flow through different traits that may be defined as either masculine or feminine, depending on the situation at hand and even harmonize in complimentary ways with your environment respectively. Without falling prey to the toxic archetypes of these principles either from society, or from within yourself passed down from parents.
In the evolution of consciousness through the practice of Yoga, you do not become “non-binary’ as the binary system of masculine-feminine forces in the bodymind is tantamount to what it means to be human - these forces must come into a dynamic balance without losing the essence of either one in order to reunite with the Brahman. Instead of fragmenting against parts of oneself in order to become androgynous, you fully develop and synergize these two complimentary aspects to expand into a greater wholeness.
And more on the principle of gender…
