Honouring the dance of yin and yang

Yesterday, I had a conversation with a lady I treat in my acupuncture practice. She arrived straight from a busy morning of meetings, apologising as she lay down, saying she tried not to feel stressed, but her energy felt scattered & her body tight.

 I gently reminded her how wise she’d been to book a treatment afterwards—to give herself space to land, to come back to herself.

 We spoke about how life will always be full. In Chinese medicine, we understand this as the natural dance of yin and yang—the movement between activity and stillness, expansion and contraction. The aim isn’t to eliminate stress or busyness, but to honour the cycles. To know when we need to return to yin—rest, grounding, nourishment.

 Often, we make ourselves wrong for feeling overwhelmed, as though we should somehow be immune to the pace of modern life. But really, it’s not about avoiding the chaos—it’s about how we meet ourselves in the midst of it.

 My meditation practice changed completely when I realised it wasn’t about having a clear, quiet mind. It was about coming back. Each time I noticed I’d drifted, I gently returned to my breath, to my body. In that moment, the distraction became the practice.

 It’s the same with parenting. We’re not meant to be flawless. Parenting experts tell us what matters most is not perfection, but repair. The moments when we reconnect. When we show our children that being human is messy, and that love can hold all of it.

 Chinese medicine reminds us that energy (Qi) moves best when we listen. When we respond with compassion, when we nourish our body, soothe our nervous system, and tend to our hearts.

 So this week, perhaps you can pause and ask:
✨ What do I need to come back into balance?
✨ Can I meet myself here, just as I am? 

The return is always available to us.