Originally published by The Chopra Center
Gender roles are working their way into the past, but what about gender energy? Typically, you are taught that you are either male or female with little to zero discussion on the fact that everyone has both aspects in their physical and spiritual makeup. Society has separated the two for thousands of years without discussion on how a female should approach her masculine side or a male should approach his feminine side.
Many people have been taught to either ignore those opposing qualities or that they should grow out of them. For example, a young girl may be called a tomboy if she enjoys digging in the dirt for worms or playing sports more than playing with dolls. She is not a ‘tomboy,’ she is a girl who has an outward expression of her masculine energy. A boy who wanted to play with dolls may have been classified as a ‘sissy.’ In truth, he is just a boy who expresses his feminine qualities through nurturing, in turn making him a great father in the future.
As labels are slowly drifting down stream, you must welcome the balancing act in yourself. The patriarchal world has praised all things male for thousands of years, leaving a scar on your genetic subconscious mind. This is not only damaging to females, but to all living creatures on the planet. If subconsciously society feels that one sexual trait is more dominant than the other, this will flow over into people’s thoughts about everything around them. Mother Nature is much less respected and has suffered greatly from this point of view.
This is an extremely important time for humanity. As feminine qualities are seeing more praise, this does not mean you should begin to shun or demonize the masculine in an attempt to bring in more power for female energy. Remember, that is how society became imbalanced during the rise of the patriarch. Balance is your key to greater health, happiness, and deep understand of your actions and reactions.
Follow these 10 tips for easy techniques to keep the scales of masculine and feminine aspects in harmony for your lifestyle. Both males and females can incorporate each set of exercises into their routines with intention and awareness.
Welcoming the Masculine
1. Do Something Competitive
In nature, you can clearly see that males physically fight each other, flaunt their beauty, and use their calls to compete. Humans are no different. Competition is where your masculine traits step up to the plate. If you are someone who is not generally competitive, ask a friend to help you out. Some ideas may be:
- Play a video game
- Set an aggressive goal at work
- Engage in some type of sport
- Create a cook-off (Invite friends to judge)
- Compete in a dance battle
These are just a few ideas. You can turn almost anything into a competition. Have fun and play to win!
2. Construct a Project
The mathematical mind is a masculine trait. The goal here is to utilize measurements, angles, and tools. You can create anything from a small bird house to a backyard deck. Be consistent in setting time aside each week until the project is complete. To learn the tools you will need and step by step guidance, consider finding inspiration from a:
- Local company who sells building supplies
- Weekend “how to” class
- Book store
- Local organization like Habitat for Humanity (they are more than happy to guide you)
3. Read Up on the Latest Science
The written word as well as science comes from the masculine side of your brain. This action is a two-for-one activity. If you don’t feel like digging in to an entire book of science, choose a topic of interest and begin with articles or new studies.
4. Test Physical Strength
Pushing your lifting and opening power beyond everyday chores can spark useful masculine energy. Try:
- Lifting weights
- Moving some furniture to give a new look to your space
- Carrying as many grocery bags as you can from your car to the house
- Taking your yoga practice to the next level with headstands or handstands
- Meditating on the Solar Plexus
Remember to be safe, and consult your medical doctor before engaging in greater physical activity.
5. Relax When Your Work is Done
Feminine energy is flowing, ever changing. Females tend to go from one project to the next, always searching for something else around them that ‘needs’ to be done. While this is great, balance is key. Relaxing is also a human need. Men have an easier time understanding that sitting on the couch or playing a game has been earned. Anything you consider leisure time can be done in this step.
Welcoming the Feminine
1. Create Art
The side of your brain responsible for creativity can be found on the feminine side. To utilize this energy, you may try:
- Redecorating a room
- Painting a canvas
- Signing up for a local art class
- Doing a project with the kids (you are never too old to finger paint!)
- Buying a coloring book
- Making music
This list could get extremely long. Your personality and experiences can be expressed in countless renditions of art. Have fun, try something new, and all while releasing any thoughts of the end result.
2. Nurture
A strong female trait is to nurture life. This could be anything from plants to people. Most people think of children when they hear the word ‘nurture.’ Unfortunately, that thought alone has created an imbalance. Everyone craves to be nurtured and to nurture others. This is an inner strength that can be expressed in various forms:
- Encourage those around you
- Use your personal resourcefulness and experiences to guide those who could benefit
- Be a vessel of positive energy
- Nurture yourself and others with fresh food, water, and rest
- Touch: Hugs, cuddles, massage, high-fives, and fist bumps
3. Give Intuition the Wheel
Using Intuition (feminine) versus an analytical mind (masculine) is the task in this step. Many people have been trained to use their analytical mind when working on any challenge or just navigating through life in general. If you are driving and your gut says to turn left, but the GPS says to turn right, you begin to tell yourself if you turn right you may get lost, you will use more gas, etc. Your intuition is your internal GPS and is never wrong. Why? Because your senses and your higher-self can see and feel things that your basic human senses cannot. Practice following your gut instincts, take note of where it leads you, and record what blessings and lessons you gather along the way. The more you build this muscle the stronger it will become.
4. Welcome Emotions
From the time you were a small child, you probably remember hearing phrases such as, ‘Suck it up, or I will give you something to cry about,’ or ‘Stop being a baby.’ These little words can leave a large impact. You begin to look at emotions as a weakness. In fact, they are quite the opposite.
Crying isn’t the only emotion you have, but it is certainly on the top of the list of those you try to hide, push down, or run from. Expressing emotions is not only a way to keep yourself on a good balance of masculine and feminine energy, it’s good for your personal health, improves relationships, and builds self-awareness.
5. Think Holistically
The word ‘holistic’ means to look at any situation as a whole. In health, this thought process is to treat all aspects of human health in mind, body, and soul versus just the area of discomfort. In photography, it is to look at the entire picture instead of zoning in on just one color or object.
Think of ways throughout your day that you can bring in a more holistic approach. Looking at the full completed version – how one act, thought, or process affects the other.
Balancing Your Feminine and Masculine Sides
Your life is in constant motion. Change is the one certainty you can count on. With this fact, take each moment of balance as they come. One week, you may need to focus more attention on your feminine side, the next week the masculine. Each task you face requires a different tool; think of balancing energies from the same perspective.
Consider what has been going on in your life recently. Have you spent a great deal of time in an environment that forced you to be in a ‘survival mode’ that demanded an overdose of masculine energy? If so, you automatically know the female side needs some attention. Same holds true with a career that requires all day, everyday nurturing, like being a teacher in an elementary school. If you have spent the majority of your time being nurturing, show that masculine side some one-on-one time.
The Universe has male and female expressions, and you are no different. Live into that.
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