Vanda Scaravelli - There is a division in the center of our back, where the spine moves simultaneously in two opposite directions: from the waist down towards the legs and the feet, which are pulled by gravity, and from the waist upwards, through the top of the head, lifting us up freely.
Donna Farhi - In a "collapse" relationship with gravity, the body lacks tone and sags downward into the Earth. Our breath feels like stagnant water, dull and lacking in vitality, and we may be depressed and lethargic. We often try to remedy this state of collapse by swinging to the "prop" end of the spectrum, constantly pushing the ground away, projecting ourselves into space by holding the body in a state of hypertonicity, and negating our connection to the Earth. Our breathing becomes strident, high up in the chest, and tense. We feel distrustful, convinced that the only way we'll stay vertical is through constant, self-willed effort. The third choice, balanced between these two extremes, is to yield to gravity. When we yield our body weight—when we trust the Earth to support us—an upward rebounding action effortlessly lifts us away from the Earth. Our muscles come into a balanced tone, neither too gripped nor too released, and our breath centers itself in the middle of the body. Gravity becomes our friend, not our foe, and we feel in harmony with ourselves. We make the necessary effort, provide the necessary work to maintain the body's integrity, and then we let something beyond what we know and control happen to us. We trust that life will support us.
Erich Schiffman - Every yoga posture involves a "push" and a "yield". Pushing is an active force that moves the body further and deeper into the posture, gently exploring areas of tightness. Yielding is a passive force with which you wait and listen to the moment-to-moment feedback from your body; it's a letting go of resistance that allows the active force to be successful without being aggressive. The pushing and yielding elements occur simultaneously, as in a dance. Done properly, therefor, yoga is a matter of pushing and yielding, of "doing" and "not-doing" at the same time.
All these contradictions/paradoxes are with us as we balance and re-balance through all the moments of our lives, and you could probably add a few lines of your own:
| Push | Yield |
| Active | Passive |
| Yang | Yin |
| Act | Not act |
| Separate | Together |
| Particle | Wave |
| Do | Be |
| Heavy | Light |
