The structures that make up the fabric of life must be elastic – subject to give and take – otherwise they cannot be fundamentally trusted. What this means is that the connexions that make up my life, whether they be simple perceptions, loving relationships, moral or behavioral strictures, adjust as much to me as me to them. A piece of elastic stretches in exact proportion to the strain put upon it – it is utterly responsive, and its response is always appropriate. If I am this way with the world then the world will be so with me. This is what in taiji we call yielding mind – the ability to lead a double life – trusting and supporting in equal measure but in two different dimensions.