Yin and Yang in Acupuncture and in Traditional
Chinese Medicine
The idea of harmony and balance are also the basis of yin and
yang. The principle that each person is governed by the opposing, but
complementary forces of yin and yang, is central to all Chinese thought. It is
believed to affect everything in the universe, including ourselves.
|
Yin-Yang
Symbol (Tai Chi symbol)
|
Traditionally, yin is dark, passive, feminine, cold and negative;
yang is light, active, male, warm and positive. Another simpler way of looking
at yin and yang is that there are two sides to everything - happy and sad,
tired and energetic, cold and hot. Yin and yang are the opposites that make the
whole. They cannot exist without each other and nothing is ever completely one
or the other. There are varying degrees of each within everything and
everybody. The tai chi symbol, shown above, illustrates how they flow into each
other with a little yin always within yang and a little yang always within yin.
In the world, sun and fire are yang, while earth and water are yin. Life is
possible only because of the interplay between these forces. All of these
forces are required for the life to exist. See the table below to understand
the relationship between yin and yang.
|
Yin Forces/Aspects
|
Yang
Forces/Aspects
|
|
Dark
|
Light
|
|
Moon
|
Sun
|
|
Water
|
Fire
|
|
Passive
|
Active
|
|
Descending
|
Ascending
|
|
Female
|
Male
|
|
Contracting
|
Expanding
|
|
Cold
|
Hot
|
|
Winter
|
Summer
|
|
Interior
|
Exterior
|
|
Heavy
|
Light
|
|
Bone
|
Skin
|
|
Front
|
Back
|
|
Interior of Body
|
Exterior of body
|
The yin and yang is like a candle. Yin represents the wax in the
candle. The flame represents the yang. Yin (wax) nourishes and supports the
yang (flame). Flame needs the wax for its existence. Yang consumes yin and, in
the process, burns brightly. When the wax (yin) is gone, the flame is gone too.
Ying is also gone at that time. So, one can see how yin and yang depend on each
other for their existence. You cannot have one without the other.The body, mind
and emotions are all subject to the influences of yin and yang. When the two
opposing forces are in balance we feel good, but if one force dominates the
other, it brings about an imbalance that can result in ill health.One can
compare the concept of yin and yang to the corresponding principle of tridoshas
in Ayurveda, the ancient remedy from India. Ayurveda proposes that every person
has vata, pitta and kapha. When these are balanced, there is the state of
perfect health. When there are imbalances then there is disease. One of the
main aims of the acupuncturist is to maintain a balance of yin and yang within
the whole person to prevent illness occurring and to restore existing health.
Acupuncture is a yang therapy because it moves from the exterior to the
interior. Herbal and nutritional therapies, on the other hand, are yin
therapies, as they move from the interior throughout the body. Many of the
major organs of the body are classified as yin-yang pairs that exchange healthy
and unhealthy influences.
Yin and yang are also part of the eight principles of traditional
Chinese medicine. The other six are: cold and heat, internal and external,
deficiency and excess. These principles allow the practitioner to use yin and
yang more precisely in order to bring more detail into his diagnosis.
TOP
|