Many of us are familiar with the YinYang sign, but don’t actually understand its meaning or its significance in the medical system of Chinese medicine.

 

The principle of Yin and Yang was developed in China about 300 years B.C.. Chinese philosophers believed that the universe existed as a result of the interaction of two opposing forces, which were inter-related, complemented each other and were in constanct interplay with one another.  Although these forces were in an ever-changing relationship, if they were able to counterbalance each other, then a state of harmony would be maintained. When the imbalance between Yin and Yang was too great however, catastrophes such as floods, droughts and plagues would arise.

 

Chinese medicine, which started to develop around 100 years later, adopted the philosophy of Yin and Yang in accordance with the belief that what is reflected in larger systems, was mirrored in small related systems as well. They believed that what happened in the universe at large, was replicated on Earth and within the Humanbeing on a smaller scale. On Earth various systems of duality exist including day (sun) and night (moon) rhythms, heat and cold, energy and matter, atmosphere and earth, male and female gender, birth and death, etc.. The Yin Yang relationship is represented throughout the body in terms of the spiritual component and the genetic component, the physical body and the energetic body, the feet and the head, the back of the body and the front of the body, Blood and Qi, fluids and dryness, heat and cold, cavities and tissues and many more references.

 

When these dualistic pairs in the body are in balance with each other, neither of the pair being in a state of excess nor deficiency, then the body is in harmony and a state of good health prevails. If the body is under ‘stress’, then Yin or Yang may become relatively dominant or deficient in the body , which will then manifest as a symptom. A state of disease may be reached, if the ‘stress’ on the body is too extreme, or the duration of the stress is too long, or the body is too weak in general to resist the stress. At this point,  even if the stressor is removed, the body’s homeostatic systems may become overwhelmed and you may require therapy and or a lifestyle adjustment to help your body regain it’s Yin Yang balance.