Picture, if you can, the Yin Yang circle, with the soft intertwining dark and light shapes, with their small, concentric contrasting circles, all in harmony, all supporting each other, as day turns to night, night to day. That is the essential symbol of what Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is all about. Each part of the whole is essential for body and soul to function in health; this has been the driving theory for over 4000 years.
TCM looks deeply into all the symptoms and the patterns in which they present themselves, in order to make a diagnosis. It takes a holistic approach, on the premise that, if one part of the body is “out of kilter,” then this will affect other parts. So treating those symptoms will help the whole body and mind. They both need to be in total harmony, as the Yin Yang sympbol signifies. Moon and Sun, two opposing natural forces that complement each other and keep nature in balance, the whole person functioning well. The basic theories are indeed centered around Yin and Yan and the Five Elements. First, we can look at the Yin Yang theory for its meaning.
YIN AND YANG: These are related to the organs that channel energy or “qi” throughout the body. Yin is Earth and is concerned with the front of the body; the lungs, heart, spleen, kidney and liver. They “hold” energy, and too much Yin appears as fatigue, cold, pains and aches. Yang is Heaven, and deals with the back of the body; the whole surface of the skin, large and small intestines, bladder, gallbladder and stomach. Yang organs “channel” energy and too much gives acute pain, headaches and spasms.
You would think that the stomach should be to the front, but remember how the whole enfolds and supports, as the symbol portrays it? Picture a wheel, surrounding the symbol, with Heaven at the top, Earth at the bottom. Moving clockwise around the wheel, are Wind, Water, Mountain, Earth, Thunder, Fire, Lake, then back to Heaven at the top. The Yin and Yang are shown as broken and solid lines against each of these component parts, and the skilled practitioner, after taking a detailed history, will read and interpret these. The theory is that all will be well if Yin and Yang are both “holding” and “channeling” in balance. Fixing what is wrong with one will have a positive impact on the other.
THE FIVE ELEMENTS: This is the second important principle of TCM. All five have a Yin and Yang organ and are linked to emotions, tastes, and seasons of the year.
Others Related Posts:
- Traditional Chinese Medicine and its uses ... Theory, we are "one with nature". Each organ...
- Chinese Medicine – The Meridian Systems ... for the Heart, Lungs, Liver, Spleen, and Kidneys...
- Traditional Chinese Medicine for Indigestion (Dyspepsia) ... begins by focusing on points related to the...
- Use Chinese Medicine To Prevent Migraine ... into the list curing this one sided headache....
- Traditional Chinese Pain Relief ... itself. Both forms have seen use as treatments...
