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Yin Yang, Introduction to Chinese Medicine

Yin Yang, Introduction to Chinese Medicine

Saturday, January 10, 2015 , , , , 0

I  believe that Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) in many ways improved my lifestyle and in general my well-being. The most beautiful about TCM is that it heals you AND offers you a better, healthy way of living. All TCM methods and recipes can be easily learned and implemented into your life, even if you’re generally a busy person. It greatly diminished stresses of my life & made me more beautiful inside- outside out.

Here’s why I love Chinese Medicine…
  • It heals me: TCM helped me to cure my sleeping problems. I’ve tried various methods to overcome this problem, but so far only TCM worked out.
  • It gives me balance: I learned how to maintain the balance of my organs and tissues to stay healthy, by subordinating my daily habits like sleeping and eating to the natural cycle of life (day & night or 4 seasons cycle, ecc). It’s inspiring and it works. Balance is also one of the main concepts in TCM and it reflects through Yin Yang, Qi (read more) and 5 elements theory. I will tell about these concepts a bit later.
  • I feel taken care of:  TCM doctors carefully investigate on my eating habits and use variety of therapies (massage, acupuncture, herbal medicine) to heal me. Be ready to spend 2-3 with a TCM doctor and receive some great advice on your dietary habits.
  • I generally became more conscious: TCM perceives a human as a part of the universe, a microcosmos, which is deeply linked with a nature and subject to its forces. This means we should live by taking more into consideration the law of nature – sleep when we are tired, instead of drinking another coffee to boost the energy artificially, wake up naturally instead of using an alarm clock, change eating habits according to the 4 seasons (e.g. eating more seasonal products), ecc. If you’re curious by nature, a bit of understanding of Yin Yang, 5 elements, and Qi concept will broaden your horizons. It’s a good start in understanding the ancient wisdom of Chinese Medicine, you will be exposed to during the TCM treatment. Once you understand its basic rules, you can start integrating them into your lifestyle and start feeling healthier every day.
Yin Yang

is not only about light and dark, up and down, outside and inside. Think of yang as a fire, dry, bright, hot, active, moving upwards and outwards, while yin as water in a deep lake, wet, deep, dark, cold and still. Yin and Yang are about being opposite, but dependent on each other, able to absorb, consume and transform into each other.

yinyang

How does Yin Yang apply to TCM?

According to TCM there are yang and yin organs in your body, which are different in their functions, but dependent on each other. The yang organs are hollow, shaped in tubes or bagg, lie nearer to the surface of the body. They receive, separate and distribute vital substances. The yang organs produce Qi and blood from the transformation of food. These vital substances  (blood and essence) transformed by yang organs are stored by yin organs.  The yin organs are more solid in nature and lie deeper inside the body.  They regulate and store all the body’s vital substances before they are used.

Yin organs (interior organs) Yang organs (exterior organs)
Liver Gall bladder
Heart Small intestine
Spleen Stomach
Lung Large intestine
Kidney Bladder

Now, to let you understand how the body is trying to achieve the balance according to yin yang transformation concept, see few examples:

  • In summer when the weather is hot (yang) we sweat (ying) more
  • In winter when the temperature outside is very cold (yin), my body trembles (yang) to produce some heat
  • My body’s temperature rises (excess of yang) when I am sick, I will feel dryness and exhaustion of body fluids (yang consumes yin)
  • Excessive work (yang) without rest induces extreme deficiency (yin) of the my body’s energies
  • Excessive jogging (yang) causes a very slow pulse (yin)
  • Excessive consumption of alcohol creates a pleasant euphoria (yang), which is quickly followed by a hangover (yin)
  • Excessive worrying (yang) depletes the energy of the body (yin)

Thus balance in my life, in diet, in exercise, work, emotional &  sexual life, is crucial in preventing diseases. Understanding of how yin and yang can turn into each others helped me avoiding rapid swings from one state to the other, made my physical and emotional life more stable and happy. Aren’t  you constantly disrupting this balance by working long hours, partying an entire night and eating junk food afterwards? Time to quit on doing all of these if you are serious about maintaining your health and live long. It’s easy, all you need it’s a bit of my guidance and your own presistance.

This post is also available in: polski

  • Alistair Troublesome

    I also think TCM is in many ways better than western medicine, as well as less damaging. With western medicine, you take a pill to treat your headache and you have to worry about your stomach and liver in turn.
    There’s a typo here: “In summer when the weather is hot (yang) we sweat (ying) more” 😉

    • annareco

      Could not agree more. Western medicine very often cures you once the damage is done, whereas TCM teaches you how to prevent getting sick. And thanks for your grammar remark, I appreciate it!