Yin & Yang from a Chinese Medical Perspective

Now that a little understanding of Yin and Yang was established last month, I want to try and break down some of the ways that acupuncturist’s can use those ideas to assist in diagnosing and treating different kinds of conditions.

Remember how we grouped Yin and Yang into their own subcategories, with symbols that represented the energetics behind what those words meant? Another way of looking at Yin is by thinking about it as the source of all major fluid dynamics present in the body (healthy or pathological). This includes blood, sweat, tears, lymph, cerebrospinal fluid, phlegm, etc. If it is a fluid, it is a Yin substance.

Another way of looking at Yang is by thinking about it from more of a Qi perspective. I’m going to have a whole blog post devoted to what Qi is, so I don’t plan to go into depth on that word here, but you can think of it as an active force that allows for movement or flow to happen in the body. This includes when you get an infection, and your body sends out all those white blood cells to fight it off. The reason those cells get from point A to point B is because of Qi. When you get acupuncture, and you feel a presence surrounding the needles, you are feeling the Qi. Qi is active in nature, and has many functions, but it’s the “active” part of this that I want you to understand has a deeper connection with Yang. Yang is raising in nature, and warm (so you can think about this dynamic similarly to how heat rises). Yang energy gives us vitality and feels robust. Yin energy is more internal and nourishing; it feels deeper.

When comparing these terms from a pathological perspective, it’s important to think about hot and cold temperatures. Everyone knows what it feels like to feel hot or cold. An excess of heat or cold in the body can actually create a lot of different symptoms or pain, and we would want to balance this excess by clearing the heat or warming the areas that are cold. There are other substances that can be in excess as well, but for the sake of staying organized for this lesson, we’ll stick to just hot and cold. What if it isn’t an excess of heat or cold though? What if the heat or cold is coming from a deficiency, and not from a place of excess?

This is a slightly complex idea, but that question is exactly where Yin and Yang come into play. If Yin is naturally more cooling and has an abundance of fluids, a deficiency in Yin would start presenting with the opposite symptoms: drying up of the fluid dynamic, and adding heat back into the body. The specific symptoms of Yin deficiency will change depending on the organ system that’s involved (Stomach, Kidney, Liver, etc.) but common signs of a Yin deficiency heat are: dry eyes, a ringing in the ears, night-sweats and hot flashes. Menopause in general happens because women tend to lose a lot of their Yin as they age, and if not properly nourished, deficiency heat can run wild at this time.

If Yang is naturally more raising and warm, a deficiency of Yang will present with deficiency cold symptoms and/or prolapse. The symptoms here also depend on what system is involved, but the most commonly seen symptoms of Yang deficiency arise from the Kidney and/or Spleen channels. Common symptoms of a Yang deficiency are: hemorrhoids or uterine prolapse, frequent urination, low back pain in the elderly, erectile dysfunction and certain kinds of fatigue.

Because of the way that Yin and Yang are intrinsically linked, after having a deficiency in Yin or Yang for long enough, usually a deficiency in the other will eventually tag along. That idea was briefly discussed in Yin & Yang part one, and is important to be able to understand how symptoms originate or transform into something else. Yin and Yang turning into each other (and back again) is the ebb and flow of everything, or circle of life, and is a concept we can always count on. The day will always turn into night, and the night will always turn back into day. It is extremely common to see people that are beginning to have a combination of symptoms from both Yin and Yang deficiency, but usually one started first (or is more severe).

This topic could be further explained in much greater detail, but since this is meant to be an introductory topic, I’d like to try and make sure it doesn’t get too complicated. Perhaps I’ll teach an hour lecture on it someday. ;)