The importance of Balance
The theory of Yin and Yang outlined in Part 1 can be applied to health and is fundamental to the philosophy of Chinese Medicine. Throughout its development and evolution, Chinese Medicine has drawn parallels between patterns observed in nature and people. Lets take the example described in part 1 of the blog which demonstrated the importance of getting the balance between yin and yang right… Plants need the sun to grow – which is Yang – it is light, dry and provides warmth. However the plant also needs water, which is Yin, it is cooling and moistening. If the balance of sun and water is wrong the plant can either shrivel and die or become saturated and rot.
The same can be said for people, we need to live a balanced life. We can use the theory of Yin and Yang to understand what balance means. A good illustration is Hot (Yang) and Cold (Yin) in people. If it is too hot, people become red, to cool themselves down, they need more water due to increased sweating. If the heat continues people can become irritable, get headachy, agitated and so on. If people overheat, it can lead to serious illness such as dehydration and heat stroke. There are similar impacts on the other end of the scale if it is too cold. When someone gets cold, they shiver and lips can go blue as blood is stored in the trunk to conserve heat, eventually they can become sleepy and even hypothermic. However, we as humans have ways to keep warm in the cold and cool in the heat – we naturally try to keep ourselves at the right temperature. We put on jumpers and coats when it is cold or sit in the shade and drink ice drinks when it is too hot.
There is another dimension to this – not everyone will feel the heat and the cold to the same extent – some will be able to tolerate the heat much more than others and similarly, others can tolerate the cold much better than others. From a Chinese medicine perspective, this is due to the balance of Yin and Yang in the individual. Yang is warming, so someone who is lacking in Yang will feel the cold much more than someone who is lacking in Yin. Yin provides basis for the cooling and moistening function in people so if this is lacking, the person may experience symptoms of heat and dryness. This might manifest in agitation, anxiety and restlessness. The Yang deficient person on the other hand, in addition to feeling the cold may also feel sluggish and tired.
The theory of Yin and Yang in health does not just apply to Hot and Cold, but can be applied widely to every part of our lives. If we think about activity and rest – activity is Yang and rest is Yin. If we do not have enough activity in our lives and oversleep and lack exercise our Yang energy can’t move causing us to become more lethargic. The stuck Yang energy can create stagnation and doesn’t flow to the organs and muscles as it should resulting in reduced functionality. On the other hand, if we are overactive and work too much we don’t have enough restful, Yin time. We may also feel tired but struggle to sleep and switch off. Overtime, the over use of our Yang side – this heating, active function, can deplete the Yin as it overworks trying to keep the Yang in balance. This can result in sleeplessness and feelings of anxiousness or an overly active mind.
This is why living in balance is so important for our health. However, lives tend to be complicated and living a life in balance is not always possible. We can try to mitigate it by making adjustments where we can, but where we can’t and imbalance arises, illness or lack of wellbeing can occur. Traditional acupuncture addresses these imbalances in the body and mind’s function. By stimulating carefully selected points, the acupuncturist can move stuck energy, sedate overactivity or restore good function as needed for the individual. This can make significant improvements to our sense of wellbeing.