Yin/Yang Theory

I would like to begin using this website’s blog as a reference for those in the Albany area and beyond who are interested in some of the concepts associated with acupuncture and traditional Chinese medicine. The first place to start is most certainly the concept of yin and yang.

The theory of Yin/Yang is the theory of opposites that oppose, balance, control and compliment each other. Yin is often symbolized with water and tends toward darkness, coldness and stillness. Yang is often symbolized with fire and tends toward brightness, heat and movement. They are defined by their relationship to each other, and are always relative. Neither has any meaning on their own, and by definition never exist in isolation from each other. For example: can you imagine the concept of up without the concept of down?

Yin and yang are the ultimate points of reference for each other. Like the positive and negative poles of a magnet create a magnetic field and magnetic force between them, Yin and Yang form the reference points between which the movements and interactions of life occur. Think of it this way: our lives are a combination of the physical substances of our body that come from the earth (yin), and the energy of the light (harnessed through photosynthesis) coming from the sun (yang). Just as the interplay between positive and negative charges of subatomic particles drives the reactions of chemistry, the interplay between yin and yang drive the happenings and animation of our lives.