YIN YANG FIVE ELEMENTS THEORY

Qi Energy

Qi is the energy that pervades all nature. It is generally thought that it originates from the Sun and is conducted through the environment, purifying as it goes in a circle back to the Sun, increasing in speed and as it does so. Experiments designed to prove its existance and gain hard evidence generally fail, as it seems, the harder someone tries for definate proof, the more evasive is nature. However we have a natural awareness for it, which can be developed, and its conduction through the human body is responsible for how we feel. Obstructions of energy cause illness as does low energy. Virtually all energetic healing arts aim at removing obstructions and allowing the Qi to flow. It is the internal circulation of energy that makes us flexible, adaptive and resilient to illnessess.

Yin- Yang and the Five Elements

The theory of Yin-Yang  explains the balance under which life is supported. The theory of the Five elements explains the qualities of, and the interdependence of organs in the human body. Both of these theories explain the use of subtle energy-Qi to crystallize life in a physical functioning form, in a universe where science says everything tends to a state of maximum disorder. Qi has an ordering, nourishing and cleansing effect, internally, and a protective effect externally.
    These patterns that have been observed internally, often have similarities in nature, as nature is also alive. So just as it is important to live in a clean environment for health, it is also important to be aware of the internal balances so that a person is flexible and imbalances are minimised.

Yin Yang
The theory of Yin-Yang holds that every object or phenomenon in the universe contains an amount of  two opposite aspects, namely, Yin and Yang, which oppose each other and are in a mutual interdependence. Further- this relation between Yin and Yang is the universal law of the material world, the principle and source of the existence of myriad of things, and the root cause for the flourishing and perishing of things.
The relationships between Yin and yang are extensively used in traditional medicine to explain the physiology and pathology of the human body and serve as a guide to diagnose and treatment in clinical work.

Qualities of Yin and Yang
Yin	Yang
Coldness	Hotness
Downward	Upward
Dimness	Brightness
Inactivity	Activity
Nourishing	Protective
Interior	Exterior
Sun (remember the Sun nourishes the Earth)	Moon (remember the Moon is the most active since it is orbiting around Earth)

Yang and Yin are relative
The tissues and organs of the human body may pertain either to Yin and yang according to their relative locations and functions. Viewing the body as a whole, the trunk surface and the four extremities, being on the exterior, pertain to Yang, while the Zang-Fu organs are inside the body and are relatively speaking Yin.
Viewing the body surface and the four extremities along, the back pertains to Yang, while the chest and abdomen pertain to Yin.
The lateral aspect of the four extremities pertains to Yang and the medial aspect to Yin.
The channels running along the lateral aspect of an extremity pertain to Yang and the medial aspect to Yin.
When speaking of the Interior –Exterior (Zang-Fu) organs alone, the Exterior (Fu) organs with their main function of transmitting and digesting food pertain to Yang, while the Interior (Zang) organs with their main function of storing vital essence and vital energy pertain to Yin. Each of the Zang-Fu organs itself can again be divided into Yin or Yang. Eg the Yin and Yang of the Kidney, the Ying and Yang of the Stomach etc.
In short, however complex the tissues and structures of the human body, and their functional activity, they can be generalized and explained by the relation of Yin and Yang.

In an excess of Yin, there is too much cooling occurring from low activity and the result is cold symptoms. If there is an excess of Yang there is too much heating and activity, so hot signs will be evident. When there is an empty condition the patient needs to be tonified (energy increased). In a full conditions the patient needs to be sedated (energy drained). It can be seen that in all treatments the method is to return the Yin Yang and Empty Full balance to normal.

For instance, an acute high fever at the beginning of a Flu is a Full Yang condition, and the treatment is aimed at draining the heat. In the case of a chronic afternoon fever and restlessness, this is still a preponderance of Yang, however is an Empty condition because Yin has been exhausted, and is usually called an Empty Yin condition.

5 Cycles 

Nourishing cycle (Sheng)
Nourishing implies promoting growth. The order of nourishing is that Wood promotes Fire, Fire nourishes Earth, Earth nourishes Metal, Metal nourished water, and Water in turn nourishes Wood.
When considering one element, it is considered to the “mother” of the next one, and the “son” of the previous one. Hence the nourishing cycle- each nourishes the next.
Using this cycle, if one element is empty, the previous one can be stimulated to nourish the empty one.
Disharmonies of this cycle are empty conditions. For example if the Fire element is empty, Wood element can be stimulated to nourish the Fire. The Fire element corresponds to Heart and Wood to the Liver. So for Heart problems such as restlessness and insomnia the Liver may be treated.

Controlling cycle (Ke)
This is a restraining cycle. In the interacting relation of the five elements, the order is that wood acts on Earth, Earth acts on Water, Water acts on Fire, Fire acts on Metal, and Metal in turn acts on Wood.
Disharmonies of this cycle are full conditions and take the form of

overacting. For instance, Wood can overdominate Earth. In terms of organs, the Liver can overdominate the Spleen leading to digestive function being impaired.

In this way each of the five Elements occupies the position of “being acted on” ( nourished)  and “acting on” (controlling).

Offending cycle (Wu)
This is the reverse of the controlling cycle and is a destructive cycle. When it occurs it causes a disharmony. For instance Wood can rise up against Metal. The organs this corresponds to is the Liver striking upwards affecting the Lungs. 

MENSTRUATION COHERENT POINTS

The Twelve Meridians

Scan through this whole page first.  Click an organ to read everything about that organ.  

   
An ancient Oriental adage says: 'A tree grows from the roots.'  Yin and yang and the Five Elemental Energies form the main roots in the Taoist tree of health, and the entire edifice of traditional Oriental medicine and physiology is based upon the foundation of these energy principles.

 The Five Elemental Energies and their cycles provide a practical working model through which the interrelationships between the human body and the natural environment may be understood and controlled.  They also illuminate the internal functional relationships between the body's various vital organs and explain how external elements such as foods and medicinal herbs influence the organs and their functions.  All aspects of human health, including physiology and pathology, diagnosis and therapy, are rooted in this remarkably reliable system of polar forces and cyclic energy transformations.

 The traditional Chinese view of human physiology differs significantly from the Western view in that the Chinese have always focused attention on the function rather than the form of the vital organs. The Western medical practice of studying human physiology based upon anatomical locations of various organs as revealed in dissected cadavers makes no sense to Chinese physicians, because cadavers have no living energy and their organs are not functional. How can a dead body reveal anything significant about the dynamics of living energy? Furthermore, in addition to their biological functions and anatomical locations, the Chinese concept of 'organs' also includes the specific type of energy that infuses each organ, as well as the energy meridians that channel organ energies to and from other parts of the body.

 Over the ages, Chinese physicians discovered two fundamental principles which govern the vital organs and regulate their functional relationships.  The first principle is that all the major organs are called zang or 'solid' organs and are involved primarily in functions of 'collecting and storing'.  The matching yang organs are called fu or 'hollow organs' and deal mainly with functions of 'movement and transformation'.  There are six zang and six fu, matched in six yin/yang pairs, and each one is regulated by one of the Twelve Major Meridians. The second principle is that each of the six pairs of organs is governed by one of the Five Elemental Energies, with Fire controlling two pairs.  The creative and control cycles of these energies orchestrate the functional relationships between the organs and determine how external environmental energies influence internal conditions.  Internal conditions are in turn reflected externally by the color, tone, and texture of 'the five apertures and five tissues', such as eyes and ears, skin and hair, which thus provide handy tools for diagnosing disease.

 In the Chinese system, everything ultimately boils down to energy, a view which modern Western physics is beginning to verify.  Therefore, the Chinese approach to human health and physiology accounts not only for the effects of obvious visible substances such as microbes and toxins, blood and bile, but also for the invisible and even more pervasive influences of emotions and energies that have a direct impact on the human energy system.  As the energy therapist Dr. John Veltheim puts it: 'Science tells us that everything is energy and that matter is nothing more than energy in a different form.'  The Five Elemental Energies and their cycles provide an intelligible formula for diagnosing and correcting the energy disorders that lie at the root of most human ailments, and for taking preventive measures to avoid such disruptions before they occur.

 Since the Chinese view differs so significantly from the conventional Western view of human physiology, a brief review of each of the twelve vital organ systems and their functions according to traditional Chinese medical practice is in order here, so that Western readers may gain a proper working perspective on the subject.  We'll run through the organs according to the Five Elemental Energies, first describing the associated 'solid' yin organs, then its 'hollow' yang partner.

Stomach: Earth Energy Yang Organ
Spleen: Earth Energy Yin Organ
Heart: : Fire Energy Yin Organ
Small Intestine: Fire Energy Yang Organ
Bladder: Water Energy Yang Organ
Kidney: Water Energy Yin  Organ
Pericardium: Fire Energy Yin Organ
Triple Burner: Fire Energy Yang Organ
Gallbladder: Wood Energy Yang Organ
Liver: Wood Energy Yin Organ
Lung: Metal Energy Yin Organ
Large Intestine: Metal Energy Yang Organ

The front and medial aspect of the body is Yin, while the back and lateral aspect of the body is Yang (the Stomach meridian is the only Yang meridian located on the front of the body)

 The below chart illustrates where the meridians begin and end on the surface of the body, not showing the exact paths they take.  It also shows the 24 hour cycle which takes place in the body.  For every two hours throughout the day, one organ-channel is at it's peak, while the organ opposite of that hour (ie, bladder/lungs) is at it's low.  People who are sensitive enough to energy, always know the time of day just by feeling the rhythmic shifting of energy in the body.

The external trajectories of the Twelve Primary Channels either begin or end on the hands, feet, chest, and head.

The meridians themselves do not begin or end on the outside of the body, but originate deep within the organs and vital energetic centers (Chakras) of the body.  So, by modifying the energy of a point just beneath the surface of the skin, we are modifying the energy deep within the body.  The acupuncture or "tsubo" points are somewhat  like amplifiers along a telephone line (meridians) which interact with energy inside as well as outside the body.  Some tsubos can be connected to several meridians and are also major connection points for numerous pathways of energy where energy sinks into and flows out from the body.  A point itself can be seen as a tiny electrochemical 'organ' which serves as a gateway and storage house for all types of mind-energy, constantly "working" to maintain homeostasis.  Almost all of the classical acupuncture points have been detected with modern GSR devices and radioactive isotopic tracing and proven valid, some more strong or "important" than others. Along with many other points unrecognized by classical texts, about 700 of these vital energetic 'holes' have been detected, and many more are physically apparent (skin pores, hair follicles, sweat glands, eyes, ears, nose, mouth, anus, urethra).  

It can also be seen that the Chakras are like giant tsubo points.  Note the similarity of the above picture (an individual tsubo point) to the ones directly below.  The distinct Funnel shape which roots down into a deeper channel of energy.  It can be considered that the size and collective function of a major acupuncture point can be compared to, for example, the size and collective function of a city on planet Earth (there are hundreds of cities).  The Chakras, in relation to this, would be like the size and collective function of a really big city (like New York) or an entire country or the Earth (Gaia) as a whole. These "giant tsubos" relate to the functions carried out in those particular areas of the body, and are also associated with some of the most important acupuncture points located along the Conception and Governing Vessels.

The below illustration shows the acupuncture points corresponding to the Seven Chakras.  It also shows the Three Dantiens, which are the three primary psychoenergetic centers noticed in Chinese medicine, equivalent to the Ayurvedic Seven Chakras.  The Lower Dantian is regarded as one of the most sacred energy centers, being located in front of the sacrum (which in latin means 'sacred'). Interestingly, the Lower Dantian also correlates to the first level of the Human Energy Field, which is the layer closest to our physical bodies, the nucleus of our entire being.

The Lower Dantian, or "Hara" is so significant that many practitioners diagnose the conditions of the energy meridians of the body through palpating the abdomen and observing the abdominal pulses.

"The connective tissue and fascia form a mechanical continuum, extending throughout the animal body, even into the innermost parts of each cell. All the great systems of the body – the circulation, the nervous system, the musculo-skeletal system, the digestive tract, the various organs – are ensheathed in connective tissue. This matrix determines the overall shape of the organism as well as the detailed architecture of its parts. All movements, of the body as a whole, or of its smallest parts, are created by tensions carried through the connective tissue fabric. Each tension, each compression, each movement causes the crystalline lattices of the connective tissues to generate bioelectric signals that are precisely characteristic of those tensions, compressions and movements. The fabric is a semiconducting communication network that can convey the bioelectric signals between every part of the body and every other part. This communication network within the fascia is none other than the meridian system of traditional Oriental medicine, with its countless extensions into every part of the body. As these signals flow through the tissues, their biomagnetic counterparts extend the stories they tell into the space around the body. The mechanical, bioelectric, and biomagnetic signals traveling through the connective tissue network, and through the space around the body, tell the various cells how to form and reform the tissue architecture in response to the tensions, compressions, and movements we make."