The Concept

 

Yin and Yang are the two complimentary and opposite systems of energy, Yin negative and Yang positive. Everything has component of Yin and Yang. It is essential to maintain balance; disease occurs when there is imbalance.

 

Another feature of Chinese medicine and acupuncture is pulse diagnosis. A traditional Clinician would feel the pulse in the radial artery, there are six different pulses on the basis of these meridians and points are selected for treatment.

 

Tongue diagnosis, (e.g., colour of the tongue, Red Yang, Purple/Blue Yin) is also used diagnostically.

 

General speaking, acute conditions indicate too much Yang, where chronic conditions are Yin. The Qi circulates through all the meridians commencing in the lung.

 

The principle behind Oriental medicine is the theory of yin and yang. The starting premise of yin/yang philosophy is that everything in the universe exists in a continual state of change. This change is expressed in terms of yin becoming yang or yang becoming yin.

 

Yin and yang are relative, not absolute. Everything exists in complementary opposition. Without cold there would be no hot; without up there would be no down. Without opposition there would be no movement, no change. As the Too Te Ching puts it, "From the One came Two, and from the Two all things were born".

 

If the tendency of any movement is contracting, or moving to- wards a centre, then the dominant force is yang. Contraction produces density, activity, heat, weight, speed, etc. If the tendency is expansion, or moving away from a centre, then the dominant force is yin.

 

Dispersion produces less density, less activity, lightness, slower speed, etc. At the extremes, yin and yang change into one another. Contraction at the limiting point produces a tendency to expand, and vice versa.

 

This pulse of life governs all things, from the way the tides ebb and flow and plants grow by a sequence of integration and differentiation, to the yearly pattern of the planets around the sun. Within our body we are aware of the expansion and contraction of the heart, the filling and emptying of the lungs, and the tension and relaxation of the muscles.

 

From the ancient philosophy of yin and yang, extracted are seven principles and twelve theorems that summarise the operation of these forces. If the reader wishes to have a real understanding of the material of this book, we strongly advise him or her to study these principles and theorems. Without such understanding, the particular techniques are of almost no value.

 

The Seven Principles of the Order of the Universe

 

1.         All things are the differentiation of One Infinity.

2.         Everything changes.

3.         All antagonisms are complementary.

4.         There is nothing identical.

5.         Whatever has a front has a back.

6.         The bigger the front the bigger the back.

7.         Whatever has a beginning has an end.