Yin and yang are the foundation of all things; all that exists is a manifestation of yin and yang…
The Great Integrity expresses one.
One manifests as two.
Two is transformed into three.
And three generates all
the myriad entities of the universe.
Every entity always returns
to yin after engaging yang.
The fusion of these two opposites
births the Vital Energy
that sustains the harmony of life.
~ Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 42, 6th century BC
Harmony of Yin & Yang
Being in harmony with yin and yang is to have balance between things – not too hot or too cold, too tight or too loose, too bright or too dark, too high or too low…
Your nervous system has this harmony of yin and yang. A nerve is optimally healthy when it gets just the right amount of tone and stimulation. Too much or too little tone or stimulation of a nerve over time will cause it to degrade – transneuronal degeneration.
So, too your body chemistry. There has to be balance between the principles – between yin and yang. There has to be harmony between reduction and oxidation, anabolism and catabolism, polarization and depolarization, sympathetic and parasympathetic, acid and alkaline…
And, also, your mind and spirit – shen in traditional Chinese medicine. There must be a balance of focus and relaxation, speaking and being silent, moving and being still, going outward and being reflective…
Healing and Yin & Yang
Every phenomena in us is a binary phenomenon – all cell membrane transport, all nerve action (depolarization and repolarization), cell oxidation and reduction, utilization of every vitamin, mineral, and protein, every enzymatic reaction…all of these things are a dynamics between binary states – between yin and yang.
This is essentially the “matrix model” for energy, matter, biology, and even psychology. At some level, all things are binary – yin and yang. Neither one is good or bad – the key to being in harmony – being well – is to be in balance between the two. Too much or too little of yin or yang is disease. Also, there can be disharmony of distribution of qi energy where some organs/systems are too yang and others too yin.
Measuring Yin and Yang
Blood pressure, body pH, blood tests for blood sugar or inflammation, and neurological exams are all examples of testing yin and yang.
A particularly interesting and useful way of measuring the balance of yin and yang is to use and ohmmeter to measure meridians as electrical circuits, enter the measures into a computer, and graph the results – a graphical representation of the body’s balance of yin and yang!
