The Basic Principles of TCM that I Have to Know - Yin and Yang

After deciding to choose Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) as my dietetics way, the next step is to understand the basic principles of TCM : Yin and Yang, The Five Phases, The Five Basic Substances and Cause of Diseases. Yin and Yang is the first that I have to know.

The basic principles of TCM are rooted in the Taoist philosophy of Yin and Yang. This concept is used to describe how polar or seemingly contrary forces are interconnected and interdependent in the natural world, and how they give rise to each other in turn. Yin and Yang lies at the heart of many branches of classical Chinese science and philosophy, as well as being a primary guideline of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

The yin and yang represent all the opposite principles I find in the universe. Under Yang are the principles of maleness, the sun, creation, heat, light, Heaven, dominance, and so on, and under Yin are the principles of femaleness, the moon, completion, cold, darkness, material forms, submission, and so on. Each of these opposites produce the other: Heaven creates the ideas of things under Yang, the earth produces their material forms under Yin, and vice versa; creation thing occurs under the principle of Yang, the completion of the created thing occurs under Yin, and vice versa, and so on. This production of Yin from Yang and Yang from Yin occurs cyclically and constantly, so that no one principle continually dominates the other or determines the other. All opposites that I experience – health and sickness, wealth and poverty, power and submission – can be explained in reference to the temporary dominance of one principle over the other. Since no one principle dominates eternally, that means that all conditions are subject to change into their opposites.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine Yin and Yang refer to energies and functioning modes of my organs and body. It is said that the healthy state is brought by the right balance between Yin and Yang and illness is seen as a disturbance in the balance of Yin and Yang. When Yang is stronger, my body is hot, my pores are closed, and I become boisterous and coarse and do not perspire. I become feverish, my mouth are dry and sore, my stomachs feel tight, and I die of constipation. When Yang is the stronger, I can endure winter but not summer. When Yin is the stronger, my body is cold and covered with perspiration. I realize I am ill; I tremble and feel chilly. When I feel chilled, my spirits become rebellious. My stomachs cannot long digest food and I die. When Yin is stronger, I can endure summer but not winter.

By the age of forty the Yin force in my body has been reduced to one-half of its natural vigor and my youthful prowess has deteriorated. By the age of fifty my body has grown heavy. My ears no longer hear well. My eyes no longer see clearly. By the age of sixty the life producing power of Yin has declined to a very low level. Impotence sets in. Thus, I must choose the right food and nurture my psychic equilibrium in order to acquire health and longevity.