This is part two in a series taking a walk through Chinese medical theory. That was a refreshing break. There was a gentle breeze by the river. It gave me time to reflect. I see how holism and perpetualism (constant change) exist in the universe. I sat here on this bench watching the gentle lapping of waters in the river, thinking about how the moon influences the tides that come up the river from the ocean, and how this water affects all life in the river ~ plants, microorganisms, humans, and wildlife. And all life influences the water. Everything is interconnected, experiencing changes over time. There is nothing in the universe that the concepts of holism and perpetualism don’t touch.
Microorganisms, fish, otters and eels, birds, and humans can become like dry riverbeds without enough water. We can become too hot or too cold. We might shudder with winds just like the water ripples when the wind passes over its surface. We can even become internally heavy, just like the mists that settle over the river at night when conditions are right. Humans are a part of the whole and everything in it. Environmental ecology is human ecology, as Chinese medicine theorists understand. Native Americans and many indigenous cultures know this and infuse these ideas into their medicines too. How important it is to understand, respect, and appreciate the ecology surrounding us so that we can in turn understand our physiological ecology. Pattern diagnoses can be made by observing the ecological landscape of the body, and from there, treatments can be developed that bring us back into harmonic balance with our surroundings.
Shall we walk some more? I feel rested, and want to tell you about yin and yang, which make up the Taiji, otherwise known as the “great ultimate.” I see a nice path by the river where we can walk and discuss these ideas.
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In the universe there is yin and there is yang. Some things are more yin and some things are more yang. All things have both. Yin includes darkness, night, cold, stillness, downward and inward movement, contraction, dense/heavy materials, matter, substance, and inhibition. Examples of yin things in the universe are water, the moon, earth, bones, tendons, blood, and body fluids. Yang includes light, daytime, heat, activity, upward and outward movement, expansion, energy, function, and movement. Examples of yang things in the universe are fire, the sun, the sky/heavens, spirit/shen, and kinetic energy.
In the black and white taiji symbol, the light part contains a small circle of darkness, and the dark part contains a small circle of light. Each always contains a seed of the other. That is why they are shown together in one circle. Reflecting more on this symbol, we can understand that there are four aspects of yin and yang that apply to the universe and all things in it. These four aspects of yin and yang are opposition, interdependence, mutual consumption, and inter-transformation.
Opposition
Everything has opposite aspects. These opposite aspects struggle with each other and restrict or limit each other. They check each other and hold each other in balance, sometimes moving more towards yin and sometimes moving more towards yang. They oppose and control each other to maintain balance. We see examples of opposition in the body and in nature.
Biological systems often self-regulate using negative feedback loops; they oppose each other so that physiological balance is maintained. The negative feedback loop of thyroid regulation is an example. When levels of T3 (triiodothyronine) and T4 (thyroxin) are high, the thyroid sends inhibitory signals back to the hypothalamus, which alerts the pituitary. The hypothalamus in turn produces less thyroid regulating hormone (TRH) and one step downstream, the pituitary makes less thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH). When T3 and T4 levels are low, the opposite happens. Blood sugar levels and insulin production from pancreatic beta-cells work in a similar way. The hormones produced hold each other in balance, sometimes rising and sometimes falling, but always in concert together. These are biological principles exemplifying the universal principles of opposition.
Interdependence
Neither yin nor yang exist in isolation. They are interdependent. They need each other to exist as the things that they are. In the human body, this can be understood as function versus substance. There is physical matter, but it needs function, activity, and movement in order to transform, to be alive. There is the physical matter that makes up the gallbladder, but without yang stimulation and movement, this would not be a functional gallbladder; it would just be an accumulation of inert cells and tissues.
Mutual Consumption
Mutual consumption is the idea of change - of day consuming night and night consuming day, heat gradually replacing cold and cold merging into heat. Another example is the high ocean tide consuming low tide, the presence of low tide consuming the presence of high tide. Perpetual change is always present, moving back and forth along a spectrum of being yin or yang, each mutually consuming the other.
Inter-transformation
When the conditions are right, yang transforms into yin. Think of a marathon runner who has expended energy over 26.2 miles. Running spends yang energy - sweat, muscle exertion, mental endurance. After the race, the runner requires water and rest, yin energies of nourishment, consolidation, collection. Running turns into resting; resting turns into more running, if the runner is so inclined. In nature, rain turns into water vapor and water vapor into more rain; yin turns into yang and yang back into yin. Positive feedback systems that continue expending energy are rarely, if ever, are sustainable. For example, atmospheric temperatures cannot rise unchecked indefinitely; there will eventually be yin consequences to such yang output. Contractions during pregnancy, though they work in a positive feedback fashion (a very yang energy), do not continue indefinitely; they ultimately result in the birth of life (very yin).
This is a lot to consider.
These are big ideas. They are simple, but not always easy.
Thinking so much and talking makes me tired. Yang requires yin.
Shall we take another break? I see a nice shade tree where we can rest and enjoy the breeze.
~ with grateful thanks to the Wise Old Owl,
my grandfather, who encouraged me to write,
because words are gold~
notes taken Sept 20, 2017
written Feb 7, 2022
-kelly a ilseman
L.Ac., M.Ac.O.M., M.S., M.Ed.
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