What do yin and yang and the five element theory have in common? They
are both intricrit parts of the Traditional Chinese medicine that
millions rely on in China and several hundreds of thousands of
individuals all over the USA and other parts of the world have come to
understand and utilize for the well-being of their bodies.

The Five Elements:

The five element theory relates all energy and substance to one of the
five elements: water, fire, wood, metal (air) and earth. Each one of
the mentioned elements corresponds to one of the five organ networks
within the body, as well as the five seasons, five climates, five
personality types and other associations. All of these associations
are a part of the repeating cycles of birth, growth, maturation,
harvest and decay.

Water is associated with the color black, the organs kidneys and
bladder, the tissue bones, the sense organs are the ears and the taste
is salty.

Wood is associated with the color blue/green and the organs liver and
gall bladder, the tissue is nerves and the sense organ - eyes and the
taste is sour.

Fire is associated with the color red, the heart, small intestine,
blood vessels, the tongue and the taste is bitter.

The earth is the color yellow, the associated organs are the spleen
and the stomach, the tissue is muscles and the sense organ is the
mouth with the taste being sweet.

Metal (air) is associated with the color white and the organs lungs
and large intestine with the tissue skin and the senses the nose and
sinuses and the taste is spicy.

The five element theory is seen in acupuncture in how adjustment and
realignment is established by the flow of Qi throughout the body.

The body assists itself to become readjusted to the healing process.
Pain and related symptoms are reduced or even eliminated altogether
through the efforts of acupuncture. The immune system becomes
strengthens and each of the body’s organ systems become revitalized.

The Yin and Yang:

Yin and Yang are two opposites in life examples are light and dark,
front and back, up and down, in and out, hot and cold, birth and
death. One cannot exist without the other. If one of the opposite
pairs becomes stronger than the other there is not harmony and the
other becomes weaker. One can replace the other, but they both cannot
exist at the same time. One transforms into the other. Night
transforms into the new day; and day eventually gives way to night.

The physical world has many examples of yin and yang. In nature we
have feminine and masculine qualities. Rest is equally as important as
activity and soft just as important as hard. There is need for both
shade and brightness. We must have the sun and the moon, the earth and
heaven.

There is always a balance between yin and yang. Nothing is ever all
yin or all yang. The human body has the same occurrence of opposites
(inside and outside, soft and hard, wet and dry). The human body has
organs that are also yin and yang. The liver is mostly yang while the
kidneys are mostly yin. There is a balance within the body that
maintains the health of the body. In traditional Chinese medicine, it
is believed that illness is a result of an imbalance between the yin
and the yang of the body.

Treatment of disease is the result of restoring the depleted yin or
yang and restoring balance. This restoration is brought about by way
of different approaches including acupuncture, herbal therapies
exercise and also diet changes.