The Cycle of Yin and Yang
Thoughts of the cycle of life and death are inevitable as I sit here thinking about how recently my dear grandma spent a week in hospice care. She was comforted and cared for intently by loved ones and we got to see her progression towards death. My grandma was 98 years old so it was not a surprising situation. But no matter how long you have to prepare for a loss, it’s always a loss. And it’s never easy to say goodbye. I remember all the love she gave, all the sleep overs with cousins that she hosted, all the funny things she said, all the change she’s seen in the world. She loved feeding people, she loved cracking jokes and above all she loved babies. No matter how many other people were in the room or what kind of mood she was in, if there was a baby around, she would spot it and immediately light up, eyes brighter, mood uplifted. It was as if the youth and energy of the child was contagious for her. The stark contrast of that kind of age difference has always fascinated me. The extreme yang energy of a constantly moving child and the waning, deficient energies of the elderly. It truly is miraculous how we change throughout our lifetimes.
In acupuncture school I was introduced to the concept of Yin and Yang, Qi and Blood, Deficiency and Excess in relation to our human bodies. I was then able to see the life cycle through a different lens- the lens of Traditional Chinese Medicine. And it really resonated.
Yang: bright, hot, movement, the sun, left, exterior, male aspects, energy
Yin: dark, cool, stillness, the earth, right, interior, female aspects, matter
Most people have heard of Yin and Yang and have seen the symbol. It represents the idea that there is always a drop of Yin within the Yang and vice-versa. The concept is probably the most important theory in Chinese Medicine. It shows how cycles of Yin Yang are two stages of a cycle that consistently change into the other. For example, night and day or the seasons of the year. But an important part to understand is that something obviously more Yang, daytime, is never completely Yang. There are still those drops of Yin within, for example, a slew of clouds cooling things off with shade. There are no Yang days without Yin.
Yin and Yang are clearly opposite but they also cannot exist without one another, they are in a constant state of adjusting balance, and they actually change into each other. They are so interconnected that the separation of Yin and Yang is death, or as my professor stated it:
“Death is the divorce of Yin and Yang.”
These laws are a dance that acupuncturists have to observe and use to determine treatment plans and herbal prescriptions. It is the pendulum swing we see when someone is well and then with disease. It is the cycle we witness through the scope of life changing into death.
Life starts with exuberant Yang and boundless energy and this gradually shifts to the Yin/calm/rest we see in old age. Often when someone is close to death, there will be a moment or few days when the person perks up and it seems they are making a miraculous recovery. In reality, it is that drop of Yang within the Yin, the body’s last push of energy before its transformation to death. We saw that with my grandma. For one day, she sat up, smiled, had conversations, and was overjoyed at the sight of her great grandkids. That Yang fizzled out and she then began the last few days of her human journey. I was lucky enough to get to be a part of those few days.
The miracle of life and death, Yin and Yang continues its cycle.
Garden Acupuncture is dedicated to serving our local community and people of all stages of their Yin Yang cycle. If you would like more information please visit our website here.