YIN AND YANG HEALING
by Dr. Lawrence
Wilson
©
December 2020, LD Wilson Consultants,
Inc.
All
information in this article is for educational purposes only. It is not for the diagnosis, treatment,
prescription or cure of any disease or health condition.
Genesis, Chapter 1:
Verse 5:
"He separated light from darkness."
Verse 7:
"He separated heaven from earth".
Verse
10: "He called the dry land earth, and the gathering of the waters He
called seas".
Verse
14: "Let there be lights in the heavens to separate day from night".
Verse
27: "In His image, He created male and female."
- Genesis, Chapter 1, The New English Bible
Yang and Yin are
words to describe complementary opposite forces of nature. Yang means warm, contracted and more
centripetal in nature. Yin means
colder, more expanded and more centrifugal in nature. We use the Chinese words because the English language does
not have good equivalents. We began
this article with a quote from the Old Testament of the Bible because the
concept is found there.
YIN AND YANG IN
DEVELOPMENT SCIENCE
Applying the
principles of yin and yang properly is a key idea in development
science. It is one of the main
differences between development and most other healing systems. It is not a new idea, but its application
in modern Western health care is rather new.
It has application
in the recommended diet, the supplement program, the recommended lifestyle, the
detoxification protocol, metabolic typing, avoidance of certain toxins, the
recommended drinking water, the recommended meditation exercise, and even the
suggested beliefs and attitudes that we find favor health over disease.
We find that
balancing yin and yang 1) reduces stress enormously, 2) leads to spiritual
development in a balanced way, 3) removes many more toxic metals and toxic
chemicals, 4) favors most enzyme reactions in the body and 5) improves vitality
in a way that nothing else can do.
It is as though the
body is like a seesaw and extremes of yin or yang energy unbalance it, like
swinging wildly to one side or the other side. This places tremendous stress on the body and leads to
illness. Keeping oneself balanced,
on the other hand, reduces stress and greatly favors healing. Let us examine how balancing yin and
yang is used in development science.
METABOLIC TYPING
The ideas of two complementary opposite forces is the most
comprehensive system available regarding metabolic types. It is the basis for typing the bodies
as fast or slow oxidizers.
Fast
oxidation is much more yang, while slow oxidation is more yin. In general, the more extreme the
oxidation rate, the more extreme the yin-yang imbalance. Several acupuncturists have confirmed
for me the correlation between yin and yang and the oxidation rate, as
determined via hair mineral analysis using Dr. EckÕs ratios as standards.
Other doctors assess
the oxidation rate in other ways, and their methods are not as accurate, in my
experience. Beware of using blood
or urine tests, questionnaires or other means to assess the oxidation rate for
this reason.
Hair mineral ratios and yin and yang. A
higher sodium/potassium ratio is more yang, while a lower ratio is much more
yin. Other ratios are less
clear, although most likely a lower calcium/magnesium ratio is somewhat more
yang, while a high calcium/magnesium is often, though not always much more yin.
Supplements. All synthetic and even natural
vitamins, minerals and herbs tend to be yin compared to whole, natural
foods. Therefore, I try not to use
many supplements of any kind.
Detoxification
procedures. Those that are hot
and dry such as sauna baths are more yang. Those that are cold and damp such as
juice therapy, homeopathy, herbs or any baths are more yin.
Toxins. Most toxins are extremely yin because
they disrupt life. This includes toxic
metals, and toxic organisms such as bacteria and viruses. Their effects on the body can be either
yin or yang, but generally their effect is yin. Fungi and parasites such as worms and amoeba in the body are
even more yin.
Most medical drugs
and almost all herbs, along with the isolated vitamins and isolated minerals
are yin, especially homeopathic remedies.
For this reason, all should be used sparingly.
Electromagnetic
fields generally have a very yin effect, as does ionizing radiation from
nuclear power plants and A-bomb fallout.
Yin is generally harmful on planet earth today and best avoided.
WHY ARE SO MANY
BODIES TOO YIN?
Traditional
Chinese medical practitioners would say the reason for so many yin bodies is
deficient chi or vital energy.
Many factors can deplete the chi including one's diet, lifestyle, stress
and other factors.
In
particular, since 1940 or so, several factors have combined to render most
bodies extremely yin.
á
Ionizing radiation. The atomic bomb,
through testing and accidents, has spread radioactive fallout all over the
planet. Low-level emissions occur
from nuclear power plants, smoke detectors, computer monitors, television sets
and fluorescent lamps. Widespread
medical and dental use of x-rays, radioactive dyes and radiation therapy add to
radiation exposure. Uranium mining
is another source of low-level contamination. Fortunately, humanity has learned a lot about radioactive
fallout and the safety is improving.
However, the problem of rogue nations developing weapons and using them
remains a serious problem.
á
Electromagnetic
pollution. This is also very
yin and growing at an astronomical rate with the advent of cell phone towers
everywhere, computers in every home, especially laptop computers and hand-held
devices like portable telephones.
These all give off fields that are very yin and chaotic.
Riding in airplanes with large spinning turbines in them near your
head, and even riding in automobiles with large alternators spinning nearby,
also give off electromagnetic waves of varying degrees of chaos. Even house wiring and
common radio and TV signals are quite yin, though not nearly as bad as cell
phone radiation.
á
Toxic
metals and chemicals everywhere. Industrial development and
growth of the chemical industry has spread thousands of yin toxic chemicals
throughout the environment. These
include toxic metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic, aluminum and
beryllium. It also includes
thousands of toxic chemicals such as solvents, pesticides, plastics and many
other classes of compounds.
á
Changes
in the food supply.
These have been massive in the 20th and 21st
century, and almost all are more yin.
They include: soils depleted of minerals due to soil mining,
essentially, use of hybrid crops, use of pesticides, use of superphosphate
fertilizers. For example, wild fruit, like crab apples, are small, hard and not
too sweet. Cultivated fruit is
often larger and sweeter (more yin).
Also,
food is grown far away and transported thousands of miles in many cases to get
to you. Also, some is irradiated,
another very yin procedure.
á
Food
refining. Most food processing and refining have made food far more
yin. This includes refining of
wheat, sugar, rice and other grains.
It also includes adding thousands of toxic chemicals to prepared food,
most of which are yin or have a yin effect.
á
Dietary
changes. The diets have also become more yin, with
the consumption of much more white sugar, white flour instead of whole grains,
and less red meat and fat consumption. Items like soda pop, beer and wine are also far more yin than
water, tea or coffee. Sugar-eating is probably the most important of all of these
dietary shifts.
á
Medical drug use. This is a more
yang approach to health care than some types, but now has turned yin because it
is so overused. Especially the
passage of Medicare and Medicaid in America in 1967 and similar socialized
programs in other nations, have resulted in tremendous
use of yin chemicals as medicines.
Almost all prescription drugs are yin. This includes most popular drugs such as antibiotics, anti
depressants and many others.
Surgery and radiation therapy are also extremely yin.
á
Recreational
drug and alcohol use.
This includes marijuana, heroine, alcohol, tobacco, ecstasy, cocaine, psilosybin or magic mushrooms and other drugs are very
yin. They cause a Òyin highÓ.
á
Planetary
pollution. This has caused a mixture of more yin and more
yang conditions. As explained
earlier, toxic metals are yang, of themselves, but they cause chaos in the
bodies, making them much more yin.
Oxygen in the air is reduced in the cities, which is more yang. However,
this also causes disease that is yin.
Polluted air, water and food, overall, has a
very yin effect on mankind today.
With these rather
severe changes have come new diseases, while some older ones such as
tuberculosis and typhoid fever are not as prevalent. This is how yin and yang, as well as nutrition, interact
with disease states, another complex topic for another article.
CORRECTING THE YIN-YANG
BALANCE – FOOD AND DIETARY CONCEPTS
Principles:
1. The balance of yin and yang in the body
is often determined by the food one eats more than any other single factor. Thus, a basic understanding of how food
affects oneÕs yin and yang balance is essential.
2.
Many qualities of a food affect its yin or yang qualities. These include, but are not limited to its
freshness, nutrient content, animal or vegetable derivation, how it is
prepared, how and where it grows, toxins it contains, level of etheric energy, and even such things as its color, texture
and other qualities.
3. The
yin-yang balance in foods has little to do with a ÒbalancedÓ diet in modern
dietetics. The Western idea of
a balanced diet is based on balancing various food groups such as fruits,
vegetables and grains. This is a
different idea.
4.
Toxins, nutrients, fiber and other chemical factors found in all foods can be
yin or yang, depending on their chemical nature.
5.
Freshness is a very important quality to determine yin or yang. Fresh food is far more yang in almost all
cases. Denatured, processed,
refined, old, stale, wilted, or spoiled food is much more yin. This has to do with the etheric energy of foods, discussed below.
Yang quality and etheric energy. Etheric energy
is sometimes also called vitality or life energy. Some people have instruments to measure it. A food that is higher in etheric energy, or a cooking method that preserves or
enhances etheric energy, will be more yang. Fresher foods have much more etheric energy and are therefore much more yang. Old, stale or canned foods have much
less etheric energy and are more yin.
Frying food actually
seems to preserve the etheric energy a little
more. This is why Oriental cooking
recommends stir-frying, and it is one reason that organic blue and yellow corn
chips may be excellent foods, even though they are made with cooked vegetable
oils.
6.
Macrobiotics is a modern version of this approach to dietetics. This
science was introduced to America by Mr. Michio Kushi in the 1960s from Japan. While some of it is excellent, some
parts of it must be changed, in my opinion, based upon hair mineral analysis
research. For
more on this subject, read Macrobiotics, And
Modifications For Development Science.
Macrobiotics is
based on ancient Japanese and Chinese Taoist philosophy. It divides foods into those that are
more yin in nature, versus those of a yang
nature. The chart below depicts
the way foods tend to be classified on a scale from yang to yin:
Salt Eggs Red Meat
Poultry Fish Grains Vegetables
Fruit Sugar Drugs/Alcohol
YANG NEUTRAL YIN
Yang
foods. The most yang foods are sea salt, meat, eggs, poultry, fish and
cooked vegetables. Plants that
grow beneath the ground are more yang, while those
that grow up in the air such as most fruit, are more yin. Cooked grains, cooked beans and cooked
vegetables are in the middle.
Yin
foods. Raw vegetables, and even more so fruits, juices, sugars, alcohol
and drugs are more yin (watery and expansive). Also, anything made with water is much more yin such as
soups, smoothies, and watery foods such as eggplant and all fruits. Dried fruits are less watery, but are
still extremely yin due to their sugar content. Most raw plants and herbs are also very yin. Also, chopping a food into tiny parts,
grinding it up, blending it, pureeing it, or juicing it also causes the
substance to become much more yin in nature. In contrast, whole foods that are not chopped up are more yang. Let us
discuss specific types of foods:
Specific Foods.
Meats. The most yang are
cooked eggs and red meats such as lamb, beef, rabbit and especially wild
game. The next most yang are poultry such as chicken, ostrich, duck and
turkey. Dark meat is more yang
than white meat due to its iron content and other differences. Fish tend to be more yin,
especially today as they contain more mercury and other toxins due to
contamination of the oceans.
Cooking the meat and
adding some salt makes it even more yang.
Eating food raw or pureed makes it more yin.
Grains. Grains that are most yang
include millet, rice, amaranth and buckwheat. Corn is somewhat less yang. However, blue corn is a superior food today because it is
less hybridized and contains a very helpful form of selenium.
Quinoa, kamut and other grains are slightly more yin, but fine to
eat. Oats, rye, barley and wheat
are less yang due to extensive hybridization. These are not as healthful today mainly
for this reason. Please avoid all
wheat, as it has become an irritating food due to hybridization.
White rice and white
flour are much more yin than natural brown rice and natural whole wheat. This is one reason we recommend brown
rice, in addition to its superior nutrient content.
Methods of preparation:
Cooking
grains
or any food, and adding some salt, makes them more yang.
Pressure cooking makes a food a little more yang, which is
generally very good. Cooking at high
temperature (baking or roasting) or cooking for a long time is also more yang, but damages the nutrients in the food, so I do not
recommend it. Some baked
vegetables are okay, but do not use baking or roasting exclusively.
Fermenting
grains or any food, tends to make them more yin because ferments (yeasts and
fungi) are very yin organisms.
Also, aldehydes produced by most fermenting
organisms are a more yin toxin.
Sprouting grains makes them
more yin.
Soaking any food makes that
food a little more yin.
Stir-frying or deep frying has a mixed effect. The high heat tends to make food more yang. However,
it is too high and damages the food, which has a yin effect. Also, just stir-frying does not cook
vegetables enough. We need them
soft, not crunchy. So if you
stir-fry, add water to the pot and let the vegetables cook more in the steam
until soft.
Vegetables. Those that grow below ground are more yang such as rutabaga, carrot, onion, daikon,
shallots, garlic, horseradish root, celery root and ginger.
Stems and leaves of
plants are a little less yang than vegetables. They include cauliflower, broccolini, red cabbage, Brussels sprouts, celery and a few
others.
Nightshade
vegetables are much more yin because they are really fruits. The botanical definition of a fruit is
something with seeds. Said
differently, a fruit is an expanded ovary of a plant. The seeds are like the eggs of a plant.
The nightshade
vegetables include potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant and all peppers. They contain a toxin called solanin. These
include white and red potatoes, all types of tomatoes, eggplant and both sweet
red and yellow peppers, green peppers, ground pepper, and all hot chili
peppers. These are all best
avoided.
Other
vegetables that are really fruits and therefore more yin
are cucumbers, okra, and the entire squash family. These include zucchini, summer squash, butternut, spaghetti,
acorn squash and others. Some of
the winter squashes are not too yin (butternut, spaghetti, and acorn types),
but the summer squashes such as zucchini are quite yin and best avoided.
Fungi, such as
mushrooms, are more yin because this is a quality of
all yeasts and fungi.
To review, raw
vegetables are far more yin than cooked vegetables. Fermented vegetables such as sauerkraut are more yin than
cooked vegetables.
Eggs and dairy products such as milk, cream, cheese and yogurt. These foods are fairly yin. Fresh, unpasteurized and unhomogenized dairy is best, as it is more yang.
Pasteurizing adds heat, but damages the milk so it becomes toxic and
thus more yin.
Cheese and yogurt
are more yang than milk because they contain less sugar. However, they are still quite yin foods
and need to be eaten only in small quantity for this reason. Ghee is similar to butter.
Fruits: All fruit tends to be very yin. Fruit grows above ground, and
anatomically all fruits are expanded parts of plants. The least yin are small, tart
fruits such as some berries. The
sweeter the fruit, the more yin, since it contains
more sugar. Some, such as
strawberries are very yin, even if they are not sweet. This is due in part to the fact that
the seeds are scattered throughout and on the outside of the plant.
Juicy fruits such as
apples, peaches, pears, plums, apricots, loquats, and others are in the middle
among the fruits.
The most yin fruits are:
1) Very sweet
fruits, (figs, dates, raisins and bananas).
2) Tropical fruits,
such as coconut, palm, avocado and all citrus fruits. These include orange, lemon, lime, tangerine, pineapple and
grapefruit). Of these, grapefruit
is probably a little better as it is less sweet, but all are very yin and are
forbidden on a development program.
Water for drinking. Quality
spring or mineral water is the most yang. The quality will depend upon the
minerals that are in the water. Tap water is often a little more yin due to the toxic chemicals found in it and the chemicals
added to it such as chlorine and fluorides. Soft water is more
yin than hard water, which contains more minerals.
Distilled
and reverse osmosis water are significantly more yin, as they
contain virtually no minerals. Reverse osmosis is extremely yin and to be
avoided.
Artificially
alkaline water is quite yin and harmful for this reason.
The
amount of water one drinks. Drinking the correct
amount of water, which we find is between 2 and 3 quarts, or 2 and 3 liters or 64-96
ounces, tends to make the body much more yang.
One might think that
drinking less water would make the body more yang, but
it does not. It makes it more yin, perhaps by upsetting digestion and elimination,
affecting the kidneys, or for other reasons. Drinking too little also seems to raise blood sugar, a yin
condition.
Drinking too much
water – more than about 3 and a half quarts or liters, also makes the
body more yin.
Other
beverages: Juices are all very yin! This is because they are raw, cold, and
broken apart. We suggest that
adults may have 10-12 ounces of carrot juice due to its superior nutritional
qualities, but no more.
1-2 ounces of fresh wheat
grass juice is an alternative
Teas are cooked vegetables, basically, and are more
yang than juices, for example.
Non-caffeinated mild teas are okay, but do not add sugar or other
sweeteners, as that would make them more yin.
Coffee is a more yang
beverage, and one cup daily of regular coffee (not
cappuccino, or other strong coffee) is generally okay. Adding sweeteners, chocolate, etc.
makes the coffee much more yin, however, and makes it much less healthful.
Alcohol is extremely yin
and to be totally avoided in all forms.
If you must have a little alcohol, beer is probably the best alcoholic
drink, in our experience. Wine is
not only yin, but generally contains many more pesticide residues with arsenic
and lead. Distilled alcoholic
beverages such as gin, whiskey, vodka, tequila and others are even more yin as
most of the minerals have been removed during distillation.
Food
additives. Almost all food
additives such as preservatives, sweeteners, dough conditioners, natural or
artificial flavors and colors, and thousands of others, are almost all very yin.
Food Processing. Cutting up vegetables,
grinding grains, refining food, juicing it or eating food raw is more yin. Eating
foods whole is much more yang.
Cooking adds heat energy
and this makes food more yang, unless the food is
overcooked.
YIN AND YANG NUTRITIONAL
SUPPLEMENTS
Minerals. Mineral supplements are more yang than
most other supplements.
Animal-derived
products such as glandulars are also fairly yang
supplements.
Food-based and all-natural products. These tend to be
more yang than synthetic vitamin supplements, although it depends how they are
made.
Synthetic
supplements such as ascorbic acid, MSM, and synthesized B-complex vitamins
tend to be somewhat more yin.
Herbal
extracts, teas, powders and others. Almost all herbal extracts are yin and should
be used only in small amounts for short periods of time for this reason. Those made with alcohol are more yin due to the alcohol. Glycerin is less yin. Kelp has a lot of salt in it, so it is
a lot more yang than most other herbal supplements. For details, read Herbs.
Products
derived from bacteria, yeasts, algae and fungi. These are very yin
due to their origin. This is generally not helpful. They may include yeast-based vitamins, fungally-derived Òvegetable
enzymesÓ, and algae such as spirulina, chlorella,
blue-green algae and others. The
latter appear to be toxic as well.
Chlorella is a chelator, and not helpful for
this reason. For more details,
read Chelation.
Salt. Salt tends to contract foods and dry
them out, which is more yang.
Herbs and spices. A little dried herb on foods is okay. Using a lot makes the food more yin.
Chemicals. Adding chemicals always makes food more
yin.
Soaking grains, beans, nuts
or seeds tends to make them more yin.
Sprouting beans, seeds or
grains makes them more yin.
Wine, vinegar, fruit, sugar, honey and sweet herbs. These add a lot of yin energy to oneÕs
cooking.
Fermenting
foods
tends to make them more yin, because the ferments are
fungi or yeasts, which are very yin.
Some fermented foods are okay such as cheeses, yogurt, kefir, miso and sauerkraut.
For details, read Fermented Foods.
Canned and frozen foods. These are more yin than fresh food
Drying
food
makes it a little more yang, as it removes water.
Older,
spoiled and rotten food is much more yin.
FOOD QUANTITY
Overeating or undereating makes one more yin.
Fasting has a yin effect
today because the bodies are so depleted that it makes them worse. In the past, fasting had a more yang
and healthier effect, which is why fasting is in the
Bible and other ancient books.
Today, this has changed, however, and fasting is not so good.
A fast of a day or
two is not too bad. Longer fasts
are harmful because they deplete the bodies even more. There will be benefits of fasting, such
as resting the digestive system.
However, everyone we work with who has done fasting is more depleted
after the fast.
For this reason,
books about fasting written 50 or 100 years ago do not apply today. The author worked as the medical
director at a Natural Hygiene fasting spa for several years, and was disappointed
in what he observed.
LIFESTYLE, AND YIN
AND YANG
Rest. Enough rest makes the body much more
yang. This is about 8 to 10 hours
nightly and perhaps a short nap during the day. Not enough rest, or too much laying
in bed all day, for example, tend to make the body more yin. Too much rest is not a problem
today. Not getting enough rest is
almost a universal problem.
Bedtime
is important. Going to bed earlier – by 9 PM or earlier – makes a
person quite a bit more yang.
Going to bed later – after 11 PM – makes a person more yin. This is
quite an important factor in some cases.
Napping is very good to make
one more yang as well. The nap
need not be a long one. Fifteen
minutes or so is fine.
Muscle
tension is also very yangizing, at least for a time. Muscle tension is a compressive force,
so it tends to make one more yang.
To tense up the body is a common yang or confrontative
response to stress.
Of course, if the muscle tension
continues too long, or squeezes off the blood or nerve supply to an area of the
body such as the neck or back, then it eventually becomes a yin force as it
destroys the body.
Exercise. A little exercise, which tenses the
muscles and causes deeper breathing, makes the body a little more yang. However,
too much exercise, especially vigorous exercise, wears out the joints, depletes
nutrients too much, weakens the adrenals, and makes one more yin, over
time.
The correct amount
of activity and exercise is helpful to make the body a little more yang. Not much is needed, however, for most
people, such as a half-hour walk or gentle workouts with a treadmill or weights
several times a week. No exercise
makes the body a little more yin.
Exercise is not as important a factor in making a body yin or yang
compared to diet
and rest.
Sexual
activity. Sexual activity with
orgasms and ejaculation tends to make a person much more yin. Sex play without orgasms and
ejaculation is not a problem, however.
No sexual activity
tends to preserve a certain yang energy in the body,
unless a person is so unhappy without sex that this impairs mental
functioning. In this case, a
little sex is best to keep the mind and body in balance.
Sex with orgasm and
ejaculation more than once weekly is excessive for most people. It definitely makes the body more yin, as it depletes zinc, selenium and other vital
minerals.
Women reabsorb some
of their sexual fluids, and they obtain some minerals from the menÕs sexual
fluids, so regular sex affects them less in a nutritional manner. However, womenÕs energy field usually
opens up wide during sex, which is another yin effect of sex for women. Orgasm for a man, however, is quite
depleting of yang energy, according to Chinese acupuncture philosophy.
Breathing. Deep breathing makes one more yang by
removing toxins, improving circulation and oxygenation of the body, enhancing
the oxidation rate, and perhaps by other means such as balancing the
sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.
Toxin
exposure. Living a very clean
life with little toxin exposure definitely makes one more yang today. Exposing oneself to poor quality air,
toxic and chemicalized foods, toxins in water, or
other toxins through contact, for instance, makes one much more yin.
Stress.
Stress
in oneÕs life can have a yang effect or a yin effect. It depends on the type of stress and on the individual. This is more complex. Stress can be a compressive or yang
force, but it can also destroy or just scare the person, and this would be an
extremely yin effect.
Three highs or four highs pattern. This is seen on hair tests in which a
person is in a four highs pattern and appears like a fast oxidizer in many
ways. However, when the person
relaxes, he or she changes to slow oxidation and the attitudes and attributes
change to a more yin tendency. In
Chinese acupuncture, three or four highs pattern is called yang rising, or
perhaps toxic yang. This is the
same as saying a stress yang, rather than a healthful yang quality.
A calcium shell pattern on a hair analysis
is a more yin response to stress, in contrast. Here the person withdraws and hides, essentially.
Excessive
stress. Too much stress, however, depletes vital nutrients, allows toxic
metals to accumulate, damages body tissues and structures, and eventually
destroys the body, making it far more yin. This is what happens when one is in slow oxidation as one ages.
Also, in many, but
not all slow oxidizers, when more stress is applied, they tend to become slower
oxidizers. This has to do with the
type of stress and the general condition of the body.
Responses
to stress: dissociative or yin versus
confrontative or yang. While some stress elicits a yang
response, other types of stress in some people elicits a more yin or dissociative effect. For example, a calcium shell pattern is
extremely yin and represents a dissociation of splitting off of the
personality, which we say is a withdrawal from society psychologically. This is very yin or hiding or running
away.
Four highs, in
contrast, is a more confrontive
response to stress or more yang response of fighting back. Why some respond in a yin manner and
others in a more yang manner has to do with many factors including oneÕs
nutritional state, psychological tendencies, early childhood traumas, and
perhaps other factors.
BALANCING THE
SYMPATHETIC AND PARASYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEMS
The
sympathetic nervous system has a yin or catabolic and destructive effect on the
body. However, it is yang in
nature, meaning hot and active.
The parasympathetic nervous
system has a more yang effect on the body, as it is regenerative and
restorative of health. However, it
is much more yin or passive in its quality. The parasympathetic nervous system is associated with rest
and relaxation.
This is a good example of where
a factor may appear one way (yin or yang) but its effect on the body is the
opposite.
PSYCHOLOGY AND
YIN-YANG BALANCE
Another powerful
factor that modifies the yin-yang balance as much as food in all cases is
psychology. This means that
certain approaches to life, attitudes, emotions and such, are yin and others
are yang.
Here is where a
total approach to healing is so important, rather than just diet, or just
lifestyle, or just some therapy.
Without this total approach, many factors will
invariably be missed by the practitioner. It may not be necessary to consider all the lifestyle,
dietary and other factors in the beginning, but eventually they matter a lot.
Here we also see why
in ancient Chinese holistic medicine the doctor was taught to look at many
things, from the shape of the head, the hands and other body parts, to the
color of the skin, the tongue, the pulse, the excretions and more. We must do some of this, too, though
the hair analysis offers a remarkably simple means to evaluate a personÕs
overall condition, though it does not always tell us why one is the way he or
she is. Along with a few other
simple items we will discuss later, it will suffice in most cases.
Yang
Psychology = fast oxidizer psychology. The fast oxidizer mentality is yang. People with these traits tend to be
more confrontive, more engaging, more expressive
emotionally, and more aggressive, arrogant, tight or uptight, angry overtly or
easily angered, and in extreme cases paranoid.
The voice tends to
be higher, and the person more extroverted, positive in outlook, fun and happy,
usually physically stronger and future-oriented rather than past-oriented. There is usually more interest in sex,
especially among the men. They are
ÒhotÓ, to use a teenager term, meaning they have higher hormone levels and are
more interested in being social and sexual. These traits are understood chemically very well and
explained in the book, Development And
Hair Mineral Analysis and other articles.
Other yang
psychological qualities are groundedness, centeredness,
reality-based rather than fanciful, hard-nosed, domineering, controlling,
practical, business-like, on time, detail-oriented, mentally sharp and
basically present in this reality.
In excess, they are too grounded and self-centered, closed to new ideas,
selfish or self-centered, and too hard-nosed.
Yin
Psychology = slow oxidizer attitudes and traits. These traits tend to include being more
relaxed, slower-moving, weaker, more emotional, often
more fearful and depressed, apathetic, cloudy or mentally foggy, ethereal, and
not nearly as well grounded or centered.
They tend to be less confronting, and more repressed or suppressed
emotionally. Their general demeanor
is more ÒshatteredÓ, which is a very yin tendency or direction of movement.
They are often
eccentric in a different way, with lower energy, more confusion, and sometimes
less interest in sex. They are
often more serious, definitely more negative in their outlook, and more often
think and live in the past or what they believe was a happier, more glorious
past. They are more likely to use
yin drugs such as marijuana, and are more dependent and often more
child-like. Children, however, are
actually more yang than most adults because they are healthier and their bodies
are more compact. Hippies, for
example, are much more yin in their attitudes and behavior than are most blue
collar and physical laborers, who tend to be far more yang in their attitudes.
Most people, of
course, are a mixture of these traits, just as their body chemistry is a mixture
of various imbalances both yin and yang.
However, one or the other prevails. A hair mineral analysis is often amazingly accurate to help
one to know which set of traits is more likely present. Note
that all adult fast oxidizers are just slow oxidizers under a tremendous amount
of stress, even if the mineral ratios appear good. However, an adult with a fast oxidation
pattern is much more likely to demonstrate more yang psychological qualities.
Other Major Influences On Yin And Yang. Personal
habits matter, such as answering the call of nature quickly. Otherwise one becomes quite depleted
and yin. Other factors are the colors one wears, aloneness versus being more social, oneÕs
companions and partners, and more.
These may be discussed in a later article. However, they are generally not as important as the factors
discussed above.
RELIGIOUS SYMBOLS
OFTEN SIGNIFY THE BALANCE OF FORCES OF NATURE
It is interesting
that the symbols of most major religions are those of balancing the forces of
yin and yang. This applies to the
Christian cross, the Jewish star, the Taoist circle of yin and yang, and some
others. The Muslim symbol is not
one of balance, interestingly.
Environmental
Yin And Yang. Colder and wetter
climates are more yin, while tropical or hotter and drier areas are far more
yang. Yin climates require more
yang foods. This can be why
Eskimos do well on a diet of mostly meat and fat, two yang foods.
In contrast, people
who live in tropical climates often eat more fruit and less cooked food, in
general. When people in a hot
country eat more meat, they become too yang and often ill. This often translates into
aggressiveness, for example, as seen in a hot area – the Middle
East. Similarly, Eskimos would not
fare well on a diet of fruit and would become ill. Even the US army discovered this during World War II and had
to alter its rations for the soldiers depending upon where they were fighting
and living.
People in tropical
climates often eat more hot peppers, in such nations as Mexico, India, Thailand
and many other nations. At first,
this might seem strange since the peppers are ÒhotÓ in their taste. However, peppers are, in fact, very yin
foods although they may taste spicy or hot.
Altitude and other environmental factors. A higher altitude is more yang, while a lower altitude is more yin. This has to do with air pressure,
specifically of oxygen, a very yin element. So, for example, living by the ocean in sunny, warm
California is quite yin. One
notices the attitudinal differences here, compared say to living in cold, high
altitudes of Asia or even America.
The
elements. Solid, heavier matter is more yang,
while lighter elements are more yin.
So uranium, lead, cadmium and mercury, for example, are more yang. However,
radioactivity is extremely yin, so uranium is not quite as yang as the other
heavy metals for this reason.
Lighter elements
such as lithium, zinc, selenium, magnesium, and even calcium and aluminum are
more yin elements. They also
happen to be more alkaline-forming as well.
This is confusing,
however, because although as one becomes healthier one removes the heavy
metals, replacing them with the lighter, more yin elements, the
body becomes much more yang, overall.
The reason is that the heavy metals, while more yang,
are also incorrect for the body and cause total chaos, which is a very yin trait. Reducing their amount and effect in the body thus reduces chaos and this has a very yangizing effect.
Weight
and yin-yang balance. An overweight body
tends to be more yang in some ways because it is more
massive. However, in most cases
today, the overweight people are far more yin because they are more ill,
chaotic, ÒexpandedÓ and toxic with too much sugar, water and other yin material. Often, overweight people look
waterlogged or ÒpuffyÓ and expanded.
It is very different
from a body that is large but muscular only. This body is much more yang, as muscle is more yang and
dense than fat and water.
Body
shape. The shape of the body is also related to yin and yang, as is
everything. Tall tends to be more yin, generally, while short and chunky is more yang. This has to do with glandular effects,
diet, genetics and other factors.
Not surprisingly, fast oxidizers tend to have a shorter, chunky
build. Slow oxidizers often have a
tall and more light weight build.
A heavier body can
be more yang if the weight is mainly muscle. Today, however, a heavier body means
the body is more expanded, which is definitely a more yin quality. Some bodies are obviously more yin
because they look like a balloon and have a definite hollow and expanded look
to them. In contrast, those who
are very slender or skinny are usually a little more yang because the body is
more compact and compressed or tight.
Sunglasses. Wearing sunglasses all the time might
make the body a little more yin because it blocks the
sun, which is more yang.
YIN AND YANG HEALING
Western
medicine largely ignores the concept of yin-yang balance in healing, but it is
still a central idea in many Eastern systems of healing, particularly
acupuncture. It creeps into
Western medicine as normal ranges for blood sugar, blood pressure and many
other functions. One knows that
too much or too little of these are indicative of disease.
About
ninety-five percent of bodies today are yin in Chinese medical
terminology. Many are extremely
yin. Yin is associated with the
qualities of being cold, still, expanded and chaotic.
This corresponds
exactly to slow oxidation on a properly performed and interpreted hair mineral
analysis. The hair must not be
washed at the laboratory and the oxidation rate is determined by calculating
the calcium/potassium and the sodium/magnesium ratios. Yin or slow oxidation is defined
as a calcium/potassium ratio greater than 4:1 and a sodium/magnesium ratio less
than 4.17:1.
YIN AND YANG
ILLNESSES
Illness
may be classified anatomically as yin or yang. For example, osteoarthritis is characterized by deposition
of calcium and other substances in the joints and may be said to be yang. Rheumatoid arthritis is a degeneration
of the joints and is more yin. Solid tumors are more yang, while blood cancers such as leukemia are more
yin. Inflammation is
generally ÒhotÓ and more yang, as are all painful
conditions. In contrast, the growth
of silent tumors inside the body, as with most cancers, tends to be a very yin
condition. Indeed, cancer cells
are somewhat like yeasts and fungi in their metabolism and these are ÒcoldÓ
infections. Meanwhile, bacteria
tend to cause ÒhotÓ or yang infections.
This can get quite complex.
More important for the correction process
is whether the cause is yin or yang.
Many times the same symptom can have either a yin or a yang cause. In hair analysis interpretation, one
finds that the same symptom may be due to fast oxidation or slow
oxidation. This is saying the same
thing – that the cause can be yin or yang.
Osteoporosis, for
example, may be due to a calcium or copper deficiency in a fast oxidizer. Part of the sympathetic nervous system
response is excretion of calcium.
However, the same symptom may be due to biologically unavailable calcium
in a slow oxidizer, a more yin condition.
Since
most bodies today are yin, most illness has a yin cause at its basis. The symptom may appear yang - hot, hard
or contracted. However, the
underlying cause is usually a yin imbalance. A yin therapy such as surgery, radiation or chemotherapy may
eliminate a hard tumor, but the long-term effects are less curative and usually
harmful.
YIN AND YANG HEALING
METHODS
Yang
therapies. Among healing methods, the most yang are those involving heat and
dryness. Dry saunas, hyperthermia,
fever therapy, sweating, heating herbs like ginger and burdock, coffee enemas,
hot baths, exposure to the sun, heat lamps and fasting are examples.
Other are
chiropractic manipulation, biofeedback, acupuncture, acupressure, some
meditation that moves energy downward, some psychotherapy when it involves
confronting the person, some hands-on healing or body work, and some color
therapy with reddish, orange or yellow light.
Yin therapies include raw foods,
juices, cool or cold baths, colonic irrigation and Epsom salt baths. Others are homeopathy, visualization,
imagery, psychedelic drugs and the use of electrical machines. Still others include most
pharmaceuticals, surgery, radiation therapy and the use of most herbs and
nutritional supplements. Most
meditation, relaxation and self-hypnosis also has a
more yin effect.
Detoxification.
Yin
detoxification methods flush toxins with cool and watery energy. They slow down overheated metabolism
and reduce congestion. Yang
detoxification methods tonify and energize the
system, and contract the cells, forcing poisons out. The principles of yin and
yang healing apply equally to conventional as well as holistic therapies.
A need for yang therapies
today. As more people become yin, they require more yang
therapies. This is one reason for
more and more problems occurring with antibiotic overuse and vegetarian diets
– both of which are more yin.
It is also a problem
with some natural therapies. For
example, a friend is a cancer counselor who has observed the results of many
alternative cancer therapies. She
reports poorer results with the Gerson therapy and
related approaches that rely on raw foods and juices.
This therapy used to
offer excellent results. Most
likely, this is because more bodies were more yang at
the time Dr. Gerson developed the therapy in the
1920s and 1930s. Yin therapy may
get rid of tumors which are yang, but cannot fully rebuild
a body that is more yin.
YANG HEALING
This
is the approach I suggest for most people. It involves a diet of kelp, sea salt, meats and
especially cooked yang root vegetables. One avoids yin foods such as sugar, sweet juices, most
fruit, most raw food, and the nightshade vegetables and other vegetables that
are botanically fruits.
To
this are added food supplements and herbs that are primarily yang or less
yin. We do not use most herbs,
most green drinks, or high doses of vitamin C or other vitamins, for example.
More
yang herbs include ginger, burdock, dandelion, milk thistle, skullcap,
nettles and black radish.
Mineral therapy is somewhat yang and
very necessary today due to congenital nutrient deficiencies, refined food
diets, poor quality food, stress and other factors that deplete nutrients.
Yang procedures. Development may also
involve dry sauna therapy, infrared lamp therapy and red light therapy. Red light assists the first energy
center and organs such as the liver, kidneys and adrenal glands. This is exactly what most people need.
Some
say light therapy should focus on the upper centers - blue, green and
violet. However, I find that most
patients I see live in those upper centers most of the time. Copper toxicity, which is very common,
has the effect of speeding up mental processes and enhancing emotions and
analytical thinking.
Rest and sleep, and other
lifestyle factors. Another
vital yang therapy is rest and sleep.
Most people do not get nearly enough rest. I also suggest spending about half an hour a day in the sun,
if possible, another yang therapy.
Also excellent is to
let go of all victim thinking, as this is very yin and
disempowering. This includes all
political philosophies that endorse and promote the concept of victims and
victimhood. Feeling sorry for some
group or other, and offering them special benefits is extremely popular today,
but not particularly beneficial for anyone.
Much
better are political and moral belief systems that support people learning to
help and govern themselves, rather than accepting
'benefits' or 'entitlements' of any sort.
This view promotes personal empowerment and is more yang. Unfortunately, this perspective is not
so popular today.
Yang
therapy is appropriate for about 95% of adults and a somewhat smaller
percentage of children. The others
require less cooked vegetables, less animal products, fewer saunas and more
fruit and juices.
Many who appear yang
are not really so. They are merely
toxic in a certain way that appears yang.
Certain toxic metals such as cadmium are either
so yang themselves or they cause changes in the nervous system that make a
person appear very yang. However,
they are weak underneath, often extremely so. When toxins such as cadmium, lead, mercury and others
are released, the personÕs true yin condition becomes obvious.
Understanding
yin and yang detoxification helps explain why a particular therapy may work for
a while, but then stops working.
It also explains why a therapy may have worked well one hundred years
ago, but is less helpful today. It
can also explain why a therapy or approach such as drug medicine helps some
people, but not others.
YIN AND YANG APPLIED TO RELAXATION AND REPOSE
I suggest that yang methods of relaxation are far better today, mainly because our world is more yin today. This means that more yang methods are far more likely to balance the body than the yin methods.
Examples of more yang methods of relaxation include napping and sleeping, the Roy Masters meditation, walking, gardening, mild or gentle exercise, hugging or kissing, and some body therapies such as Rolfing, structural integration and a few others.
Examples
of more yin methods people use to relax include having sex, use of drugs such
as marijuana and other sedatives, use of stimulant drugs, some types of
vigorous exercise such as running or jogging, and the use of many types of
meditation that scatter oneÕs thoughts or move energy upward through the
body. While these methods are
effective in some cases, I do not recommend them in development science, as
they tend to be far more harmful for the body and mind.
MORE ABOUT YIN AND
YANG
There
is some disagreement among acupuncturists and those who study oriental
philosophy regarding what is yin and what is yang. Most agree, however, that yang is contracted, hot,
masculine, active, aggressive, salty, loud, red in color and under the earth as
opposed to above. Yin is cold,
damp, still, receptive, feminine, grows above ground, blue or purple in color
and more ethereal.
Yin and yang organs. Hollow organs are more yin such as the lungs, intestines, heart and stomach. The lungs are the most yin, as they are literally spongy and airy. The more solid organs are more yang such as the liver, kidneys, spleen, pancreas and all
the glands.
For
more about acupuncture and development science, read Acupuncture
on this website.
ARTICLES ABOUT YIN AND YANG ON THIS WEBSITE
References
Kushi, M., Order Of The
Universe (magazines) 1970+
Nickel, D., 1995, Int. J. Acupuncture and Oriental Med, 6:1-4; p 26-29. (this article
explores how supplements used in development science correlate with acupuncture
herbs in their mineral content.
The latter are based on assessing yin and yang with the acupuncture
pulses and many other methods of assessment.
All
information in this article is for educational purposes only. It is not for the diagnosis, treatment,
prescription or cure of any disease or health condition.
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