Yin-Yang Theory: Everything You Need to Know About Life Force Energy
Did you know the shape of your face can tell you about your vitality, as well as your destiny in life? Also did you know that Yin and Yang circulate and stabilize the body, mind and spirit. We call it the Sea of Yang and the Sea of Yin. A sea not only represents a reservoir of Qi (life force energy), blood, Yin and Yang, but the sea is also the well from which we draw our vitality and motivation… to live a life that is in our highest good for transformation and growth.
Before we explain how it applies to you (and your face!), let’s break down the concept of Yin and Yang theory, as it applies to Traditional Chinese Medicine and acupuncture. Here’s everything you need to know about the forces of Yin-Yang, including symptoms of when your Yin and Yang energies are out of balance!
What Is Yin-Yang: Theory, History, and Context
Where did the Yin-Yang concept come from, how did it start? Like much of Traditional Chinese Medicine, this theory is ancient… It's a philosophical premise rooted in Chinese mythology dating back to the third century BCE.
According to this mythology, “Yin and Yang were born from chaos when the universe was first created and they are believed to exist in harmony at the center of the Earth,” according to the World History Encyclopedia. The Big Bang Theory, Chinese mythology edition. This philosophy is also one of the central differences between some Chinese religions, where Taoists favor Yin and Confucianists favor Yang.
The philosophy of Yin-Yang continues to this day, and presents in a variety of mediums, though the core concept is the same: all things exist as inseparable and contradictory opposites. Nothing is ‘all good,’ nor ‘all bad,’ there is no dark without light, etc.
This brings us to the four principles of Yin-Yang theory: opposition (think: dark vs. light), interdependence (one cannot exist without the other, i.e., dark vs. light), mutual consumption (when one is out of balance, it affects the other), and inter-transformation (the energies transform into one another). These four principles are represented by the circular Yin-Yang symbol, also referred to as the Tai Chi symbol.
To dive even deeper into this several-thousand-year-old concept, we’ll explain more about each half of that circle in detail.
What Is Yin?
Let’s get to know Yin first. Yin is the ‘soft’ to the sharpness and power that is Yang. This is introspective, introverted, vulnerable energy, often associated with ‘divine female’ to Yang’s ‘divine male’ energy. Think: down-and-in, contracting and absorbing, cool and moist, dark. Too much Yin can also be associated with stagnation and lethargy. Personality types with more Yin can be more introverted and empathic in nature.
Yin is the Moon. Yin is also associated (in both astrology and Chinese Medicine!) with the Earth and Water elements (which we’ll explain more in a bit), the Autumn and Winter seasons, and the lower half of face and front part of the body, as well as the eyes, mouth, and ears. This energy is represented by the nighttime (6pm to 6am).
Within acupuncture, some Yin points are:
Navel Gate. Located directly at the belly button, on our Conception vessel, the Sea of Yin, front of the body. This point helps us move from our center to feel more in control.
Earth Thoroughfare. Located directly on the bottom of the foot in the center of the sole, this is the most Yin aspect of the points, located on a water element channel, the Kidney. This point helps us stay grounded to the earth.
What Is Yang?
So all that soft, heavy energy of Yin? It’s the opposite, here… balance! Yang brings assertiveness, action, power, and function. Think: self esteem, excitement, extroversion, and expansion… up-and-out. In TCM, this is Qi; it’s the light or movement of energy.
Yang is the Sun. And, as Yang is the opposite of Yin, it’s hot, dry, light, bright, radiant, and associated with daytime (6am to 6pm). The elements Yang represents are Fire and Wood, and the seasons are Summer and Spring. As for the body, Yang is associated with the upper half of the face and back of the body and head.
Whereas, Yang is fast and electric, yin is slow and soft, when out of balance — either element can even be destructive. Yang personality types tend to be more active and impulsive.
Within acupuncture, some Yang points are:
Celestial Fullness located on the very top of the head, the crown. This is the most Yang aspect of the body; it is what keeps us in alignment with celestial energies of the heavens and sky, to stand upright on our path with direction. This point is also called the point of 100 convergences, the place where all the energies of the body meet. Located on The Governing Vessel, The channel that goes up the spine-Sea of Yang, back of body.
Gate of Destiny located on the back on the spine at Lumbar 2 on the Governing Vessel, which allows us to walk upright with support for our self esteem and life's path work.
Yin-Yang in Harmony
These two, as mentioned, can’t exist without the other. Getting philosophical for a sec: This born-out-of-chaos concept utilizes Yin-Yang as guiding uniting principles upon which to depend on. To understand that life is chaos, consider a baby being born. This is a violent act of Yin and Yang together — vulnerable yet powerful, with the beauty of life being birthed into this universe.
Yin and Yang, as a guide, will help give insight into a source of order in our lives. It helps to realize its continuum of contrast, and in moments to experience the complete balance of Yin-Yang, is contentment and satisfaction. So how do we achieve that balance? Every practitioner will have a slightly different approach, following the Yin-Yang protocol with their own lens. In my practice I use a combination of treatment and patient-empowerment that helps each individual live a lifestyle that cultivates a balance of Yin-Yang harmony. Remember: this isn’t just about receiving treatment, or letting a practitioner ‘fix’ an imbalance… bringing Yin and Yang into equilibrium requires you to play an active (Yang!) role.
Yin and Yang in the Body and Beyond
As for the balance, there can always be too much of a good thing… that’s where equanimity comes in. Yin and Yang must always be in harmony to achieve that balance. While you may crave more of Yin’s gentleness, there can be too much slow and quiet energy to the point of stagnation. And while the fun of Yang’s bright active radiance may be alluring, too much can create inflammation and overheating! There are four ways Yin and Yang can be out of balance: excess Yin, excess Yang, deficient Yin, and deficient Yang.
Important note: there’s a misconception that psychological and emotional symptoms are associated with Yin and physiological symptoms are associated with Yang — this is incorrect! Yin and Yang both apply to mind, body, and spirit. Both Yin and Yang apply to each of these energies, and imbalances of either can manifest as both types of symptoms; they’re not mutually exclusive.
Symptoms of too much Yin (excess): Depression, sadness, lethargy, poor circulation, cold hands and feet, overweight, lack of motivation, death (!!)
Symptoms of too much Yang (excess): Anxiety, irritability and anger, inflammation, ADHD, easily distracted, headaches, seizures, mania, OCD, high blood pressure, facial flush, skin irritations or redness.
(We will also see how these energies show up in the face in just a bit, when we dive into Face Reading with Yin and Yang.)
Yin-Yang Menstrual Imbalances
Yin and Yang imbalance is quite common during menstruation. This is because blood is Yin; when we are losing blood, this can make the Yang become ‘aggressive,’ due to the deficiency of Yin. Yang imbalance can show up as symptoms like PMS (think: acne, irritability, migraines and headaches, anger, reactivity, neck and shoulder tension, constipation, breast tenderness). Yin imbalance symptoms during menstruation can show up as low back pain, water retention, depression, sadness, night sweats, feeling overly sensitive, and fatigue.
Yin and Yang in balance creates a sort of homeostasis for the body — a state of health and harmony many of us strive for. When this life-force energy is in check and the scales are balanced, we’re in a state of radiant physical and emotional wellbeing. Keep in mind though, that we are not stagnant beings, and these energies are in a state of flux; the scales can tip in either direction, for a number of reasons. The goal, however, is to use the tools and knowledge available to us to bring things back into balance. This, of course, is where TCM and acupuncture come in.
Yin-Yang in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture
So we’ve talked about some symptoms that can come up when your Yin and Yang energies are out of balance, and some of the elemental associations. Let’s go over the basics of how Yin and Yang show up in acupuncture, TCM, and the rest of your life.
For starters, a common question: can acupuncture balance Yin and Yang. Easy answer: absolutely! That’s an integral, foundational part of this ancient healthcare practice. TCM is always based on yin yang, this is how we figure out our diagnosis.
When you arrive at a TCM practitioner’s office, they’ll use several tools and tactics to evaluate the state of your Yin and Yang energies.
A proper practitioner is always evaluating your demeanor, body type, eyes, personality, color, smell, and sound. This gives insight into your current state of Yin and Yang, as well as the five elements of balance. The practitioner will also take your pulse, look at your tongue, and palpate your skin and abdomen.
Coming back to the aforementioned four principles of Yin and Yang, we have another set of principles when it comes to the body and medical practice. This is called the “identification of patterns,” according to the Eight Principles of Diagnosis. The eight categories are:
Yin
Yang
Interior
Exterior
Heat
Cold
Deficiency
Excess
Using those principles, we then apply these questions to what is presenting in the body:
Is [the symptom] interior or exterior?
Is it hot or cold?
Is it full or empty?
For example, you can have an interior Yin imbalance presenting as fibroids on the ovaries, or exterior Yang imbalance, presenting as too much heat on the skin, causing acne. Through the application of these principles, we have one (very trustworthy, millenia-old) way to ascertain a diagnosis. From there, a licensed TCM practitioner will pick specific points on specific channels to bring Yin and Yang back into balance.
Yin and Yang in the TCM Elements
Yin and Yang both show up in each of the five elements — there’s Yin and Yang in everything, so the same goes for each element! Earth, Water, Metal, Wood, and Fire each have their own Yin organ and Yang organ. Certain elements, like Fire and Water, for example, are more associated with one specific energy (Fire to Yang, Water to Yin), but these life-force energies apply to every single element. Remember, interdependence: one cannot exist without the other!
Wood: Yin, Liver | Yang, Gallbladder
Fire: Yin, Heart and PeriCardium | Yang, Small Intestine and Triple Heater
Earth: Yin, Spleen | Yang, Stomach
Metal: Yin, Lung | Yang, Large Intestine
Water: Yin, Kidney | Yang, Urinary Bladder
Yin-Yang in Face Reading: The Sea of Yin and Yang
Here’s how you can apply this theory to your face — as well as some insight as to what your practitioner will be looking for in your appointment.
For context, face reading is a diagnostic tool used in Traditional Chinese Medicine to find out the health of your body, mind, spirit, and psychology of a person; this tool can be used as insight for matchmaking, personal growth, health conditions and soul journey work. It dates back thousands of years, and is well documented in Chinese history.
Your ‘Vitality Zones’ are the upper and lower halves of your face — we simply look at the face and ‘split’ it visually in half from the center. The upper face is the Sea of Yang, while the lower is the Sea of Yin.
Upper Face — Sea of Yang
Energies: Ascension, self esteem, taking action, motivation, transformation of life lessons, impulsiveness or impulsivity, movement, catalyst of transmutative processing
Conditions (how those energies present): Wrinkles, inflammation, acne, dry skin
Distribution: If this portion of your face is larger, you will have more energy vitality distribution and major life lessons in earlier years of life.
Lower Face — Sea of Yin
Energies: Groundedness, courageous vulnerability, introspection, patience, presence, deeper understanding of life lessons, slow to act, destiny and will
Conditions (how those energies present): Puffy and saggy skin, eye bags, oily skin
Distribution: If this portion of your face is larger, you will have more energy in the later years of your life.
Are you 50/50? If you find that your face is evenly split in half proportionally, hooray for symmetry! According to this practice, you will sustain an equal distribution of vitality and life-lesson learning throughout your life.