What is Yin and Yang?
Complementing the basic model of the five elements is the Chinese theory of opposites – yin and yang. According to this, everything in the cosmos both contains and is balanced by its own polar opposite. Yin is seen as female, dark and cold, while yang is characterized as male, light and hot. In traditional Chinese medicine, yin and yang need to be in balance to maintain health, and many ills can be attributed to a deficiency or excess of either factor. Different parts of the body are also described as predominantly yin or yang: body fluids and blood are mainly yin, for example, while qi, the vital energy, tends to be yang. Qi is regarded as flowing in a network of channels, or meridians, through the body and can be stimulated using massage, acupuncture, or cupping.
