Yin & Yang of Hormones
The duality of Yin & Yang is one of the most fundamental concepts in Chinese Medicine. So much so that in The Book of Changes it states that “all phenomena are reduced to Yin and Yang.” They are complementary opposites that create a whole. You can simply look to nature in and around us to better understand how the harmonious dance between these polar opposite energies support the cyclical constant of life.
YIN is described as the dark side of the mountain and the moon. It is the feminine state and the free flow of water and density. It is the shade of the trees, the roots and the deep rest of the night. It’s blood and fluids that cool the body. Yin represents the grounding quality of the earth, it’s heavy and full of minerals. Yin mostly describes mass and substance, and are accorded to the fall and winter seasons.
Harmony
Because Yin & Yang are dependent on one another, it is said that within yin there is a seed of yang and within yang there is a seed of yin. Within the dark there is light and within light there is dark. There is a constant change and movement in this exchange so that one does not become excess or deficient. They support and moderate each other.
We witness it with every breath we take, the rising and setting of the sun, the moon phases and the changing of the seasons. The interplay between Yin & Yang breeds and maintains life and weaves through all the rhythms we dance; even our reproductive health.
Yin & Yang of Hormones
The world of hormones is complex. We can apply the concept of Yin & Yang to help to understand how they feel in our bodies and how to approach our reproductive health when things feel a little off.
We have many hormones in our body and they all relate and work together. Here, we’ll just focus on a few. We have Yin Sex Hormones and Yang Stress Hormones.
Yin Sex Hormones
Estrogen: Ultimate Yin hormone helps to lubricate and nourish every tissue of the body
Progesterone: Yin hormone with yang qualities helps to keep estrogen in check and also can be converted to estrogen if it’s deficient
Yang Stress Hormones
Cortisol: Ultimate Yang hormone that helps survival along with adrenaline. Activates alertness and pumps blood through your body.
DHEA: Yang hormone with yin qualities and helps to balance out cortisol. It’s a great multi-tasker that can be converted to estrogen or testosterone if needed.
The Hormonal Dance of Yin & Yang
Yin, our sex hormones, with all of it's nourishment qualities act to buffer out all the Yang stress hormones. In turn, Yang hormones serve to motivate, transform and move all of the nourishment around. In our culture though, it's often that our Yin sex hormones become so depleted in service of our Yang stress hormones. We push so hard that our energetic and nutritional resources are overspent.
"…overabundance of stress hormones outweighs the nourishing effects of our sex hormones and leads to the breakdown of bones, skin, muscles, and brain tissue" - Dr. Claudia Welch
If you’d like to learn more about this delicate dance, dive into my free downloadable webinar on the Yin & Yang of Hormones.
The connection between our physical and emotional well-being offers profound insights into our health. The Heart and its correspondence to our emotions and bodily functions are the core of this ancient healing system.