This concept, generally known as the negative and positive, is the energy responsible for the function of every phenomenon in the universe. It is the source of the universe and the governing principle of the functioning of nature and the human body with all its organs. They are like two sides of the same coin… Yin is to Yang what woman is to man, left is to right or night is to day. One cannot exist without the other. They complement each other like a lock and key. Both are necessary for life. A unit is incomplete or cannot survive without Yin and Yang.
Five Functions or the Five Element Theory
Like Yin and Yang, the five function theory is applied to nature, seasons, colours, stages of life and so on. In the human body, it is applied to the organs, functions, tastes, orifices, moods and senses.
These five functions have a very complex inter–relationship. There are intricate checks and balances that keep the cycle in progress. The synergism and antagonism among these five elements ensure that no one element becomes excessively strong or weak and each of these elements has the responsibility of creating one element and controlling another. This again gives us the next two cycles – creation and antagonism.
- Cycle of creation
Each creates another and hence is the mother of the element it creates and the son of the element that creates it. - Cycle of antagonism
Each element controls another element and is in turn controlled by other.