As the sun rises in the east, and illuminates our world, we are reminded it is time to begin another glorious day. As our pupils come into contact with the bright light from above, they constrict, and our bodies begin a complex series of biochemical, hormonal, and primal reactions that catapult us out of our sleepy slumber. Activity shall begin, and upon waking, we enter into a world of work, chores, errands, responsibilities, and things that we associate with the “day.”
Our intuitive reaction to day and night, is an illustration of our connection to the polarity of yin and yang. While the dichotomy of yin and yang may sound quite simplistic, there are so many combinations of yin and yang, that the “I Ching” contains 64 hexagrams, which are configurations of combinations of yin and yang. Two opposing energies. Yin nourishes and provides substance and support for yang. Yang protects, transforms, warms, moves, and inspires. Yin descends, consolidates, while Yang ascends and expands. They are relative to each other in their function. And even though day is yang in nature, and yin is more night, within a twenty-four period, there are actually four different combinations of yin & yang, that define each six hour period during the day. And while there are four seasons during the year, they are also four different combinations of yin and yang that define each season.
If we can have a sense of how the seasons differ in their nature, we can have a deeper understanding of ourselves, and the behavior, feelings, challenges, desires, and fears that we may face during a given season.
In Chinese Medicine, the season will dictate the individuals pulse. The pulse, being an encyclopedia of information about a personÂ’s life, can reveal information not only in terms of internal organs hypofunction or hyperfunction, but rather, a detailed energetic configuration of the interplay of yin and yang energy, within a person mind and soul. This pulse will have a model from which to follow, based on the season. Therefore, the season must be regarded as one of the primary etiological factors in diagnosing any sort of imbalance in an individual.
One cannot separate the individual from the season in which they dwell. While Western Medicine providers may view the season as a medically irrelevant backdrop to the patient they are treating, in Chinese Medicine, the season alone provides the Chinese Doctor with a cornucopia of energetic clues which can help facilitate and unlock both a diagnosis and a treatment for the patient.