Last weekend I went up to Vermont. Being out in nature amongst the trees always rejuvenates me and reinforces how important a connection to nature is for my health. There is a lot for us to learn from the way the natural world works.

On this trip, for the first time I saw the way trees grow and live through the lens of Chinese thought. As a biologist, I’m well aware that trees are made up of layers. In the middle is inert hardwood (heartwood) and on the outside is the protective layer of bark. In between the heartwood and the bark is where the magic happens.

In that narrow space are the xylem and the phloem. The xylem takes all the water and earthly nutrients up and out to the leaves, while the phloem takes all the energy capture from sunlight through photosynthesis down to the roots.

So where to Yin and Yang fit in? What does any of this have to do with that I’m learning now about Chinese medicine? Everywhere and Everything!

The water and the earthly nutrients are very Yin (Yin being the word used to describe darker, lower, colder, and material aspects of thing – the original character means “shady side of a mountain”) and the energy, the light which is captured at the top of the tree and turned into sugar is very Yang (Yang being the word used to describe the lighter, higher, hotter, more energetic aspect of things – the “bright side of the mountain”). The xylem and the phloem serve as the trees meridians moving Yin to Yang and Yang to Yin.

We’re just like this trees. We try to balance Yin and Yang out within out bodies. We need our physical substance, our Yin, and our metabolic process, our Yang, to work together to maintain life.

Most of the time tress are healthy and happy and (hopefully) most of the time so are we.

Sometimes, like last summer, it rains a lot and the trees don’t get as much sunshine as the usually do. This puts stress on the trees ability to harmonize and balance Yin and Yang, and some trees as a result get sick. Other times, like this summer, its very hot and relatively dry, and once again, it’s a struggle to maintain balance between Yin and Yang.

We, once again are the same (though we have more control over what comes into our bodies and how much we move around). If we eat too much heavy fatty foods and/or spend too much time sitting and relaxing, we’ll overwhelm ourselves with Yin and our bodies will struggle to stay balanced and healthy (not enough Yang making use of Yin). Conversely, if we don’t eat enough substantial food and/or expend too much energy running around and being stressed out, we’ll burn ourselves our, overwhelming the body with too much Yang burning up the Yin.

Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Therapy are all about helping to bring the body and mind’s Yin and Yang back into balance. Giving the body and mind a push in whichever direction it needs to go.

I guess I owe the trees of Vermont (and my cousins who were so kind to share their home with us) a big thanks for this one.