Oriental Medicine: Introduction to the Five Element Theory

The five element theory is used in traditional chinese medicine as a way to diagnose and treat illness. The premise behind it is that every being is created from five elements. Wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. Each of these elements relates to each other and can control one another. When we become out of balanced emotionally or physically, it can be detrimental to our health and show up as aches in certain parts of our bodies, or even aversions to certain tastes or smells. Our bodies are very intricate and this is definitely a specialized type of medicine used for diagnosis.

Each element feeds the other and if one is out of balance it can affect your health adversely. Below is a nice diagram that shows how the elements feed off of each other, and the cycles are also explained.

There are four main cycles in which the elements work together or against each other
The first cycle is called sheng and is the "generating cycle." With this cycle, each element acts as a mother to the next one. An example of this would be that fire provides nourishment for earth.

The second cycle is called ke and is the "controlling cycle." With this cycle, each element checks up on elements across from each other. Each element is controlled and controls another element.

The third cycle is called cheng and is the "overactive cycle." With this cycle, if an element is overactive. An example of this would be water suppressing fire.

The fourth cycle is called wu and is the "insulting cycle." With this cycle, the forces of the elements become reversed. An example of this would be fire burning up water.

FIVE ELEMENTS	Wood	Fire	Earth	Metal	Water
Seasons	Spring	Summer	Late Summer	Autumn	Winter
Zang /Yin organs	Liver	Heart	Spleen	Lung	Kidney
Fu /Yang organs	Gallbladder	Small Intestine	Stomach	Large Intestine	Bladder
Directions	East	South	Middle	West	North
Tastes	Sour	Bitter	Sweet	Pungent	Salty
Tissues	Tendons	Vessels	Muscles	Skin/hair	Bones
Colors	Green	Red	Yellow	White	Blue/Black
Sense organs	Eye	Tongue	Mouth	Nose	Ear

Above is a nice list of how each element relates to many parts of mother natures cycle, and our own bodies. If we are having issues in any of these organs, or have issues in certain seasons, it can be a sign that one or more of our elements are out of balance. Health issues occur when our bodies aren't in perfect harmony, and more than one of our elements can be pointing to something that is wrong.

Many acupuncturists use the five element theory along with the needles in order to help heal illnesses. It is an ancient type of medicine, but can still be extremely effective if practiced properly  It may seem more complicated than it is, but nourishing elements that are out of balance, or the controlling elements, can actually cure disease.

The most important thing is to always listen to signs that your body gives you. It is extremely smart and will detect and warn you of imbalances before anything goes adversely wrong. If you ignore the signs, disease can manifest. If you are in tune, you can take caution and exercise prevention.

This post is written by Michael
Adapted from: 
Five Elements
Image