With so much wellness and the idea to slow down all around lately, I can’t help but wonder, can it be too much? Is it really a life well-balanced when you have too much passivity? What really is a balance?

In Chinese philosophy there’s a concept called Yin and Yang. This fundamental philosophy can be applied to many things, especially those who subscribe under this worldview or system of thought. One in particular that got me exploring this again was after my experience talking to a – TCM– traditional chinese medicine practitioner.

Yin and Yang in wellness can be applied in a way to achieve a balanced body, mind and spirit. For those who are in tune with their body, they might easily detect a lack of Yin or a lack of Yang. In its simplest form when it’s applied to holistic health, Yin is a cold energy and Yang is the hot energy. However, in TCM, there’s much more to that, there are at least eight principles when it’s applied to a clinical practice.But today, I was only learning a tiny fraction of it, the Hot and Cold energy, the imbalance of the Yin and Yang.

Anything that’s simply excess is bad.

Today, I’ve learned that excess Yin energy is just as bad as excess Yang. When you think the idea of slowing down, savoring life and too much reflection is good, it can be the other way round. Anything that’s simply excess is bad.

Too much yin can also lead to overeating, overthinking, oversleeping, and becoming apathetic.
ref: Yin and Yang List

Meanwhile if you have excess Yang, it can make you feel restless and apparently could lead to headaches and insomnia.

This can result in headaches, insomnia and muscle tension.
ref: Yin and Yang List

The last time I was visiting a practitioner was around 3 years ago and I didn’t learn as much as I would today. This time around, I want to understand more about my body and just when I thought I needed to slow down more, apparently, I have the need to move, to be bold, to attract more Yang energy into my life.

The experience today has taught me that having this kind of monthly, yearly check-up is a great way to know if we have an excess of something. Sometimes we tend to overestimate/underestimate ourselves and having someone checking it for us could help to actually assess our condition.

As much as I also learned about this a long time ago, there is much knowledge that I am not up-to-date on. There could be something new I could learn and that is exciting on its own.

The common belief is that our modern world is filled with Yang - hustle and bustle- energy where we barely rest.

Ref Yin and Yang List

Interestingly, I’ve also learned other people's perception and why slowing down,reflective content is all around us. The common belief is that our modern world is filled with Yang - hustle and bustle- energy where we barely rest. But in your case or my case, sometimes that’s not it. You might need some Yang rather than Yin or the other way round.

Maybe this is cultural but interestingly, having to grow up closer to traditional Chinese medicine than western medicine, there’s a part of me that hardly accepts all these philosophies. For me at least, this TCM has long been associated with placebo effects and “quackery”. But my Asian family would say otherwise.

These days, from what I’ve learned, apparently oriental medicine has its own place. There are also hospitals offering supplemental treatment on this and even an oriental medicine degree. Still, I think it’s a long way to go for it to stop being associated with placebo and quackery.

In my case, I rely on this as supplemental, a good massage once in a while and a way to tune into our body with at least a philosophy I could rely on. That this all wasn’t just baseless made up philosophy, or maybe it does. Maybe everything is made up anyway.

And perhaps, we're not Yang obsessed culture anymore but has shifted to A Yin, obsessed culture.

I could ramble all along even within western philosophy and modern psychology but today, the highlight was this, the imbalance of Yin and Yang, something that we could alternatively seek out to learn and understand. And perhaps, we're not Yang obsessed culture anymore but has shifted to A Yin, obsessed culture.