Yin Yang and Sexuality

Yin and Yang (pronounced yong) of Sexuality

What is yin? Yin is cool, dark, moist, slow, receptive, estrogen. It literally translates to the shady side of the mountain.

What is yang? Yang is warm, light, dry, fast, initiative, active, testosterone. Literally, the sunny side of the mountain.

Yin and Yang are continuums. Depending upon the time of day and season, one side of the mountain is sunny while the other side is shady. A sleeping child is 'more yin' than a screaming child. A blazing fire is yin compared to the surface of the sun.

Although women are 'more' yin, of course, we also initiate and are warm. Likewise, men, while 'more' yang, can be receptive and cool.

The sexual organs are an appropriate frame of reference. The vagina is dark and mysterious, moist and soft: receptive, yin. When the penis swells, it is strong, full and dry: active, yang.

In recent years, western medicine has been looking at the influence of the mind and emotions on physical health. The conclusion seems to be that there IS a connection but just how they connect is elusive.

In oriental medicine, the perspective is that the body, mind, emotions (and spirit) are aspects of the whole, similar to how there is yin in yang, and yang in yin–the body, mind, emotion and spirit cannot be separated .

Likewise, the 'world out there' is the same as the 'world inside" --- literally and figuratively.

Have you ever noticed, depending upon where you're at, the character of people changes. In South Beach, Florida, it's hot outside – people tend toward being flashy, scantily clad. In Portland, Oregon, even in the hottest days of the year, it would be a shocking to witness a young woman walking down the street in just a bikini. Portland's geography, it sits in a valley (yin) – nestled between two mountain ranges. Miami is 'more yang' than Portland.

How does this translate to sexual health? For each of us it's different.

In one case, I treated a man in his mid-30s with the primary concern of erectile dysfunction (ED). "Sam" had a history of relationships with controlling women and had been single for the past 3 years. He met his sexual needs through masturbation and used pictures to arouse himself. He reported he felt he'd reached a plateau – the images did not stimulate him and he could not hold an erection. He longed for a relationship.

Generally, men are stimulated through direct touch and visual cues. Along generally, women require emotional connection to warm up sexually. With these aspects of relationship present, a man's emotions open more to the woman and the woman's physical connection deepens her emotions.

So, in the case of Sam, it seemed clear to me that his heart (emotional connection) and his kidney (will, strength, the energy to hold an erection) were out of communication. The images took him so far, but without the connection emotionally, there was a breakdown that resulted in the ED. He was nervous about pursuing a relationship with someone he'd recently met for fear of embarrassment at not being able "perform" sexually.

We treated his heart and pericardium (heart protector) meridians (points I chose are located on the arms and legs) to open up the communications between his physical and emotional centers. We touched the point called "outer frontier gate" – about inspiring the sharing of what's in our hearts, appropriately, with others. Likewise, "inner frontier gate" allows one to bring in the love that another is giving.

Sam reported feeling confident to pursue the woman he fancied. He took the relationship slowly, not wanting to make the emotional mistakes he'd made in the past. He reported satisfaction sexually and emotionally. Sam's new girlfriend was not controlling in the ways his past partners had been and he felt a healthy bond with her that continued to grow.

In another case, "Dan" had an emotional bond with his wife of many years, but Dan, in his 60's, was having more physical problems: frequent urination, sleep difficulty, and leg pain. For Dan, we pursued a treatment involving the water element to build up his physical strength – so he could hold his urine and hold his erection, hold himself up (leg pain) as well as rest (sleep) soundly. His virility returned, the ability to hold urine improved, leg pain got better. He felt stronger overall and was again able to sleep well.