Intro to Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine and Yin/Yang

As an integrative veterinarian, I was originally trained in conventional (Western) medicine. I practiced only conventional medicine for a decade prior to my Traditional Chinese Veterinary Medicine (TCVM) training. The decision to train in TCVM was spurred by changes I had made in my own health routines.

What I found with TCVM is a system of diagnosing and treating problems where Western medicine falls short. It doesn’t have to be one or the other as they can complement each other beautifully. Eastern medicine isn’t just finding a symptom and treating it with an herb. It is a way to recognize patterns in the body that lead to disease. It is a way to put the body back into balance, which often lessens or even resolves the symptoms!

This blog will be a location for clients and nonclients to learn a little more about TCVM as there are a lot of misconceptions out there about it. How can you know if it is right for your pet if you don’t know what IT is?

To start off the first post, I am going to go over the very basics. Yin (Yĭn) and Yang (Yáng). Most of us have at least heard these terms. Yin and Yang are two opposing energies that have the best effect on the universe and body when they are balanced. They are constantly balancing and rebalancing each other. Most of us are familiar with the Yin-Yang symbol.

You'll notice that the Yang (white) has a seed of Yin (black) in it, and vice versa. This is because nothing is purely Yin or Yang ("there’s always a little Yin in the Yang"). Yang energy is the bright, warming energy and Yin is the dark, cooling energy. Some examples of things that are predominantly Yin/Yang are:

Yang	Yin
light	dark
sun	moon
earth	heaven
hot	cold
activity	rest

Think of Yin (cooling energy) as the internal air conditioner, so when the Yin is damaged and becomes deficient to Yang, the animal feels hot. It could be expressed as many different symptoms (panting excessively, seeking cool areas/intolerance to hot, drinking lots of water, etc.), but they all would be classified as signs of a broken air conditioner (Yin deficiency).

Think of Yang as the opposite, the internal heater. When Yang is damaged, the animal feels cold. It could be cold to the touch, weakness, warm seeking/cold intolerant, etc., but just all are signs of a broken heater.

When Yin and Yang are out of balance, it leads to disease in the body. TCVM seeks to rebalance that energy when possible to alleviate disease symptoms.