Healing the Unwellness Gap™ Step 1: Is your patient yin or yang?

Parents will come to you incredibly frustrated with the one-size-fits-all approach of biomedicine. Children in the Unwellness Gap™ are often prescribed medications to manage symptoms but rarely do these medications affect a cure. 

If there's no pill that can help, then the parents are told that their child may outgrow it! Eventually. Hopefully.

Left to figure out how to help their child on their own, most parents find this daunting.

As acupuncturists, we uniquely positioned to help children that fall into the Unwellness Gap™.

But, it's very important that we assess each child individually, taking into consideration their innate constitution and current pattern of imbalance. Otherwise, we can easily fall into the one-size-fits-all paradigm ourselves.

Following the same textbook point or herbal protocols will be helpful but doesn't fully address the whole child - body, mind, and spirit!

There are so many factors that affect a child's physical and emotional health. In addition to their constitution and pattern of imbalance, we must also take into consideration their:

1. Unique five element make-up
2. Family relationships
3. Social interactions
4. Educational environment
5. Diet
6. Microbiome (gut health)
7. Lifestyle
8. Rhythms and Routines

But first, we must assess the child's yin/yang nature.

Is the child you're working with more yin or yang? In other words, is their constitution more deficient or excess?

Signs of a Yang/Excess Child:

• Loud
• Outgoing
• Often feels hot
• Superactive
• Demanding
• Extroverted
• Bright complexion
• Sparkle in the eyes
• Tends to heat conditions
• Rarely gets sick, but the illness is severe

Signs of a Yin/Deficient Child:

• Quiet
• Reserved
• Often feels cold
• Active, but enjoys quiet
• Easygoing
• Introverted
• Dull, pale complexion
• Tends to dark circles under the eyes
• Tends to Qi deficiency 
• Tends to get sick easily

Knowing whether a child is more yin vs. yang is helpful in understanding their unique five element make-up, diagnosing the imbalances related to their illness, and determining the appropriate treatment strategies.

For instance, children that are more yin will need to be tonified before you can clear or disperse energy. Whereas children that are more yang can handle invigorating treatment methods like clearing heat and dispersing energy.

To get really good at determining a child's yin/yang nature, be sure to ask the questions above for every pediatric patient you treat. Eventually, you'll be able to quickly and intuitively make this assessment. 

In the next blog post, I'll discuss step 2, which is to determine the child's unique five element make-up.

There's a treasure trove of information you'll gain from step 2 that will not only help guide your interaction with the child but also show you how to design a healing program to work for their individual needs.

More on the Medicine Wheel

If this idea resonates, be sure to check out my book Heal Your Child from the Inside Out: The 5-Element Way to Nurturing Healthy, Happy Kids for more ideas on creating your own unique medicine wheel and healing programs for children.

If you're interested in going deeper, take my Introductory Course 5-Element Pediatrics through Healthy Seminars (formerly Pro D) here:https://www.healthyseminars.com/product/intro-5-element-way-pediatrics

Last Post: Healing Children in the Unwellness Gap™

Next Post: Healing the Unwellness Gap™ Part 2: Understanding Your Patient's 5-Element Type