Inspiration for my Yin Ylang Soap

This soap is inspired by the Taoist Yin Yang symbol and the theory it represents. Yin Yang theory is at the heart of Traditional Chinese medicine, which is one of my areas of training. This theory is essential in understanding physiology, pathology, pattern diagnosis and treatment in Chinese medicine. Yin qualities, to name a few, include passivity, slowness, and coldness, whereas yang qualities include activity, fast movements, and heat. The back of the body is considered Yang, while the front of the body is considered Yin. Patterns of disharmony are characterized as either Yin or Yang in nature. For example, a Yin disharmony would be indigestion accompanied by bloating and runny nose, which is relieved by warming herbal teas such as ginger. Insomnia with night sweats is a good example of a Yang pattern of disharmony, which would be treated with cooling or heat clearing herbs which are Yin in nature.

My Yin Ylang soap was made by the cold process method and colored with activated charcoal. It includes an exotic blend of therapeutic grade essential oils including the Ylang Ylang Extra (high grade), Lemon, Cedarwood, and Clove essential oil.

For those of you who are interested, these are the 4 tenets of Yin Yang theory as described in Wikipedia:

Yin yang are opposing Yin yang describe opposing qualities in phenomena. For instance, winter is yin to summer's yang over the course of a year, and femininity is yin to masculinity's yang in human relationships. It is impossible to talk about yin or yang without some reference to the opposite.

Yin yang are rooted together Since yin and yang are created together in a single movement, they are bound together as parts of a mutual whole. A race with only men or only women would disappear in a single generation, but men and women together create new generations that allow the race they mutually create (and mutually come from) to survive.The interaction of the two gives birth to things.

Yin yang transform each other Like an undertow in the ocean, every advance is complemented by a retreat, and every rise transforms into a fall. Thus, a seed will sprout from the earth and grow upwards towards the sky - an intrinsically yang movement. Then when it reaches its full height, it will begin to weaken, and eventually will fall back to the earth in decay - an intrinsically yin movement.

Yin always contains the potential for yang, and yang for yin. Yin-yang are balanced Yin-yang is a dynamic equilibrium. Because they arise together they are always equal: if one disappears, the other must disappear as well, leaving emptiness. This is rarely immediately apparent, though, because yang elements are clear and obvious while yin elements are hidden and subtle.