Between Heaven And Earth

When I first started on my acupuncture journey, I had a seal made which means 'Standing Between Heaven & Earth'.  This is a term used in Chinese medicine.  It has a twofold significance: primarily it refers to the philosophy of Yin and Yang.  According to the philosophy, Heaven is Yang (very light and energetic in nature) and Earth is Yin (more dense and substantial physically).  Between Heaven and Earth, mankind stands.  

An extension of this notion is that mankind stands between the two extremes:  the head, the more Yang part of the person, is uppermost, closer to the sky/heaven (in itself Yang), and the lower part of the body is more Yin in nature and closer to the earth (which is Yin).  As humans we ‘stand between Heaven and Earth’ with head reaching up to the heavens and feet walking on the earth. 

This phrase 'Standing Between Heaven and Earth' also reminds me that as a health practitioner working with both these healing traditions, I myself 'stand between' both Naturopathy and Acupuncture.  I think of Naturopathy as being the Yin to Acupunctures Yang.