Nature and Universe have been perceived not as static structures, rather as ever changing, interlinked web in Chinese Medicine. One of the main core of this perspective is five element or five phase theory. Different characteristics of existence have been perceived through five element, namely Metal, Water, Wood, Fire and Earth. This perspective attempts to see through human and the universe according to this five main phases. These phases are deeply interconnected and five element theory focusses on their relationship, transformation and influence on each other.
Five elements also represent five main yin and yang organs in our body. Five Element Qigong is a Dao Yin Qigong form is based on supporting the five main yin and yang organs within their cyclic relationship.
Metal phase represents Lungs and Large intestine; Water is Kidney and Bladder; Wood is Liver and Gall Bladder; Fire phase represents Heart and Small Intestine (and their supportive pairs, namely Pericardium and Triple Heater); and lastly Earth is Spleen and Stomach.
Metal: represents our physical and emotional borders with outer world, flexibility or rigidity of our relationship with the past. It shows its state on our skin and opens up to our nose.
Water: represents our courage and our fears, our will, our respond to a stimulus -i.e. how hectically we respond to it or how from a stilness- It is closely linked to our bone structure, our will power and memory, posture, reproductive organs and hearing capacity.
Wood: interlinked to our ability on decision making, on planning and our creativity. It is represented on physical state of our eyes, muscle and tendons.
Fire: represents our emotional core, our identity, our strength on expressing , our personal relations with other people whether they are close or further apart to our emotional core. Heart is at the very centre of all our emotions.
Earth: represents our digestive system, our capacity of physical or emotional nourishment, our matriarchal side and our intellect.