The key to spiritual, mental, and physical well-being, according to this Taoist dualism, is to balance the positive and negative aspects of this energy. Chinese astrology is also involved in the theory. Acupuncture is based on Chinese religious theories, including Taoist philosophy and Yin Yang dualism. Chinese practitioners speculated that this invisible energy flowed along unseen paths called meridians. The meridian theory is closely tied to the Chinese doctrine of the five elements and two cycles of destruction and generation.
Chinese medicine identifies each of the viscera with one of the elements in the following manner.
Lungs large intestine. If the lungs are indisposed and consequently must use all their energy to sustain their functions, the kidneys must become polluted, because they do not have enough energy to function. These alleged imbalances are usually discerned by the practitioner through Chinese pulse diagnosis, which is based on the theory that the twelve main meridians are reflected in the radial artery at three zones which can be read by the practitioner by feeling the pulse. All this by simply feeling the pulse. Once diagnosed, the imbalance of Yin Yang energy is manipulated by placing needles along some of the approximately 365 to 800 meridian points in the human body to stimulate the increase or decrease of Yin and Yang as needed.