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In the West we tend to be very materialistic - oriented towards matter, things and parts of things - even though in the 1930s quantum physics showed that all matter is energy in a state of vibration and that that vibration is affected by thought and feeling. The Chinese view everything in terms of energy and their belief system is inclusive, so that it includes animals, plants, air, water, earth, fire and all natural phenomena. These are referred to as the ‘10,000 things’.
All energy medicines, of which, as already said, acupuncture is one, are based on the premise that energy is primary and matter comes next. It comes as a result of energy and is shaped and formed and changed by energy. So you begin with thought and you have an idea, or not even an idea, just a thought, one of thousands you have every day: for instance, I’m hungry. Then comes the energy to propel you towards the kitchen and decide what you are going to eat – another thought, or decision, actually, chosen out of many thoughts. You get your food – matter – and eat it. Matter has now been put inside you so that you are now slightly changed as a result of thinking that you are hungry. So you have thought, leading to energy, leading to matter, millions of times over, all the time, at all levels of consciousness, from ‘I’m hungry’ to ‘I want to be Prime Minister or ‘What shall I wear?’
So you are energy in vibration. The vibration that you are comes from your past: your ancestry, your culture, your belief system, how you feel about life and about yourself, how you think, all that you are, including previous lives, if you believe in that. And it’s ongoing; you are your thoughts and their consequences. The ancient Chinese physician concerned himself with his patient’s behaviour, his/her values, his/her relationship to family and society. This is what is meant by treating the whole person, which acupuncture does and which a good practitioner strives hard to achieve.
Symptoms, especially such as stress, digestive upsets and tiredness, can be ‘opportunities to examine one’s life, to reconsider one’s values and habits, to re-evaluate one’s personality and relationships, to expand awareness and to change. The goal of acupuncture, as part of Chinese medicine is prevention of illness through the understanding of natural law, which includes altering oneself so as to live in greater harmony with that law.’ (‘Dragon Rises, Red Bird Flies’, Leon Hammer)
So this is the yin yang symbol, which you will have seen before. We start with the circle, which symbolises the whole, whether it is the world, the person or just one cell. The dot in the middle symbolises the life force, chi, then the one becomes divided into two.
The two are yin and yang, which are any two polar opposites.
As they are opposites they are apart but each is always pulling towards the other. So we have night and day, light and shade, male and female, earth and sky, and so on. Each contains the seed of the other. ‘Yin and Yang and either opposite stages of a cycle or opposite states of aggregation of matter….Nothing in the natural world escapes this opposition. It is this very inner contradiction that constitutes the motive force of all the changes, development and decay of things’. The Foundations of Chinese Medicine, Giovanni Maciocia.
Yin is considered to solid, dark, feminine, nourishing and supportive. Yang is light, active, dynamic, moving and masculine.
In the body energy moves in channels which are called meridians. There are 12 of these, which relate to the 12 organs. There are 6 organs and meridians which are considered to be yin – Lung, Liver, Spleen, Heart, Kidneys and one called Pericardium, which is a function but does not have a corresponding organ, and 6 yang – Stomach, Colon, Gall Bladder, Small Intestine and Three Heater, also a function without an organ. The Pericardium is the protector of the Heart. The Three Heater is like an internal central heating system, to do with the distribution of fluids and the 3 areas of the body, Heaven – taking in, Earth, assimilating, and Man – expelling and reproducing.
There are also 8 Extraordinary Meridians and these form the energetic matrix. The energetic matrix is important and sometimes damaged by major operations such as a hysterectomy.
Each of the 12 meridians and organs/functions has a pulse, which is felt on the wrist. There are 6 on each hand; the yang are near the surface and the yin are deeper.
So when you go to an acupuncturist he/she will feel your pulses and each pulse will tell him/her about the state of energy of that particular organ and meridian.
There are also 5 elements, which are Earth, Water, Metal, Fire and Wood.
As well as being either yin or yang, each meridian is linked to an element and carries the energy of that element.
For instance the Liver organ and meridian has Wood energy. Wood energy is like bamboo – strong and flexible. Wood energy is likened to Spring, the season, and Spring is dynamic, fresh and vital. It comes after Winter and it has the feeling of vitality – you look out of your window and see that there are suddenly crocuses in your garden. They suddenly appear, complete, you didn’t notice them growing at all. Then the daffodils are everywhere. So Liver has that kind of energy. It also governs the emotions and reacts to stress.
However, in people that energy easily runs away with itself, especially in men of a certain age, 30s and 40s, wanting to make their place in the world and to establish themselves, make their fortunes.
So your acupuncturist gets to your Liver pulse, which is almost always the strongest pulse and thinks h’mm, OK and then he asks to see your tongue. The tongue gives another picture of your internal landscape. The Liver area is towards the back on the right-hand side, your right-hand side.
So, she will make a diagnosis on the basis of your pulses, tongue, also your body and your presentation generally; things like your voice, skin tone and several other things.
A Chinese medicine diagnosis could be something like a depleted Earth, which is very common, especially with an overactive Liver, as described briefly above.
The diagnosis will be an energy imbalance and the points he/she chooses will be to try to redress the balance. So for Liver you might have a needle in your foot, which is where the Liver meridian begins and for Earth you might well have a needle in the front or the inside of your lower leg.
This is a very brief overview of acupuncture and Chinese medicine. If you have got this far, thank you for reading and I hope you found it interesting and informative. If you feel you might benefit from acupuncture treatmentsplease call 01903 856 801
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