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TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE
To understand the healing powers of Tui Na, it’s important to understand how Chinese medical theory views the causes of ill health and provides a system for its accurate diagnosis and treatment.
On the journey from health to disease a variety of symptoms will appear over a period of time. At first they are very subtle, but are nevertheless warning signs telling us that our health is at risk. Do you ever experience extreme tiredness, lack of energy, aches and pains, bloating after eating, headaches, poor sleep, feeling hot and sweaty or always cold, or feeling stressed and irritable? All these symptoms are an early indication of disturbances in the body’s internal balance. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) provides you with the knowledge to understand them.
The fundamental substances
In traditional Chinese medicine, the fundamental ‘five substances’ are qi, jing, shen, blood and body fluids. Of these, qi, jing and shen are energetic in nature rather than material substances like blood and body fluids.
Light, heat, magnetism and electricity are all familiar examples of energy that are recognized through their effects. Substances, as such, have a physical form and can be detected by our sense of touch as well as through observation. In Western medical science, the most fundamental energy is none of the aforementioned examples but rather a form of energy that results from chemical reactions taking place within our bodies. This chemical energy comes from the food we eat, the liquids we drink and oxygen in the air we breathe, but it requires a complex series of chemical reactions to release it.
THE ENERGETIC SUBSTANCES – QI, JING AND SHEN
Qi, jing and shen are regarded as the ‘Three Treasures’ in TCM because each is essential for human existence. A weakness or blockage of any one of these negatively affects the others and prevents their correct function. This always results in pathology of some kind. Tui Na skills brought to bear on meridians and their qi-points can strengthen these energetic substances and remove stagnation. Good health is an indication that they are all strong and in harmonious balance.
QI In TCM, the most fundamental of the energies is qi, because without qi nothing can happen. Qi causes change, movement, warmth, transformation and stability. Qi is really the same as the chemical energy of Western medicine and has the same origins. Qi is the vital life energy responsible for all living processes in nature.
Every new life requires qi to get started. It comes from the parents through the egg and sperm and is called ‘yuan qi’. This is the one and only dose of inherited qi or original qi that the body receives. The kidney governs the body’s reserves of yuan qi.
The qi needed throughout an individual’s lifetime is produced from food and drink (‘gu qi’) by the spleen and from air (‘kong qi’) by the lung . This qi is called ‘acquired qi’. There is nothing mysterious or magical about qi. It’s the body’s vital energy, which can manifest itself in many different ways. Qi enables us to grow, repair ourselves, reproduce, fight disease, maintain the body in a state of balance and carry us through from conception to the moment of death.
JING The second energy, jing, is a fundamental energetic ‘substance’. It‘s like the energy of DNA, which you inherit from your parents. The kidney governs the body’s reserves of jing.
Every person starts life with an equal injection of DNA from their mother and father. It comes through the egg and sperm. This is the source of inherited or original jing. After this one and only injection of inherited jing, the embryo has to make all its jing for the rest of its life.
This jing is acquired jing and, like qi, it comes from food, drink and air. It’s important to have a good and well-balanced diet to ensure that you get all the chemicals in the right quantities to make the acquired jing and qi necessary for your body.
So we now have the two most vital ingredients for ensuring the correct functioning of the human body – qi, to make things happen; and jing, to control how, when and where they happen.
SHEN The third energetic ‘substance’ is shen. It’s a manifestation of qi, responsible for the functioning of the mind and spirit. Shen is associated with a sparkling personality and plenty of vitality. It underpins consciousness, intelligence, memory, compassion and caring. Shen is controlled by jing and qi through the heart .
THE MATERIAL SUBSTANCES
Blood and body fluids are material substances that fundamentally affect the energetic functions of qi, jing and shen. By their physical nature, they are amenable to the effects of Tui Na, which can successfully remove blockages and strengthen their functions.
BLOOD The Chinese concept of blood has a wider meaning than ‘blood’ in Western medicine. It’s also the energetic fluid of the body. Qi powers blood production from materials obtained from food and air, but qi in turn is nourished by blood. Qi and blood support each other to the extent that one cannot function without its partner.
BODY FLUIDS All the other natural body liquids, such as sweat, saliva, mucus, tears and joint fluid, are classified as ‘body fluids’. Their function is to moisten the body tissues, muscles, organs, skin and hair and transport nutrients and qi from the blood to the tissues. Stagnated body fluids are called ‘phlegm’. The lighter, clearer fluids, such as sweat and tears, are the ‘jin’, while the heavier, thicker fluids that lubricate the joints and provide cerebrospinal fluid are called ‘ye’.
HOW CAN TUI NA AFFECT THE FIVE SUBSTANCES AND ORGAN FUNCTIONS?
Tui Na techniques should be applied to all meridians and to specific acupoints (see here ) to stimulate functions of the five substances and remove stagnation. This in turn strengthens all the TCM organs.
Yin and yang – the concept of relativity
The yin/yang symbol at the beginning of this chapter is a pictorial representation of the relativity that exists between yin and yang functions. All life processes involve the complex interaction of a vast number of different functions to achieve perfect balance. Some are labelled as ‘yin’ and some are ‘yang’. They can be thought of as opposite ends of a spectrum. Yin functions are constantly interacting with yang ones, and through this interaction the right balance for every process is achieved. What is the right balance now may not be the right balance later because life processes are dynamic and ever-changing.
Every process has its yin and yang components. Yin and yang are only labels to define the relativeness of these components. Yin functions tend to be the less dynamic ones, while yang functions are forcefully dynamic. The ancient Chinese saw yin and yang as the shady and bright sides of the mountain, respectively. Nothing is absolutely yin or yang. Water, for example, is yin compared with steam but yang compared with ice. Midday is relatively more yang compared to midnight.
YIN AND YANG MERIDIAN BALANCE
All healthy physical, mental and spiritual processes are subject to balance between yin and yang. It’s this correct balance that determines good health. Any disturbance in the yin/yang relationship results in pathology of some kind.
| COMPARISON BASED ON YIN AND YANG | ||
| YIN | YANG | |
| ICE | WATER | |
| WATER | STEAM | |
| MIDNIGHT | MIDDAY | |
| QUIET | LOUD | |
| SLOW | FAST | |
| COLD | HOT | |
| INTERNAL | EXTERNAL | |
| CHRONIC | ACUTE | |
| DEFICIENCY | EXCESS | |
ACUTE AND CHRONIC CONDITIONS
- Chronic conditions are deficiencies that develop over a period of time and indicate a weakness in the body’s energies lasting months, years or, at worst, a lifetime.
- Acute conditions are excess. They develop rapidly and can be of short duration.
- An acute condition that does not clear up can develop into a chronic problem.
TUI NA DIAGNOSIS Careful palpation helps you to pinpoint painful areas on the yin and yang meridians and their qi-points. Together with knowledge of the five substances, organ functions and five elements, you will be able to devise an effective Tui Na treatment with focus on appropriate qi-points. Pain is the signal to show that qi is not flowing smoothly. Tui Na is the means of improving qi-flow.
TCM reasons for the origins of disease
Traditional Chinese medicine regards any disturbance to the body’s health as originating from either the external climatic environment, from within the body itself or from injuries of all kinds, including surgery and unforeseen events.
EXTERNAL ORIGINS OF DISEASE
Many diseases originate from the exterior and are caused by climatic factors such as:
- wind
- cold
- damp
- heat
- dryness
The early Chinese knew nothing of bacteria or viruses. If the body’s qi is strong, the invasion by pathogens will be easily repelled. If the body’s qi function is weak, pathogens will invade and cause illness.
INTERNAL ORIGINS OF DISEASE
The most common internal origins of disturbed health are excessive and unresolved emotions. Any emotional state that is given no outlet can cause disease. Frequent bouts of excessive emotion are always harmful to health. They affect the functioning of the TCM internal organs, which are each related to specific emotions.
OTHER REASONS FOR DISEASE
- Poor diet, irregular eating habits, overeating and excessive dieting
- Excessive consumption of alcohol, smoking and the taking of recreational drugs
- Long-term use of Western medications and chemotherapy
- Excessive sex
- Overworking
- Sedentary lifestyle
- Too little or too much exercise
- Inadequate sleep
WHAT CAN TUI NA DO?
Regular Tui Na will help to maintain the improvements in your health brought about by lifestyle changes (see chapter 6, here ). Tui Na applied skilfully to the meridians and their qi-points, with a clear understanding of the underlying theory, will strengthen all deficiencies and remove stagnation of qi and blood.
The TCM organs
In TCM, the organs are functional ones and do not correspond exactly to the physical organs of the same name in Western physiology. There is some overlap with the Western physiological functions, but, in addition, the organs in TCM have a different and much wider range of functions than corresponding Western organs. Not only do they control physical processes, but also the mind and emotions.
THE ZANG-FU In TCM the principal organs are the ‘zang-fu’. The ‘zang’ organs are the lung, heart, pericardium, liver, spleen and kidney, which are all classified as yin, relative to the more yang ‘fu’ organs, the large intestine, small intestine, sanjiao, gall bladder, stomach and bladder.
Each organ is connected to the meridian that bears its name. Links between meridians provide for energetic connections between the organs. Each yin organ is linked with a yang organ to create a system where there is the potential for yin/yang functional balance.
For health, the organs must work together in harmony to sustain the body’s activities. Qi, jing, shen, blood and body fluids must all function effectively to maintain the best yin/yang balance between the organs.
The principal functions of each of the organs are described with each meridian in chapter 3. The five colours refer to the Five Elements classification described here .
PERICARDIUM The pericardium (in Western medicine, the membrane surrounding the heart) is sometimes called the ‘heart protector’. It’s usually regarded as functioning as an extension to the heart organ energies.
SANJIAO The sanjiao has no equivalent in Western anatomy. In Chinese, it means ‘three jiao’ – the upper, middle and lower parts of the trunk, which contain the zang-fu organs. The function of the sanjiao is to regulate those organs. It’s sometimes called the ‘triple warmer’ or ‘triple burner’.
The meridians
The Chinese have long recognized that it’s not only the quality of qi that is significant in maintaining health but the way it’s distributed and balanced throughout the body. Every one of the billions of cells that make up the human body requires to be constantly suffused with qi and blood to enable it to live and function normally. In TCM, the meridians perform this essential function.
The meridians are not physical channels in the way that veins and arteries are channels for blood. They cannot be examined by dissection. The meridian system has been well documented in Chinese medicine for more than 2,000 years, and it has recently been confirmed by scientific experiments, whichshow that the meridians have unique and different electrical potentials from the surrounding tissues. The meridians are electrically charged energetic pathways through the body’s tissues, along which qi currents flow. Their precise routes have been traced and found to correspond to those on ancient Chinese meridian charts and Chinese bronzes. The flow of qi in the meridians can be likened to the world’s great ocean currents, which follow clearly defined routes through the seas.
THE TWELVE PRIMARY MERIDIANS LAYOUT
Each meridian has a qi-flow linked with one of the principal internal organs after which it’s named. There are twelve organ-linked meridians. Each meridian is represented equally and symmetrically in both halves of the body. Six of the meridians are labelled as yin because they are linked with the six organs that have a more yin function. The other six are described as yang because they are linked to the more yang organs.
Twelve main meridians and their abbreviations, using five colours to represent the Five Elements described on pages below.
THE FIVE ELEMENTS
Early Chinese philosophy recognized five energies that dominate the universe, including all life processes. They called them the Five Elements: fire, water, earth, wood and metal. In this way of thinking about the nature of existence, the human bodyand mind are also subject to the energies of these elements. Each zang-fu organ pair and its associated meridians is influenced by one of the five elemental energies. Each meridian pair is classified according to this Five Element relationship and colour-coded according to the colour associated with each element (see opposite).
Any imbalances in the energies of one element will show up as symptoms in one or both of the organs in the pair and in their meridians. For example, an imbalance in the wood element can affect the liver or gall bladder organs and meridians, or both. The associations between the organs, their meridians and the elements are shown in the outer ring of the diagram on the facing page. Each element (in the inner ring of the diagram) dominates one organ pair (on the outer ring), with the exception of fire, which influences two pairs: the heart and small intestine, and the pericardium and sanjiao.
The diagram also shows the relationship between the elements and other ‘correspondences’. Each element has a related emotion, and also a specific body part. For example, bones are related to water, and bone problems such as osteoarthritis could reflect an imbalance in the water element.
It is the same for the relevant outlet in the body. The ear is the outlet related to water, and any imbalance of water energies could affect the sense of hearing. Each element is also linked with a particular season, a type of weather and a taste, all of which are shown in the diagram.
This network of elemental associations reflects the complex ways that we interact with our environment and provides a way of describing and explaining the effects of this interaction. A knowledge of the Five Element theory can assist a Chinese medical practitioner in interpreting a patient’s emotional and physical state and in making a diagnosis.
The Five Elements also interact with each other in the same way that they do in nature. Wood produces fire (as fuel), fire produces earth (as ashes), earth produces metal (as ore), metal produces water (molten metal is liquid) and water produces wood (by feeding trees). This cycle is indicated by the clockwise arrows in the centre of the diagram on the facing page. In the same way, the organs corresponding to the Five Elements are linked in a creative cycle, with each element passing energy on to the next. In this way the liver (wood) sustains and supports the heart (fire), which in turn supports the spleen (earth).
An untreated problem in the organs associated with wood, for example, could lead to imbalance in fire, resulting in insomnia. If the fire energy is low, with the patient being weak and pale, the wood energies need strengthening There is also a control cycle, shown by the second set of arrows in the centre of the diagram, which similarly reflects interactions in nature. For example, in the body, a heart excess condition such as insomnia and a red face can be controlled by the water element. Water controls fire by extinguishing it, so strengthening the kidney can treat insomnia.
The symbols inside the diagram, opposite, represent the Five Elements. Starting at the top, and following the clockwise arrows, they are: fire, earth, metal, water and wood. The set of arrows at the centre of the diagram indicate the elements that can interact with each other to treat different conditions.
