The Zang Fu and the Wu Xing
So, last month I tried to explain how acupuncture can treat pain, this month I will attempt to explain how it can treat everything else. In 500 words. Good luck with that I hear you say!
The dictionary definition of health is ‘to be free of illness and injury’, which I guess is a pretty good starting place. However it’s also possible to be free of illness and injury and still be completely knackered and downright miserable. Therefore, I would add that to be truly healthy, you should be relatively full of energy, generally happy and maybe with a degree of spiritual satisfaction thrown in.
This probably gives us all something to work with, and from a Chinese Medicine perspective, how we attempt to achieve this good health is by seeking to balance the Zang Fu and the Wu Xing systems.
The Zang Fu is the centre piece of Chinese Medicine and translates as the ‘internal organ system’. It is closely related to the Wu Xing or 5 element system, in that each internal organ pertains to one of the 5 elements; Water, Wood, Fire, Earth or Metal. The word element is probably not the best translation as it more precisely represents an energetic movement. The Lungs for example are of the Metal element and the associated energetic movement is contraction, i.e. moving towards the centre of the body. This clearly relates to the Lungs function of drawing oxygen and energy in to the body.
The ancient Chinese were less concerned with anatomical structures and more concerned with functions and relationships and it is these concepts that we seek to balance to maintain health. When the five elements are in balance then the organ system is in balance and everything runs smoothly.
How do we achieve this? Well, we have previously established that there are meridians of Chi that flow around the body, a bit like blood, but on a finer energetic frequency. The 12 meridians run superficially across the skin, before flowing deep into the body and entering the specific organ from which they are named. For example the Heart meridian, starts in the organ of the heart, comes to the surface at the armpit, then, flows down the inside of the arm and ends at the little finger. Anyone who has ever had a heart attack may be able to vouch for this pathway! (Or for those seeking a more light-hearted example, when we give someone a hug, we are actually wrapping them up in our heart meridians.)
An acupuncturist may affect the function of the heart by needling points on the Heart meridian. Each acupuncture point along the meridian will affect the meridian and therefore the organ in a slightly different way. This is because, amongst other things, each point in turn is also associated with a different element. Continuing with the Heart example, elementally it relates to Fire, whose energetic movement is to expand outwards. (This can be seen in the hearts electromagnetic field which can expand several feet outside of the body.)
One of the Hearts functions is to send warmth out around the body and someone who has cold extremities, i.e. hands, feet and nose, may be lacking in Heart fire. Therefore one treatment strategy would be to needle a Wood point on the Heart meridian as it is the Wood that feeds the Fire.
This table shows the relationships of the organs and the elements and is the cornerstone of Chinese medicine and philosophy. Its permutations are many and varied but it is essentially what we seek to balance to maintain health. It can even be used to describe and treat matters of the emotions and Spirit, though the explanation for that will have to wait till a later date….