About The Meridians
As we have seen earlier, Chinese medicine explains acupuncture as a procedure which treats the human body involving various systems of functions associated with the physical organs.
According to them disease is the imbalance between the yin and yang energies. Diseases are treated by using the acupuncture needles on certain points on the body called the acupuncture points also known as “Xue” in Chinese.
Normally, acupuncture treatment involves using the needles along twelve major pathways in the body called the meridians. Apart from these there are other pathways which are know as the 8 extraordinary pathways. These are the Qi Jing Ba Mai, the Sinew Channels, the Divergents and the Luo vessels.
There are also the tender points which are unaffiliated. These are called the “ah shi” points and are used for treating local pains.
Only two of the extraordinary pathways have acupuncture points on them. Master and couple point techniques are used to activate the other six meridians. This is done by needling one or more of the acupuncture points located on the twelve major meridians in the body which corresponds to the extraordinary pathway in question.
About ten of the primary meridians are named after the different organs of the body they are associated with like the Heart, liver, etc. One meridian is named after the membrane wrapping the heart called the Serous Membrane.
The last meridian is the “three spaces” or the San Jiao. These two independent extraordinary pathways are located in the middle of the trunk and head in between the anterior and posterior parts.
All the primary pathways run symmetrically, bilaterally and vertically. Channels connect internally with any one of the twelve Zang Fu or organs.
There are six “Yin”, six “Yang” channels in our body, out of which three “Yin” and three “Yang” channels are on each arm, and three are on each leg. The “Yin” hand-channels correspond to the Lung, Pericardium and Heart and starts on the chest travelling to the hand through the inner surface of the arm.
The three “Yang” channels like the Large intestine, San Jiao and the Small intestine start on the hand and travels on the outer surface of the arm towards the head.
The “Yin” channels on the foot corresponding to the Spleen, Liver and Kidney start on the foot and travels along the inner surface of the leg towards the chest.
The “Yang” channels of the foot which are three in number corresponding to the Stomach, Gall bladder and Bladder start on the face around the eye region. It travels down along the outer surface of the leg to the foot.
The “qi” movement through the primary channels which are twelve in number is through two sets of pathways – the external pathway and the internal pathway. The external pathway which is superficial is what is normally shown on acupuncture charts.
Accupoints lie on the channels on the external pathways. The deep channels which enter the various organs or Zang fu in the body are the internal pathways. The external or the superficial pathways of the twelve channels are comprised of three circuits like the Chest to hands, feet to chest, heat to feet, hands to head, etc.
“qi” distribution through the pathways is like this – Lung channel that is in the hand or “Taiyin” to the channel of large-Intestine of the hand or the “Yangming” to channel of stomach in the foot “Yangming”. From here it goes to the Spleen-channel of the foot ”Taiyin” into the channel of heart located in your hand hand “Shaoyin”, then to the channel of the small-intestine of the hand “Taiyang” to the channel of bladder of the foot “Taiyang” to the kidney channel of the foot “Shaoyin”. The qi then travels to the channel of pericardium in the hand “Jueyin” to “San Jiao” channel of the hand “Shaoyang”, then to Gallbladder channel of the foot “Shaoyang” into the Liver channel of the foot “Jueyin” and then back to the channel of lungs that lies in the hand ”Taiyin”.
Time occupied by each channel is two hours and it begins with the Lung channel 3 AM to 5 AM and comes full circle with the Liver at 1 AM to 3 AM.
