Understanding Bodily Energy Against The Backdrop Of Chinese Medicine
Chinese medicine is known as a mix of art, spirituality and science that evolved over hundreds of years. Perhaps this is the reason that this collection of knowledge is so mystifying to Westerners who have all but forgotten what was once known as the wise women who also accumulated information about herbs and the effect of nature on the human body. To this end it is not surprising that so many of the tenets of this discipline are entering the mainstream understanding of Western medicine and even find a following among those who otherwise would not be involved in the practice of medicine at all. Quite possibly the most commonly referenced practice hailing back to the mystic aspects of Chinese medicine is the manipulation of bodily energy.
Understanding bodily energy against the backdrop of Chinese medicine requires a better grasp of what bodily energy is reputed to be and do:
? According to the teachings of Chinese medicine, bodily energy courses throughout the body.
? Ailments – whether physical or emotional in nature – point to an interruption in the free flow of bodily energy.
? Correction of the bodily energy flow can only be accomplished by manipulating the energy flow at certain points in the body. Sometimes this is done with the insertion of needles while other times it is directed deep tissue massage to the identified energy point.
It is interesting to note that the reachable energy points are only found on arms and legs; thus the lung, heart, and intestines may be affected by righting a disrupted energy flow via the arm, while the kidneys, liver, stomach, bladder, and spleen feed on energy flow patterns that traverse the legs. This belief system has fed the development of acupuncture, which heavily relies on the identification and manipulation of pressure points and also energy flow patterns.
The exact reason why the intestinal energy flow is thought to be affected by arm fed energy flow versus the stomach which is only reachable by affecting the energy flow of the leg is only touchable through the leg is unknown. An answer to this questions, and a further tool for helping interested Westerners in their quest of understanding bodily energy against the backdrop of Chinese medicine, may be found in the underlying principle of qi, the term usually attributed to the Chinese understand of the life force’s very own manifestation.
This qi is thought to be the same energy that is coursing through the body and thus it invigorates the understanding of bodily energy by imbuing the term with the implication of the very life force which may be interrupted, blocked, or otherwise adversely affected. Therefore the adjustment of the qi is not only an important step in healing a person, but her or his very life may depend on it! Thus a manipulation of the energy points in the body not only seeks to loosen or break up any blockages the qi runs up against, but with the help of acupuncture needles an emergency rerouting is often hoped to be achieved. The ultimate goal, of course, is the restoration of the free flowing bodily energy.
