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Traditional Chinese Medicine - or TCM - for short.
federica
Seeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
I'm opening up a thread on TCM and all its many different sub-headings, for general discussion and questions.
I'm not setting myself up as an expert, nor the last word on this subject. I'm just going to share what I know, answer any questions and comments, and share experiences. It will also be a place to enter into discussions and exchanges.
This is My perspective of TCM. This is what I've learnt; It doesn't make me Finally Right or Finally Wrong. But what I will say is that my learning and understanding are all based on teaching that I've been exposed to 'Western' style....I've never been to China, but I've had Chinese Tutors, in the UK.
TCM is a huge and massively complex subject. But it's also extremely simple in many ways, and this is how I transmit what I've learnt, to my pupils.
In my simplistic and grass-roots-level way, I eventually combine TCM with Feng Shui and 9-star Qi Astrology. In many ways they are entirely separate concepts. And in many ways, they are inseparable.....
If others have learnt or know of TCM then let's all share and walk together.
I'm not setting myself up as an expert, nor the last word on this subject. I'm just going to share what I know, answer any questions and comments, and share experiences. It will also be a place to enter into discussions and exchanges.
This is My perspective of TCM. This is what I've learnt; It doesn't make me Finally Right or Finally Wrong. But what I will say is that my learning and understanding are all based on teaching that I've been exposed to 'Western' style....I've never been to China, but I've had Chinese Tutors, in the UK.
TCM is a huge and massively complex subject. But it's also extremely simple in many ways, and this is how I transmit what I've learnt, to my pupils.
In my simplistic and grass-roots-level way, I eventually combine TCM with Feng Shui and 9-star Qi Astrology. In many ways they are entirely separate concepts. And in many ways, they are inseparable.....
If others have learnt or know of TCM then let's all share and walk together.
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basically, in the begining was the Great Nothing.... The Void, The All Complete, the Infinite Space of Completeness.... The WuJi.....
then at some point, hidden in the mists of incalculable Time, something stirred, something clicked and subtly shifted..... and like a pinprick piercing a dark board and letting the light in, Energy began to split and diversify.....it divided into two opposite manifestations. Two completely different faces but the same, just opposite in every way. Dark, Light, Heavy Weightless, Is-ness, Isn't-ness.... and these two began to shift, to press to push and pull until something realised that however opposite they were, they were of equal strength, dynamism and potency..... so the two began to work together; like the two hands on one body that cannot dominate one another..... and the Yin and Yang intertwined into perpetual movement and interaction.... and the Yin realised it contained an element of Yang (white dot in black "fish") and the Yang knew it also consisted of some Yin (black dot in white "fish").
The 'correct' position of the Yin/Yang is with the white section to the right, and the black to the left. the black is more bulbous at the bottom, and the white is more bulbous at the top..... More of this later.
Nothing is ever completely Yin or Yang. indeed, nothing is anything until you compare it with something else.... for example. An athlete running at full pelt, compared to a power walker, is Yang. The Walker is Yin. But if you take the same walker, and compare it to say, an Archer, or darts player, the walker is Yang, and the Archer Yin.
A ballet dancer, with her grace and beauty, is Yin in her soft and gentle movements, compared to a break-dancer. but next to someone practising Qi Gong or Tai Chi, she is Yang. Tai Chi is Yang, meditation is Yin. Meditation is Yang, sleeping is Yin. Sleeping is Yang, and Death is Yin. The greatest Yin of all.... but it contains Yang.... because after death the Corpse and energy transform.....
All things are also both Yin and Yang.... A house wall is solid in structure, rigid, unmoving, cold.... (Yin) but it is also strong, flexible to a degree, and energetic - it's holding up the roof of the house, for chrissakes - !! Yang as well then!
Yin and Yang, Yin within Yang, Yin transforming into Yang; The two are inseparable and co-dependent, co-existent.... Pine trees are Yin, because they're dark, forbidding, sombre, threatening.... a pine forest at night is a spooky place.... But a tree is yang, imbued with timeless energy, growing, powerful, full of Life.... Yang! Useful too. It may be transformed into so many things.....
This then, in the most simple of ways, is Yin and Yang. two sides of the same coin/being/thing.....
The 'oval' area cradled by the pelvis and filling the lower abdomen, and accessible via a specific point about three finger widths directly under the navel, is referred to as the Dan Tien.... here, the Qi (Chi, Ki or Energy - what YogaMama would refer to as Prana...) of the Body is stored and replenished, via the Kidneys; (More of this later, too.....!)
At the centre of this oval (let's compare it to an egg) floating and suspended at the centre, in the albumen/energy, is a precious yolk/sphere, a Void, an orb.... one could visualise it as a clear crystal ball, or a translucent pearl.... this is your WuJi, your personal Void.... but think of it as complete... it needs nothing more, because it is absolutely perfect as it is.... it contains All You'll Ever Need.... it is your Great Inner Perfection.... and through this, we strive to re-balance and equalise the Yin Energies and the Yang Energies of the Body..... and I use the plural, because the Yin and Yang may be broken down still fiurther....
During Qi Gong, I suggest to my pupils that they visualise this inner Orb slowly descending and rresting on the inside of the perineum, effectively 'weighing' the body down towards the Earth, and Anchoring the Qi , thereby Connecting us to the Mother Source, Nutrient and Carer of the Being we are.... It's really great!
In my next post, comes the further break-down of Yin and Yang..... watch this space....;)
*Please understand at this point, that I am specifically referring to Chinese/Japanese Medical Philosophy. [Note: This is not a link.]Others (Tibetan, Indian) also exist, and differ slightly.*
I prefer personally to call them the Five Transformations, or the Five Movements. And there are some recent publications which are now doing the same thing, but Elements is still a common term. The reason I changed this for myself, is that the word 'Element' gives an impression of a chemical component, rather like Iron, Calcium or Potassium.... these are static, definintive and unchanging. Components of a greater unity, or precise objects with a fixed chemical formula and composition.
The Five Movements/Transformations (or 5M's, as it might be easier to call them.....!!) are anything BUT fixed or static! On the contrary, they're in a constant state of movement, flux and re-flux, continuously changing, transforming, emerging, melding, growing and shrinking.... They are never still, but perpetually ebbing and flowing.....
take a piece of white paper, and on it, draw a circle. Quite large. Place the paper in a landscape position (long edge along the top/bottom, two short edges to the sides.
Now, in Red, at the top of the circle Let's call it 12:00, (like on a clock..... in fact, I'll use the 'hours' to describe where things go.....) write "FIRE."
At 2:00 in Yellow, write the word "EARTH".
At 4:20(!) in Grey, write the word "METAL"
At 6:30 in Very dark Blue (Blue/Black) write the word "WATER".
At 9:30 in Green, write the word "WOOD".
It moves in a clockwise direction, and although Fire is at the top due to it's Cardinal Dominant nature, all the Energies have equal status and strength... I will touch on different aspects of this as I go. (There are some works and different disciplines which demonstrate a use of energies counter-clockwise. That usage will not be touched on here. This is purely TCM/Feng Shui usage.)
Now draw a dotted line straight from FIRE to METAL. Continue this dotted line up to WOOD, then onto EARTH, down to WATER and from there, back up to FIRE. You should have a star- or pentagram-shaped design. This is the 'KO' or Balancing Cycle. Again, write this in one of the ways suggested above.
The 5M's in the SHEN Cycle are all referred to as the 'Mother' of the next Energy. So: EARTH is the Mother of METAL, is the Mother of WATER, is the Mother of WOOD, is the Mother of FIRE, is the Mother of EARTH...... and so on....
FIRE, as it burns and consumes things, produces ashes and dirt. (EARTH.) From EARTH, we mine METALS, which can either be liquefied, or which Produce/Encourage the appearance/presence of WATER. Which in turn nourishes WOOD, which is what feeds FIRE...... This then, is the Constructive Cycle.
With regard to the 'KO' cycle, this is how it works:
FIRE is used to melt METAL. But the furnace must be at exactly the right heat; the heat must be applied at the correct temperature, for the correct time, because if not, the metal will change its molecular structure unevenly, and the object being made will be defective or spoiled. Ask any Samurai sword-maker if this is so.....! So Fire Balances Metal, but in correct measure.
METAL is used to fashion wonderful objects of WOOD (Totem Poles, the pillars of Temples, Regency mahogany furniture.....) but if it's blunt, the work will be shoddy- if too sharp or inappropriate you'll get - sawdust!! (So again, balance in the correct amount.)
'WOOD' is used to control or balance EARTH, in that verges are planted to stop earth sliding, and deserts are being reclaimed for cultivation through edge-planting.... Wood is the Material which keeps Earth in check.... but too much WOOD drains the EARTH of her beneficial elements and energy.... too little and the desert takes control again..... balance!!
EARTH controls water by constructing everything we live in. Bricks are earth mixed with water, then dried.... but the original consistency must be exact, or the bricks will either be too friable to hold together, and crumble, or you'll have a slushy mud hut that will take ages to dry and won't hold together when it does....!
WATER balances the Energy of FIRE.... I don't think I need to explain this relationship in any great detail.... You will have got the gist of what I mean, by now!!
let me know how you're getting on, or whether you're sound asleep by now!!
The 5 M's are not much different than our four circles of life, which are Fire, Earth, Wind and Water. With out balance none can really exsist. With Balance all exsist.
OK.... and on.....!
Hopefully by now, you'll have a nice neat circle, with a star in it, and the Five Transformations written around the edge. This is what you need to do now.
Find the centre of the circle.
From here, draw a line that intersects the space between 'FIRE' and EARTH, so that it intersects the arc of the circle between them, half way between one and the other.
From the same centre point, do the same between all the other Five Transformations. Each Transformation should now have a 'cone' or section of the circle, to itself.
(All these lines may be somewhat confusing, so make sure you distinguish them clearly, one from the other.)
What I'm going to do first, is to give you the relevant information, (in summary form - just the coloured text) specifically to do with TCM, of each of the 5M's in turn. Write this information in the 'cone' of each Movement. Any other information I give you, which you feel may be relevant or useful, note down separately, in a jotter pad or exercise book.....
We're going to start with WATER. Why?
All will be revealed, presently.....!
WATER
Direction: North
Season: Winter
Colour: Dark blue/black
Sensation: Cold
Yin organ: Kidneys
Yang organ: Bladder
Taste: Salty
Smell: Rotten
Emotion: Fear
Voice: Tremulous
Manifests in: The hair and ears.
Sense: Depth, power, courage, flexibility, ‘going with the flow’, tranquillity.
Water Controls: The bones & marrow, (including the brain and the spinal cord) The hair, hearing; desire, Will-power, dynamism, courage
and the reception of Qi.
Houses: The ZHI (the Will). The desire to be, to create, to live
and to survive.
Inspite of 'WATER' being at the bottom of the circle, it's representative Cardinal direction is NORTH. This is because this is the coldest direction, and the most Yin. Of all the Transformations, WATER is the most YIN. It' season is therefore, naturally, Winter. people go blue with cold, and black with frostbite.....
The YIN organ, is the Kidney. The YANG associated organ is Bladder.
*NOTE: YIN organs are dense, solid, rhythmic and constant. They never stop working, but keep going rhythmically, day in, day out, performing their function continually and repetitively.
YANG organs are expansive and moving. They perform their function in spasms, in pulses, irregularly, when needed. They have periods of rest and relaxation, between periods of activity and busy-ness. *
Taste, Smell, Emotion and Voice are all indications to the TCM medical practitioner of imbalances within that specific Movement. The practitioner will be looking for a particular subtle fragrance of the body.... what 'taste' or 'flavour' the patient is experiencing predominantly..... what Emotion will be uppermost, and what timbre the voice will have to its' edge.
It takes years and years of practise to be able to discern these symptoms/manifestations, and to be able to use them to accurately diagnose the dominant imbalances. (Remember: One particular Energy Imbalance may dominate, but if one is out of kilter - they will all be....)
A Chinese practitioner will often ask you to attend a series of appointments at the same time for each one. They will also probably ask you to not wash that morning, or the previous night, and to not brush your teeth, or wear make-up/deodorant/perfume.... this will make the relevant 'smell' easier to detect, and it will facilitate an accurate description of the patient's 'taste'.
Any Questions so far?
However, it's now 19:30 and I've got supper on the go, so I'll have to post the next section tomorrow..... hope that's ok....!
Winter is not only seen as the end of the year, but the dormant 'pregnant' beginning... This is why the first month of the year is caled January - after Janus, the God with two faces; one which looked behind or back, and the other which looked ahead, or forward.... so Winter is a time of slow, thoughtful transformation, a period in which we use the resources laid down ffrom last year to prepare us for the next. The YIN section of the YINYANG is thickest and most dense at this point. (look again at the description of its position.) It hangs heavy, dark and low, deep and mysterious.... and it is at this point that Spring begins to emerge, subtly, quietly, almost imperceptibly....
(Having said all this, remember that each Energy is a Force to be reckoned with, and in its own right. At some point, they all individually dominate for a period of time.... Such is the cycle of Life.....
http://tcm.health-info.org/
What do you thinkk? is it a good site?
What I'm giving you in this thread is the real flat-line general basics... my posts will cover the extremely simplistic aspects of preliminary TCM, allied to the Astrological and Feng Shui uses too.....
Great site for reference.
As for me I have the license to open up my own practice, But I really don't want the responsiblity.