ZANG – FU

 DEEP ENERGY

Chinese Medicine has always contributed new ideas to its way of working. When we come to think about the way of it's effect on our inner body organism organization we understand, how much we don’t know, and together with it the frustration, whom to ask,.

One of the major theory in acupuncture is based on the five elements, saying that the name element is actually wrong and present concept which is contradicted to the real meaning of what it stand for. As element we get the idea of something static, heavy, physical, chemical, material. Speaking about each element as individual we can say that it is right to say that Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water are the real component that our Earth is built from. The attachment and association of each organ from the Zang – Fu to a specific element has to be seen at the elementary connotation as follow:

From here we must look at the Five Elements as a dynamic, ever flowing, ever changing cycle which give us the basic Sheng and Ko Cycles as from this point onwards the individual elements are no longer static, material and heavy manifestation but a stages of development that the only static concept is the never ending change. Further it will be true to say that in the cycle each stage transformed to different form of existence by it's process of development as we can see in nature by the changing of seasons were spring comes out of  winter, summer comes out of spring and so on. In our body – nature, Macrocosmic – Microcosmic relationship we see the changing of season in nature through the five transformations as follow:

 SHAPE  \* MERGEFORMAT

The understanding of Zang – Fu in relation to its action:

As we have understood, the individual function of each organ is vital for the harmonious function of the body, but the organs way of action is more related to the endless cycle of change as seen in the four seasons and biological clock that represents more of an energetic cycle than material one.

As we go on with this assumption we have to associate the organs to the seasonal cycle and the biological clock, by doing that we will understand the inner force of each organ that actually act to express it.

The relation of the seasonal cycle and the Zang – Fu:

SUMMER

WINTER

When we look closely at this diagram we see very clearly that the energetic action of the Zang - Fu organs are different that their element correspondence, if we put it in a table it looks like that:

This arrangement might look strange, but if we think about it, it makes perfect logic.

The Wood by its powerful expansion abilities gives the LU and Co the possibility to expand and therefore to disperse Chi and Fluids from the Lung and to make the peristaltic action of the Colon that is so important for our cleanseness.

The fire is in direct connection to the Heart and to the Spirit Shen.The Spleen main action as Transformation and Transportation uses fire energy to do it. Only fire can do transformation, surly not Earth.

The Earth energy represent stability, adaptation and filtering which is so important at the change of each season and for the Liver to store the blood and calm the yang wood, for the Stomach to balance the whole body energetic system as the centre of the body, for the Small Intestine as couple of Heart and centre of digestion where the Shen meet the substances that create man and for the Pericardium as the direct minister of the Heart and the organ that responsible for communication between the Heart and the other Zang – Fu and vica versa .

The Metal energy is concentrated, hard and focused. The Kidneys must be full and concentrated and that for keeping the yin substances in order and by that to keep the bones hard and the whole body in good strong and centered shape. The Bladder needs the Metal energy to be very sharp pointed in its way of spreading energy to all the organs and supporting the five Shens via the Shu points and the Spirit points.

The Water is penetrating, moving and open stagnation. It is like the action of the Three Heater that responsible to balance the three Jiaos and to irrigate the all body, It is what the gall bladder does as yang aspect of the wood, as part of Shao Yang division, as Extra fu by storing Jing to give out in the process of growing and to be the representative of the original water that come from heaven in the Stems and Branches (Tian Gan Di Zi) system.

Now after the realization that the organs actually act from these powerful energies we can give this method the name: Zang –Fu Deep Energy.

The practical application of Zang – Fu Deep Energy

1) The first stage of this realization is change of thinking. From now when we think about the lung we have to visualize wood energy that make the lung function properly, we have to think metal energy when we look at the strength of the kidneys, and so on.

2) Looking for the expression of the deep energy at the pulses in pulse diagnosis, like, Spleen pulse as the Nei Ching state should be soft like feather in the wind, it is because its Fire deep energy that make the chi so light and airy, The kidney pulse should be like a stone in the river, this its metal energy that make it hard and heavy, the lung should be flat and superficial as its wood energy make it spread out , etc'

3) Diagnosis of the person state of mind and behavior. A person that lost his central stability we will use Earth Deep Energy,  Person who looks as he lost his energetic and physical tonus we will use Metal Deep Energy,

Person that lost his temperature balance like hot outside and cold inside we will use Water Deep Energy and etc'.

Major Deep Energy Points

In general all points of each meridian have and introduce the deep energy. All Lung points are Wood Deep Energy points, All Liver points are Earth Deep Energy points etc'.

The major points are the elements point related to the general deep energy of the meridian – organ, so:

Conclusion

Acupuncture is a system that’s the practitioner should be able to see at the same time different dimensions of action and existence. The ability to do so is open us, the practitioners, full spectrum of physical and metaphysical ideas, it makes the practice interesting and with vast and endless knowledge to battle with.

Last year I introduced the connection between the

I- Ching and  Acupuncture , from my point of view these two systems are the foundation understanding of Acupuncture.

Roni Sapir

Academic Dean: East – west School of Classic Chinese Medicine, Israel, www.east-west.co.il

Chairman,  Israeli Association of Classic Chinese Medicine  Practitioners

Contact: roni@east-west.co.il