Day 26/365: Meridians and More
Tonight I gave a massage to a client, one who never had acupuncture before, but had been thinking about it for a long time. She did not really know why she would have it done, but she DID know that her medical doctor tells her all her lab work is normal, there is nothing pointing to anything seriously wrong with her, even though she has complaints that she just doesn’t feel right. She is carrying extra weight and most of that is in her belly and surrounding waist line. She has tiredness, and seems to have a lack of real joy, but isn’t unhappy or depressed, either. She says she eats well, cooks her own food and rarely eats restaurant or processed foods, but feels bloated all the time. Her neck is always stiff and she worries about things like family, work, aging mother who lives in a foreign country but will be coming to stay at her home for several months. This type of worry creates headaches for her that come from her neck and shoulders. In pressing certain acupuncture points under her occipital region, upper trapezius and scapula muscles, she exhibited a show of pain, even though she had asked me to apply more pressure to my massage. Typically, I’m a firm touch practitioner.
I told her that the areas she reacted to were points that were on certain Meridians, and that those acupuncture points were triggered because of excess due to probably stagnation in her Channels. NOTE — there are several words used to described the Meridians, and I may interchange the word using Channels, or Pathways. The Chinese word is Mai. They all refer to the energetic pathways that carry Qi and Blood through the body. I told her that the Gall Bladder and Small Intestine, and the Bladder Meridians were affected. Even though she didn’t fully understand, she actually felt some relief knowing that there could be an explanation to her concerns that the doctor said there was no reason to be concerned about. I believe we have an innate wisdom built into us and when we aren’t feeling right, it is because subconsciously we know that we are out of balance.
In Chinese Medicine theory, these Meridians are unseen but are thought to embody a physical reality. Some believe now that they may be running through the fascia. The energy has been able to be recorded with our higher technology, like AcuGraph Digital Meridian Imaging software, and other Western technologies that can measure heart beats, brainwaves, etc. We know that the energy exists in us because we are alive. But, the Meridians don’t have walls that the energy flows through like our blood does with blood vessels, or our lymphatic system.
Meridians connect our interior body with the exterior portion. It is made up of 12 main Meridians that correspond to the five Yin and six Yang Organs. The Pericardium is an independent Organ, and the Triple Burner is an invisible “Organ”, per se, but with a definite functionality. Most of the acupuncture points relate to these 12 Meridians. There are two other Meridians, The Du or Governing Meridian and the Ren or Conception Meridian. These two run vertical in an oblong circle that encompasses Ren1 at the perineum and it runs up the front midline of the body and ends at Ren24 which is the point right below the lower lip, and Du1 starts at the tip of the coccyx and anus and runs up the back of the body, midline, and ends at D28, which is at the junction of the gum and frenulum of the upper lip. These two have independent acupuncture points that are not on any of the 12 Meridians. There are six Extra Meridians that intersect with the 12 Meridians and have NO independent points of their own. To affect these six Meridians, points on the 12 regular Meridians are used.
It can be hard for a person to understand why when a Meridian is affected with some disharmony, why different things, or areas can be affected, as well. In the case of my client’s pain, the Gall Bladder Meridian is HUGE and starts at the outer corner of the eye, bilaterally, zig zags on the sides of the head, goes down through the neck into the top of the shoulder, runs down the side of the body through the gluteal muscles (think sciatic or piriformis pain), down the leg and into the foot at GB44 on the lateral side of the 4th toe. Wow, right? Well, there can be a pain in any part of that channel and it would be hard to understand that pain on the side of the leg could be related to the headache on the side of the head, or the stiff neck and shoulder.
This can happen with any of the Meridians. This is why a Licensed Acupuncturist will use local and distal points to affect change. This is ALSO why it is important to receive treatments ONLY from a Board Certified (NCCAOM) and a State Medical Board Licensed Acupuncturist because you can begin to see from the writings that I’ve given you so far, how complicated it can get to figure out a customized treatment plan. It takes years of study coupled with experience of active practice to understand how disharmonies and imbalances in our bodies can be effectively treated. It is very frustrating to us to see other medical practices using this fantastic and beautiful medicine misused in areas like Dry Needling (there is no such real thing — it is made up by physical therapists), or others who won’t take the years to study it, but use it: hence, many times giving our vocation a bad rap. I have heard many say it doesn’t work, or it was painful and I always ask them who gave them the treatment.
Acupuncture will not heal or work for everything, or everyone. It is a process that can take time, and the client/patient must be committed to giving it a good try, before discarding it. If you had headaches for 25 years (yes, I have treated people with chronic pain) you must understand that three sessions of acupuncture may give some relief, but it is going to take more than that to make the change permanent, or near that. Ask questions where the practitioner got their training and what their credentials are. Ask what a possible outcome could be but remember to answer the intake questions fully and honestly. There is no judgement, just taking all things into consideration. Don’t hide if you’ve gone through abuses. PTSD is very real.
If you had pain for ten years, think what might have happened ten years ago that could have been emotional manifested into a physical issue. I treated a man who had a constant but semi-quiet cough every few seconds for 50 years. My first question is “What happened 50 years ago?” He got tears in his eyes and said that when he was in the service, a bully higher-than-a-private who he was under had him on the ground and stuck a gun in his mouth. A deliberate show of power that cost this man 50 years of PTSD that showed up in the form of a cough. Remember in the 5 Element theory writing, grief is the emotion of the Lungs, and a cough comes from the Lungs.
Our intake forms and questions might not make sense to you. Untrained medical people using this artform may not even know to ask the questions; therefore, not be able to really help the situation. We have reasons to ask. We are trying to find the pathway of disease that can be affected by emotions, situations, environment, etc. That way we can make the best plan to bring you back into balance. You may have to make some changes to make it work. Everyone has to take action in their own life. It is never one thing. It is usually started maybe by one thing, but it is compounded by life. None of us are getting out alive, but that doesn’t mean while we are here, we have to live in imbalance. There are many ways to bring balance to our beings. Acupuncture is just one beautiful and effective leg of the stool.
