CHAPTER 4. Introduction to the eastern approach
Eastern terms
• Blood – nutritive energy; blood flows in blood vessels but also in meridians and vessels.
• Extraordinary Vessels – core meridians which regulate Jing and Qi.
• Jing/Essence – fluid-like substance which is the source of life. The most dense material manifestation of Qi.
• Meridians – energy pathways in the body which circulate Qi and organ energy.
• Qi – invisible energy in the body, creative principle, life’s animating force.
• Shen – the spirit of a person.
• Tao – the whole.
• Tsubos – points along the meridians.
• Yin and Yang – the two main forces in the universe:
– Yin – earth, night, more inward moving, resting/forming, contraction
– Yang – heaven, day, more outward moving, active/transforming, expansion.
Refer to the many texts on Chinese medicine, including Suzanne Yates’s Shiatsu for Midwives (2003), for more detail on key concepts. As many texts, especially bodywork ones, do not consider the Extraordinary Vessels in detail and as they are so fundamental to the maternity period, we are going to describe them here.
4.1. Key theoretical concepts in eastern bodywork, including the importance of the Extraordinary Vessels in maternity care
Qi
There are different forms of Qi.
1. Original Qi: this is the ancestral Qi, transmitted by the parents at the time of conception. This fits in with knowledge of how the health of the parents has long-term effects on the health of the child.
2. Yuan Qi: endowment of primordial Yin and Yang and comes from Jing. It is the representation of heaven and earth imprinted on to Jing at the time of conception. Yuan Yang is similar to Shen and Yuan Yin is similar to Jing.
3. Air Qi: this comes from the breath. Exercise, massage and shiatsu all promote the development of good breathing, which is important for relaxation and good health of both mother and child.
4. Food Qi: this comes from food and drink. Diet has long been recognised as important and recent research has shown that poor diet in pregnancy does not just affect a baby at birth, but affects organs and body systems for the rest of the baby’s life. We are now finally trying to understand why some bodies are built like Rolls Royces and others like cheap cars.
Essence: Jing
This is the substance that underlies all organic life and is the source of organic change. It is thought of as fluid-like; it is supportive and nutritive, and is the basis for growth and development including sexual maturation, conception and pregnancy. It is on the edge between energy and matter. It is stored in the Kidneys and is circulated through the body in the Extraordinary Vessels. It is important throughout the maternity period.
It does not change quickly as it flows in long cycles – 8 years for men and 7 years for women. It comes from two sources: the ‘Pre-Heaven Essence’ and the ‘Post-Heaven Essence’. The blending of the sexual energies of the man and the woman at the time of conception form the ‘Pre-Heaven Essence’ of the baby. This Essence then nourishes the baby through the pregnancy. It is dependent on nourishment derived from the mother’s kidneys. It determines each person’s basic constitutional energy. It is ‘fixed’ in quantity and its quality can only be affected within certain limits, but good exercise and bodywork, a good balanced lifestyle without excessive work, and breathing will all have a positive effect on it.
The‘Post-Heaven Essence’ comes from food. Since Essence flows in such long cycles, changing diet just before conception will not have much of an effect on the Essence, although it will affect the Qi. It is longer-term health patterns which effect the Essence. Since the Essence is drawn upon in pregnancy, some schools of eastern thought say that the mother should wait 5–7 years between children, to allow the Essence to renew.
Qi and Essence are mutually dependent: Qi emerges out of Essence since prenatal Essence is the source of life. Qi helps transform food into postnatal Essence, maintaining and expanding that life. The better Qi a person has, the less they need to draw upon their Essence. Qi is more Yang and Essence is more Yin.
The meridian pathways
Both Qi and Essence flow through the body along meridian pathways which contain important points known as ‘tsubos’. The 12 main meridians in the body are divided into Yin/Yang pairs and they circulate Qi on a day-to-day basis. The eight Extraordinary Vessels, most of which share points of other meridians, formed first and are overall regulators of energy, including Jing. Four of these Extraordinary Vessels are of particular importance in the maternity period. These are the Conception Vessel (Ren Mai), the Governing Vessel (Du Mai) the Penetrating Vessel (Chong Mai) and the Girdle Vessel (Dai Mai). The other four – Yin and Yang Ankle (Yin and Yang Qiao) and Yin and Yang Linking (Yin and Yang Wei) – also have some relevance.
The Extraordinary Vessels in maternity care
These circulate the Essence, and are linked with Kidney energy. They represent a level of treatment at the constitutional energy, tapping into both the Jing (Essence) and Yuan Qi (Original Qi). They are about sexual energy, how we maintain and contain our lineage, how we adapt to our environment and the unfolding of cycles of life. They are the link between the Pre-Heaven and the Post-Heaven Qi. In writing about them I have drawn upon my own experience and the writings of Maciocia (2006), Low (1983) and Yuen (2005).
They relate to:
• The brain and spinal cord and hormonal control.
• The skeletal system.
• The genitalia.
• The circulatory system and formation of blood cells.
• The hepatic and circulatory system (Low 1983: 145).
Reservoirs
They act as a reservoir for the other 12 meridians in the body which are considered to be like the streams flowing from the main reservoir. In times of shock, or major change, they can either send out more energy to the meridian network or absorb energy from it. This is a particularly relevant aspect in the maternity period. They link the 12 primary channels.
• Governing Vessel (GV) (Du Mai) links all the Yang channels at GV 14.
• Conception Vessel (CV) (Ren Mai) links all the Yin channels.
• Penetrating Vessel (Chong Mai) links Stomach and Kidney and strengthens the link between CV and GV.
• Girdle Vessel (GDV) (Dai Mai) binds the 12 primary channels PV and CV and especially LV, KD and SP.
• Yin Heel (Yin Qiao) connects Kidney and Bladder and promotes quietness.
• Yang Heel (Yang Qiao) connects Bladder, Gall Bladder, Small Intestine, Large Intestine and Stomach channels and promotes activity.
• Yin Linking ( Yin Wei) connects Spleen, Kidney and Liver and Conception Vessel and dominates the interior of the body.
• Yang Linking (Yang Wei) connects Bladder, Gall Bladder, Three Burners, Small Intestine, Stomach and GV and dominates the exterior of the body.
Protecting the body
Conception, Penetrating and Governing Vessels circulate defensive Qi over the chest, abdomen and back. They help protect the body from exterior pathogenic factors.
< div class='tao-gold-member'>
Only gold members can continue reading. Log In or Register to continue
Related posts:
Stay updated, free articles. Join our Telegram channel
Full access? Get Clinical Tree
