Simple Chi Kung_ Exercises for Awakening the Life-Force Energy - Mantak Chia [9]
Similar results may be achieved by applying other associated elements to stimulate or pacify various energies. Thus, the fire energy of the heart may be amplified by wearing the color red and eating bitter foods and herbs, while the wood energy of the liver may be boosted by wearing green clothing and consuming sour foods. The earth energy of the spleen and stomach is tonified by the color yellow and sweet foods and herbs, and the metal energy of the lungs and large intestine may be strengthened by wearing the color white and eating pungent foods. The permutations and combinations of this system are countless, and they reflect the vast potential of Chi Kung for curative healing as well as preventive health care.
ENERGY MERIDIANS
While Western medicine recognizes and deals with only two circulatory networks in the human body—the nerves and the blood vessels—traditional Chinese medicine (and Chi Kung) includes a third system: the energy network of the meridians. These are the pathways through which life-force energy flows in the body and on which the acupuncture points are located.
Collectively, the meridians an an invisible but highly functional network of channels that forms a complex grid throughout the human body. This grid serves as a sort of master template for both the circulatory and nervous systems and for all the other vital organs and their functions. Meridians are translated as jing and are categorized in relation to the twelve vital organs in traditional Chinese medicine. Flowing through the body and branching out like large rivers and small tributaries, these meridians create an intricate web of smaller vessels (called luo), which transmit energy to every tissue and cell of the body. Located along the jing luo or meridian lines are points along the channel that are terminals known as shueh, or “vital points.” These serve as relay stations through which energies along the related channels may be amplified or pacified by means of acupuncture, moxibustion, acupressure, or massage.
Acute sensitivity at these points serves as a warning indicator of imbalance in those meridians and their related organs. Pathology occurs when any imbalances begin to affect the surrounding energy flows. Think of the meridian system like rivers of energy moving through and nourishing all aspects of the body. Energy can become blocked or stagnant, like a boulder in a river. This usually occurs from stress, repetitive motion, pollution, injury, or negative emotions. Like a blocked up waterway, this can lead to excess water in one area, too little water in another area, and stagnant or swampy water somewhere else. This is how imbalance is first created. Over time, this leads to tightness, pain, and disease.
Keeping the chi flowing within our bodies is the key to optimal health and wellness. The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine tells us that “energy commands blood: where energy goes, blood follows,” which means that the decisive factor in the circulation of blood to the organs and tissues is the free flow of energy to those areas via the network of energy channels and points. The points are like whirlpools within a river, which can affect the entire flow of the body as they are consciously redirected.
Similarly, disorders of the nervous system respond so well to Chi Kung and acupuncture treatment precisely because these methods can selectively stimulate or sedate the flow of energy through the meridians, which in turn balances the nervous system and permits the nerves to function properly.
The Eight Extraordinary Channels
The most powerful energy vessels in the human system are called mai, or “channels,” and they constitute a sort of reservoir from which all the other meridians