Chinese medicine and the senses : Part I : Scent
As I have been contemplating this new project that Abdallah and I have begun, I’ve found myself stymied at times. The aim of the project is clear, but the methodology is less so. Simply, everything that we’ve said in our introductory posts makes a ton of sense on a variety of levels, but when it gets down to “doing,” things become a little unclear. I know what I want to put out (multi-media posts that draw all of us deeper into our relationship with the world and its interpenetration with Chinese medical concepts) but how do I get the inputs to create the outputs?
Why is this harder than it sounds?
In the United States, and I suppose in most Western countries, our sensory experiences are more or less controlled. For the most part they are stifled, except for sight and hearing which are simply overwhelmed. Actually, thinking about it, we overwhelm all of our senses - limiting what they experience to a set number of approved, mostly synthetic items and then amping those up to the nth degree. I’ve grown up in the States my entire life, thus I’m subject to this dismal state of affairs. Fortunately, through Qigong and other experiences, I’ve gradually learned to lighten up, literally and figuratively.
Regardless, I find that fully utilizing my sensory capabilities requires effort - most of all it requires intention. The sense of smell is particularly interesting. So, to start a short series on the senses and how to return them to their natural state and attune them to a higher degree than ever - I’ll offer my thoughts on the sense of smell.
Chinese medicine and the sense of smell
In Chapter 11 of the Neijing Suwen, it says:
“故五氣入鼻藏於心肺．心肺有病．而鼻為之不利也”
This has been translated in a couple of different ways. The basic translation says:
“When the five Qi/odors enter the nose, they are stored in the Heart and Lung. Heart and Lung disease is detrimental for the nose.”
Maoshing Ni goes on to posit that the five scents are really “the five qi of environmental energy that we breathe in.” Regardless of the fact that I don’t see this particular statement in the text (thus underscoring my basic problem with Ni’s translation) it is interesting to contemplate. What is odor? Certainly it is Qi - but beyond that? In thinking about this, consider the Neijing’s statement that the odors are 藏/cang/stored by the Heart and Lung. The Lung makes a lot of sense given that the nose is the orifice of the Lung in both a Western and Chinese context. But what does it mean to say that the Lung receives and stores these odors? One could posit that they become part of the Qi that then rains down on the body as heavenly restorative water/Qi. I’m not sure if that position could be supported by the texts.
More interesting to me is the relation of odors and the Heart. What can it mean that the Heart stores odors? You’ll excuse me if I offer my own simple theories. As famously studied by Gilles Laurent at Cal Tech, there is a powerful association between scent and human memory. Nothing brings back a scene or person to the mind like a scent last experienced in that scene or with that person. When considering this idea, I most naturally think about the smell of my clothing when I come back from my mother’s house on a visit. I smell her for weeks afterward - and though the smell is created in part from her detergent, there is more to it than that. The scent is wrapped up in emotion, the scent contains not just detergent fragrances, but her spaghetti sauce aroma, her hair, the smell of Idaho, cold winters, the essence of what comes from her pores as a product of all she eats, drinks… well, you get the idea. The memories triggered are as complex.
Consider also the devotional aspects of scent - incense of various kinds have been used in religious ceremony and other spiritual activity since time immemorial. The Catholics still use incense as part of Mass, as do some Episcopalian congregations. Buddhist and Hindu shrines are nearly always adorned with incense censers. We can also think about the effects of Moxibustion using artemesia. While some people hate moxa for its thick smoke and messy nature, I find it to bring an essential element to treatments where it is indicated. While not explicitly of a spiritual nature, I do believe that there is something of an offering that occurs when using moxa in treatment.
This relationship of memory and spirituality to the sense of smell helps me to link it to the Heart. While we often talk about the Kidney as being the storehouse of memory in Chinese Medicine, from what I’ve read and learned, the type of memory held by the Kidney is more primal, older and is less easily accessed by consciousness. The Heart seems a likely place (especially in its relationship to the Western concept of mind) to store the memories of this life. The Heart’s relationship to Shen makes its connection to human spirituality quite clear.
In classical five element acupuncture, the art of smelling is still employed. The five odors, discussed first in the Neijing, are assessed by the practitioner to help understand the primary pathology of the patient, as well as used as a key in discovering the patient’s landscape tendency (constitutional factor). This is one of the most difficult diagnostic techniques for Westerners, as I’ve already hinted at. I find it to be incredibly difficult, personally, particularly given how so many patients cover up their natural odor as a matter of course. For the sake of completeness, I should list the five odors!
- Fire : scorched - one of my professors says that this is the smell of recently dried clothes
- Earth : fragrant - like rotten vegetables or new compost
- Metal : rotten - like a garbage bin or feces
- Water : putrid - like urine or stale wine
- Wood : rancid - like rancid oil, mcdonalds
Scent and herbal medicine
Briefly, what is the role of scent in Chinese herbal medicine? Most would say, “There is no role!” I disagree. One of the reasons I am a huge proponent of patients taking home and cooking their own bulk herbs is because of the experience they gain by doing so. Looking at the herbs, smelling them in their dried state, allowing the smell to permeate their living space, smelling their powerful odors when drinking - all of this, in my opinion, is part of the therapy. While many patients are unwilling to have this experience, it is one I encourage and have benefited from personally. The worst case scenario with regards to this would be taking pills of granuled Chinese herbs. I believe the move in this direction is detrimental, but understand when some patients choose this path.
Scent and the natural world
The sense of smell is much more emphasized in certain animals, including dogs. The sense of smell is a fantastic way to seek out prey that is not yet within range of the vision. While animals that live their lives in the air can afford to skimp on smell and focus on vision, animals that do most of their hunting in forests and tall grass fields need an alternative way to seek out their prey.
The natural world is full of odor. The sweet decay of Pacific Northwestern forest floors. The acrid, putrid, complicated smells of downtown sidewalks. The unbearable sweetness of babies nursing for the first time. Blood, urine, feces, animals marking their territory with complicated brews of hormones and urine - these less pleasant smells are just as much a part as any of the others. The human world is no different in this respect, though we would like it to be so.
Fearless smelling
Being able to integrate myself fully into the world using all of my senses is the primary methodology of this Chinese Medicine awareness project. So, how to proceed with the sense of smell? My first trick will be simply to allow myself to smell everything, without reservation. This means making a conscious effort to breathe deeply through my nose at all times. I will also be going out of my way to smell things that are likely to be interesting or complex. I will also be practicing this during tea drinking. The difference in smell between two otherwise similar puerh teas, for example, can be remarkable and really impacts the experience of the tea. This, of course, brings me around to the importance of smell for TASTE - but perhaps that’s for another article.
Do you have any ideas of how one can integrate the exercise of the sense of smell into daily living? Share your thoughts in the comments!
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Tags: heart, herbs, lung, nature, neijing, scent, senses, spirituality, The ProjectRelated posts
It drops deep as it does in my breath
I am in a state of heightened awareness as I sit down to write this post.
My breathing is deep and slow, without my direction. My posture is erect as possible but without strain. My vision is open and yet acute. I feel the air coming in to the edges of my nostrils. I feel it careen down my windpipe and alight on the left-side of my throat, where my dry cough originates. I get this when I talk too much: after lecturing for 8 hours without a break, which I do frequently. Suddenly I am aware of the stickiness, a sink of sorts, that draws the inspiration to that place. I am breathing. It appears before my mind’s eye. It is paler than you’d think, not red or inflamed. I can see the network of vessels visible under the thin mucous layer. I feel my chest expanding from the corners, in dark hollows . As I close my eyes for a moment, my shoulders drop. They’ve been folded into an origami crane’s tail all of this time. Now there’s clouds forming before the craggy precipice of my shoulders.
How can I understand my experience (recognizing that I do not need to understand it)?
Can it be the Oud I was compelled to wear today? Incidentally, Oud derives from the same tree that gives us the medicinal Chen Xiang: why not grab your Materia Medica and look it up. Feel the pages beneath your fingertips. Write down some notes long-hand, allowing your hand to teach your heart away from the abstraction that marks the computer keyboard.
Lung Qi opens into the nose; when the Lung is in harmony, the nose will distinguish the fragrant from the foul
That’s a simple statement. I have patients with multiple chemical sensitivities that can tell you the difference. But what about the things that we say unwittingly about others? What about the thoughts that waft before us?
Can this state derive from my son regaling me with plans to tour Tasmania to see the Eastern Rosella in the wild?
Can it be this passage from A Sufi Saint of the Twentieth Century
Purity is reached through the Absolute Water, the Water of the Unseen, that is, the Limpidity with which the visible world is flooded, Limpidity which is variegated in Its manifestation, One with Itself in Its seeming multiplicity, Self-manifested, Hidden through the intensity of Its manifestation, Absolute in Its relativity-this Water which is free from any taint and which availeth for purification…This restriction excludeth the waters of the sensible world and the psychic world, since both of these waters have suffered change from their original state. It is the water of the Spirit which fulfills all that the definition requireth, for This is indeed Absolute, being free from any taint, and remaining ever as It was, not adulterated by anything, not flavored by anything, not added to anything, not restricted by anything, with naught above It and naught beneath It. Here lieth the Truth of Absoluteness and it is only This that deserveth the name Water.
Simple Signs, Symbol Science
Really, this is the crux of the matter. The point of the last passage is not in the symbolism of water, just as my writing about the Lung does not affect my breath. It is rather, that the believer, no matter what symbolism he sees, still performs his ritual ablution, and is purified in it whether he recognizes the Absolute Water or not. Indeed it is the joining of the simple action and the unseen aspects of it that are the realm of the symbolic, but still transcend beyond it.
I guess, what we are going for has been aptly described by Heiner Fruehauf in his freely available papers at Classical Chinese Medicine. There he defines the concept of symbolique developed by R.A. Schwaller de Lubicz:
the highly complex science of synthesising the manifold layers of reality into a single crystal of meaning.
So what we’re going for is reconstructing the awareness that informs the science right where we are, and in doing what we’re doing. The next action, then, is to offer that glimpse to you, by whatever means necessary. Each of the things that informs my experience of this day, with all of its metal and Lung-oriented imagery could be a photo, a poem, a story, or an investigation of scents, tastes, sights, and sensations. Honestly, I haven’t written a complete poem since the week before starting acupuncture school. My photographic chops are nil (and I will not take pictures of people or many living things). But as for a spirit of experimentation and an inner attention to the senses, those I have in spades. Thanks for coming along for the ride….
Abdallah
Tags: heiner fruehauf, inspiration, lung, oud, scent, Science, sufi, symbolism, writingRelated posts
Learning about the Lung through the Chinese medicine organ clock
To this day, some of my most popular posts involve the organ clock. I find the organ clock to be fascinating, but lately I haven’t thought that much about it. Thus, I haven’t posted much about it. As our education has focused more and more on the superficially practical information (points, needling, formulas) it’s become easier to ignore all that esoteric stuff we learned earlier on. However, in my mentorship with Heiner Fruehauf, I’ve come to understand how important this symbolism can be on a very practical level. Because of this realization, I’m going to delve back into that material and offer it to my friends here at Deepest Health. I’m going to go in the order of the clock, starting with Lung. I’ll offer basic information and a few deeper gems. Please remember that I’m a student and what I offer here is either a repackaging of what I’ve understood from my Professors or is my speculation and experience based on that material. One more note - not all of this information comes strictly from the organ clock, per se, but much of it is informed by that symbolic powerhouse.
Lung : Minister of Purity
Name and official : Lung is called Fei 肺 in Chinese. The term Fei is related etymologically to a word Pei (I believe the character is 佩, I could be off) that anciently was a term for the insignia that ranked officials would wear on the outside of their garments to denote their rank. Through this and many other symbols, I have come to associate the Lung with the face we show to the world and the external surface of our body. It’s also a clear relationship to the official of the Lung, the Minister or Prime Minister.
The Minister is the functional arm of the Emperor in the world. The Emperor (Heart) proclaims the direction of the nation (body) and the Minister figures out the practical implementation of the edict. One way I think about this physiologically is through considering the role of metal connecting fire down to water. It is through the descending power of metal that the fire of the Heart is able to warm and animate the cold Kidney water, thus steaming it upward - Shaoyin circulation.
As the minister, Lung gathers Qi from the entire body and distributes it where it is needed. Some texts say that the Lung is like a lid on the whole system, catching everything that makes it up to its exalted level. When this function of Lung is damaged, disorders of Qi are the result. For instance, a Lung deficiency can create symptoms of Qi deficiency like fatigue and difficulty moving about.
One last important point is that I have learned never to call the Chinese organ system LUNGS as that makes too much of the physical aspect of this organ system. Instead, simply call it Lung. Remember that Chinese organ systems are both physical and energetic. Further, the physical aspect includes a number of things that the Lung organ system energy regulates. In the case of Lung, for instance, we have to consider the skin surface, the respiratory features of each body cell, etc… Why is this important? Language is powerful. If you continually say Lungs Lungs Lungs, you will slowly (or quickly) come to oversimplify this broadly useful concept.
Element (Wu Xing) : The Lung is the metal zang/solid organ, paired with the metal fu/hollow organ Large Intestine. This is the first place that the balance of purity and filth come into play for Lung. The Lung is often said to be the sensitive organ system. We can think about this from an elemental perspective - metal is malleable, manipulable by external circumstances (heat) to the degree that it can be melted. In a polished state it also easily reflects the world around it. On the Western side of things, we can think simply of how easily our lungs are affected by the outside world. Dust, heat, cold, viruses and bacteria - the lungs are subjected to a wide variety of insults and while it’s amazing they take what they do (resiliance is another, perhaps paradoxical aspect of metal) they do become irritated relatively easily.
Thus, it is important for the Lung to have some degree of purity to function properly. It likes things to be on the middle road, not too hot, not too cold, not too damp, not too dry. Like cool, clear mountain air - unencumbered by heavy particulates. One more note about purity - in Chinese medicine, metal is associated with the color white. I think of pure white snow and the shining white of great white cumulus clouds. These bring to bear the image
ry of water and dampness (discussed below) but also the purity of this organ system. We need Lung’s purity to help us mediate the impurities in our environment, to distribute clean clear Qi throughout the body.
We can also consider the descending function of Lung through the lens of metal. Lung sits in the highest place of any organ systems (though we often think of Heart as occupying this space) and extends fairly deeply into the body cavity. Breathing, through the rhythm of the attached diaphragm, shifts all of the organs around at least a bit. From such an exalted position, the only direction to go is down. Further, through the association with the great descender - Large Intestine - the metal system of the body goes from upper orifice to lower, allowing the most complete passage through the human body. (Clearly from a Western physical perspective, the Lung and Large Intestine do not connect - work with me, here.) Lung is easily afflicted by problems in downward movement - the funniest example being hiccups/hiccoughs. Note, hiccups aren’t funny for everyone.
Conformation (Liu Qi) : Lung is Taiyin damp, partnered with Spleen. Taiyin is the first conformation on the Yin level - sandwiched between Shaoyang and Shaoyin. Taiyin disease, from a Shang Han Lun perspective, is comprised mostly of digestive symptoms - not Lung symptoms (which are usually more at a Taiyang level). So, what can Lung being Taiyin tell us about Lung? Lung is closely associated with fluid metabolism in the body. Taiyin fluid congestion can cause phlegm at the Lung level. The Lung is also said to catch the fluids steaming upward from Kidney and Spleen. We can think again about the sensitivity of Lung, not only to heat and cold, but to dampness and dryness. Everyone can recall an experience of their Lung fluid metabolism being out of whack - coughing up huge amounts of white phlegm on the one hand or having a dry, hacking cough on the other.
Going back to the relationship of the Lung to Qi, we can consider the deep relationship of Spleen and Lung. Spleen Qi and Lung Qi deficiency both involve similar symptoms of a low energy state. When the Spleen is failing to lift essence of what we consume up to the Lung or when the Lung is failing to spread that essence throughout the body, the result is great fatigue and symptoms of low energy in all the organ systems.
The first month and spring Agricultural Periods : We’ve already had some discussion about the Spring association of the Lung on Deepest Health. Lung is on the first position of the organ clock, kicking off the year around the time of the western zodiac sign Aquarius, encompassing the Chinese New Year. Aside from the obvious water associations with Aquarius, the water bearer - we can simply consider the early spring. This period is associated with the two Agricultural Periods 立春 lìchūn (beginning of spring) and 雨水 yǔshuǐ (rain water/establishment of spring). Again we find water symbolism! However, the greater issue here is that of spring energy. The spring energy available at this early time is mostly submerged. Sensitive people (and animals) can sense it - of course. But anyone can see the early croci. The world is under a kind of tension at this time. The Yang energy is rising, but the cold Yin is still firmly in predominance. It is this quiet tension, the calm before the spring storm, that exemplifies Lung energy. Quiet, unhurried, life giving tension.
Lung 7 (LU-7) : 列缺, liè quē/Broken Sequence: I thought I would look at a commonly used point on the Lung channel to try to dig a little deeper into this material. Lie Que is one of Ma Danyang’s 12 Celestial Points (Tain Xing Shi Er Xue), which are 12 points determined to be maximally effective for a wide range of conditions (compiled as such, I believe, around the 1400’s) and is a point used quite often in clinical practice. It is the Luo connecting point for the Lung channel (thus an access point to the associated fu organ, Large Intestine). It is the Ruler point for the back of the head and neck, so has an influence on pain and tightness in that area. It is also the Master point for the Ren Mai/Conception Vessel.
I’ll quickly review the top 3 most important and interesting functions of Lie Que. The first, most obvious, function is that this point strongly regulates Lung Qi and can be a great help in releasing the exterior in external invasion situations. This relates to the metal element association of Lung and metal’s relationship to the surface of the body. We can also think about the connection of Large Intestine and the way that this allows for swift purging of things out of the system. The second interesting function relates to the Master connection to Ren Mai. Ren Mai is most often associated with female reproductive physiology and pathology. We can relate back to the descending function of metal to consider how this point might help to expel downward anything being retained in the uterus. Particularly combined with Large Intestine-4 (contraindicated in pregnancy) we have a powerful, metal descending ability. Finally, consider LU-7’s ability to treat urinary disturbances. In the West, we don’t commonly think of the Lung when we think of urination. But through the deep association of Lung with water, we can easily understand how a powerful point on the Lung channel might help to resolve incontinence or difficult urination.
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As always, there is so much more symbolic information that could be included - consider this an introduction. I’d be interested to hear any thoughts this has started for folks, and as always I would be happy to hear your contributions. Thanks!
Eric
Tags: chinese-organ-clock, lung, Organ systems, symbolic-thinking, symbolismRelated posts
Classical Chinese medical symbolism: Wood, Metal and Spring (part 2 of 2)
Here is the continuation of Michael “Delli” Dell’orfano’s article on the symbolism of wood, metal and the spring season in Classical Chinese medical symbolism. Please feel free to leave any thoughts you have on this two-part article in the comments. Lively discussion is always appreciated! If you missed the first installment, read it here.———————
In Neijing Suwen (素問) Chapter 7 - Yin Yang Bie Lun (陰 陽 別 論 篇) Huang Di asks Qi Bo,
人 有 四 經 ， 十 二 從 ， 何 謂
“A man has four channels and twelve equivalences, and what are the implications of them?”
Qi Bo answers,
四 經 ， 應 四 時 ； 十 二 從 ， 應 十 二 月 ； 十 二 月 應 十 二 脈
“The four channels are the four solid organs which correspond to the four seasons; the twelve equivalences are the twelve two-hour periods, the twelve, the twelve two-hour periods correspond to the twelve meridians.”
Keep in mind when talking about the four seasons that the Earth has no real season of its own, thus they speak of four instead of five. Qi Bo goes on to say the Liver corresponds to the spring, the twelve-hour periods are governed by the twelve months, and that the di zhi Yin, Mao, and Chen are the months of spring (earthly branches 3,4,5 respectively). Qi Bo correlates the twelve months with the twelve channels and states that the first month of the lunar cycle (February) corresponds to the Hand Taiyin channel. In terms of the four seasons, (maybe we can say this relates more to the solar cycle, or related to yang and heaven) we say February is associated with the Spring energy of the Liver, but in terms of the twelve months, (maybe more related to a lunar cycle, and thus yin and Earth) February goes with the Lung.
I interpret this as meaning the energy of nature around us in the external world is strongly Mu/wood in the spring, and so internally our energy should be strong in the Jin/metal channels in order to keep Mu/wood energy that is on the rise in check. If the Mu/wood energy is strong outside the body, it will inevitably penetrate into us as well, and so the body should have a natural physiological response to increase the Jin/metal element to prevent the Mu/wood energy from becoming too strong and causing imbalances in the body. Also, a little later in Chapter 7 of the Wu and Wu translation of the Neijing, it talks about the taboo times for Gan (Liver, 肝) are Geng and Xin days (associated with metal). I think this is trying to tell us that Gan 肝 problems are more likely to arise on these days since they represent Jin/metal energy, and Jin affects Mu because of their intimate relationship through the Ke (control) cycle.
It is instructive to analyze the hexagrams symbolically associated with the Spring Metal/Jin organ networks. First, we have Tai, Hexagram 11 going with the Lung and the first month (Feb-Mar). Next, we have Da Zhuang, Hexagram 34 going with the Large Intestine and belonging to the second month (Mar-Apr).
Hexagram 11 is all about balance and harmony with three yang lines below and three yin lines above representing the upward movement of Heaven coalescing with the downward movement of the Earth. The rising yang in the lines of hexagram is symbolic of what is taking place in nature- energy on the rise. At the same time, the yin energy is pushing down to create a pressurizer-like effect in nature like the Lung does in the body. The idea of balance and prosperity that go along with this hexagram make it a symbol of health. The Lung is crucial to our health, thus the important title of prime minister is placed upon it. It is also worth noting that some of the greatest ancient Chinese medicine doctors were also prime ministers.
Hexagram 34 is an image of the trigram Zhen, or Thunder, over the trigram Qian, or Heaven. It shows the progression of the yang energy on earth, as now four yang lines are on the bottom of the hexagram with only two yin lines above. Nature is starting to move away from balance as yang is starting to take over, thus the story of Yang dominance in the second month. This hexagram symbolizes great strength and power as nature is bursting forth from the earth. The earthly branch that goes with the second month is Mao 卯, which means to flourish or explode. Much movement takes place in nature as the green vegetation is starting to grow rapidly. This is the picture of foot yangming (Large Intestine) brute force. Yangming carries tremendous amounts of qi and blood, and so is associated with 2nd and 3rd months of the year. This is the microcosmic picture in the body of what is going on this time of year as reflected in the macrocosm of the natural world around us.
Hu (虎, tiger) is the animal that resonates with Fei (Lung 肺) and Yin (February). It is associated with Fei because it is a symbol of authority and justice. Tigers will growl and protect, and only use their sharp teeth and claws when they have good reason. Tigers also have beautiful colored skin patterns, and this is a Fei signature since the skin relates to the Fei network. The sharp teeth and claws are akin to metal weapons and the ability to protect can be associated with a metal shield or helmet. Other mu characteristics of the tiger include the mu voice. The jumping ability and strength of the connective tissue is related to Gan and mu, and so is their tendency towards rage. Neijing Ch.8 has reference to the tiger in the line for the Liver.
To point out another correspondance between Wood and Metal, consider where the Neijing (Chapter 8) says,
肝 者 ， 將 軍 之 官 ， 謀 慮 出 焉
gan zhe jiang jun zhi guan mo lu chu yan
The Liver is the general and is in charge of planning and strategizing.
The character lu 慮 contains the tiger radical. Here the tiger is used to symbolize foresight, clairvoyance, patience, intelligence as associated with Wood/Yin/Aquarius/Jupiter energy to demonstrate what characteristics a good general should possess. Here we can see the intertwining of Wood and Metal imagery in the classics.
Tu (兔 rabbit) goes with the Da Chang (Large Intestine 大肠) and Mao (March). Tu/rabbits have a hot yangming (ST/LI) condition, and so have dry hard pellets for feces. This is much like constipation, which is a condition related to Da Chang. The rabbit is associated with longevity, which is also a Jin/metal quality. Rabbits use feces instead of urine like most animals to mark territory. Also, in rabbit we find some Mu/wood characteristics as well. For example, their amazing jumping ability can be related to connective tissue strength and the springing forth of nature that is taking place. Rabbits are competitive, always in a race. This is also a Wood quality. Rabbits have a lot of nervous, windy energy, and so they are always moving around and do not like to be held. This can be seen as related to Mu/wood as it is said to dislike being contained. Yet more intertwining of Wood and Metal imagery is revealed to us!
Bringing it back to the human body
In general, we can say that Jin/metal and Mu/wood are balancing poles of activity in the body. Jin moves down and in, and Mu moves up and out, but what if imbalance and disharmony occur between jin and mu? One example of this might be the emotion of grief, which when experienced, has an energetic feeling of moving down and in like Jin or metal. This downward movement of Fei will oppress Gan and cause Gan/Liver Qi stagnation eventually. How about another example? Consider the relationship between Fei/Lung and Gan/Liver in breathing. Fei is master of the qi, and a weakness in Fei qi can lead to a weakness of Gan qi, and so Gan may not be able to spring up. A progression from this might be that the Gan qi becomes stagnated because of a lack of qi from Fei, and then Gan fire could flare up and travel through the reverse ke/control cycle causing Fei to be scorched. In this situation, Fei will no longer be able to mist the organs because of heat/dryness and may lose the ability to exert pressure and descend downward. In this case, symptoms could arise on both the Gan and Fei organ systems such as coughing, blood in saliva, pain in sides and thorax, red eyes and anger.
Another example of a mu/jin pathology directly related to the spring is bi qiu- allergic rhinitis. Bi qiu is caused by the increased wind of the spring carrying the pollen from plants into the body of a person who has a disharmony of wei and ying (protective and nutritive). We can even say that the wei qi has a connection to the Lung and the Liver and that the Liver is also part of the ying, so it very likely this type of person already has an imbalance in the mu-jin axis to begin with, and so the symptoms all appear as related to these two organ systems. The itching is associated with the wind, and so by frequency correlation we can also say Wood. This pathology also has itching of the eye as a symptom, and the eye is the orfice of the Liver in CM. The problem is also related to the Lung since the nose is the orfice of the Lung and the symptoms are itchy nose, runny nose, anosmia, and nasal congestion.
Delli
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I hope that Delli’s elaboration on the relationship between Wood and Metal has helped you to understand their associated symbols and organ systems more deeply. It’s a dense article, to be sure, definitely worth a couple of readings. I would be interested to hear from practitioners, especially, to see if the symbolism as discussed here bears fruit in clinical practice. I find myself thinking particularly of formulas and how this symbolism might help me to understand them more deeply - perhaps that’s another article in the making. :) For now, back to studying for finals!
Eric
Tags: Character, hexagram, liver, lung, nature, neijing, Organ systems, Seasons, spring, symbolismRelated posts
Rest and activity in the Year of Sagely Living
You might wonder why you haven’t yet seen a post from me about March’s Year of Sagely Living goal. Fittingly enough, I was at a Qigong retreat all weekend in one of the most beautiful places I have ever been with some of the greatest people I know. It was a good way to start off my contemplation of the rhythm of relaxation and focused work in my life! It reminds me that my program, while rigorous and sometimes quite difficult, does try to build in time for rejuvenation - we have a retreat every term! A luxury, no doubt about it.
When conceiving the Year of Sagely Living we decided to focus March, the time of first real visible manifestation of spring, on the balance between activity and rest. This is such a wide topic, there are a variety of possibilities within it. Originally, I explained:
Lung, Yin 寅 (Tiger)- Activity/Rest: This category will contain practices having to do with appropriate cycles of rest and activity in daily life - for instance, appropriate waking times throughout the seasons.
I am reminded to consider the Lung and everything we learned about that organ system in our classes with Heiner Fruehauf . When I read back through all the symbols associated with Lung I see a lot of contrasting elements. This makes sense given the “tension between opposites” that the actual physical Lung deals with. It interfaces between liquid and gas, it is part of what oversees the interchange between carbon dioxide and oxygen… One of the interesting contradictions we’re asked to ponder as we study the Lung organ system is the fact that while the Lung is most often referred to in terms of metal - as per the Neijing Suwen (and many other places) on the organ clock it is solidly placed in the spring! What can this mean?
I have thought of it in many ways over the last couple of years. First, the Lung/metal is in charge of descending the Qi of the body and the wood is responsible for ascending movement. This vital pillar of human physiology serves as the mechanism by which rhythm is maintained in the body. The Lung is readily associated with rhythm - along with the heartbeat our breathing rate is one of those regular things that happen all day, every day, without our even thinking about it.
Another way to look at it is simply by assuming there is something about the Lung which is Fall and something which is Spring. What parts of Lung function are similar to Fall? The Fall is crisp and cool, it is a time when the Yin energy begins to dominate strongly over the Yang. The Lung, too, is a Yin-like environment as an organ and as one of the six conformations. The Taiyin damp aspect of the Lung creates an organ that likes to be relatively cool (though not cold) and wet (though not filled!). There are other similarities, but I will move on. What parts of Lung function are in resonance with Spring energy? I think the best way to understand this is to take a few minutes and do some really deep breathing. See how the light returns to your eyes? See how your energy rebounds?
I will be thinking about the tension and similarity between Fall and Spring as I enter March and this phase of the Year of Sagely Living. I have a few ideas of what one might consider as practices to learn about rest and activity.
1. Chinese organ clock and its application: I have spoken many times on the blog about the Chinese organ clock. One of the pieces of information associated with the clock that most everyone has heard about is the two hour periods associated with each organ system. Here’s a quick rundown of the associations:
- Lung - Fèi 肺 : 3-5 am
- Large Intestine - Dà Cháng 大腸 : 5-7am
- Stomach - Wèi 胃 : 7-9am
- Spleen - Pí 脾 : 9-11am
- Heart - Xīn 心 : 11-1pm
- Small Intestine - Xiǎo Cháng 小腸 : 1-3pm
- Bladder - Páng Guāng 膀胱 : 3-5pm
- Kidney - Shèn 腎 : 5-7pm
- Pericardium - Xīn Bāo 心包 : 7-9pm
- Triple Burner - Sān jiāo 三膲 : 9-11pm
- Gall Bladder - Dǎn 膽 : 11-1am
- Liver - Gān 肝 : 1-3am
While the organ clock is vitally important and often eerily accurate, it is still something we must look at through the lens of individual experience, cultural application and the normal seasonal changes. Regarding individual experience - this is simply recognizing the changing terrain of the human body. While I believe the human body is essentially the same as it was thousands of years ago, certainly the introduction of many human created chemicals and conditions have altered our bodies in some way. Perhaps some are more resistant to these changes than others. Regarding seasonal changes - in most parts of the world the Yang or light parts of the day are longer in the summer and shorter in the winter. This means that the organ systems located on the “Yang” or daytime side of the clock will have, comparitively, more time in those months.
As an aside - if you have a Mac running OSX (anything before Leopard) you might want to go over to the site of my colleague, Brandon Brown. He has skillfully and artistically created a widget that takes into account these seasonal changes. At this point, it is somewhat limited in that it is focused on the West coast of the United States. He says he’ll work on a more robust version someday. :) Regardless - the main lesson of the organ clock is to remember that all energy isn’t in all places at all times naturally. Everything in its time, in its season. Regarding all this organ clock business, one possible March practice would be to pay close attention to the flow of energy through my organ systems and consider how I might best organize my time to take advantage of the flow.
2. Appropriate amounts of sleep. In the Neijing Suwen, there are some important discussions about the importance of sleep - in particular, the optimal seasonal variations for sleeping and waking. In general, we understand that sleeping is important to bring the Shen back to be housed in the Heart and to allow the Wei Qi to descend into the organs to begin the process of rejuvenation. Sleep is vital! So, when should I wake? How long should I sleep at night? A natural goal here would be to try to achieve my mythical optimum and see how it affects my life. Another would be to try some kind of artificial sleep schedule, something outside of my optimum, and see how that affects my life.
3. Regulating relaxation. We are all told that we need to take time to relax. But, this means many different things to different people. In Chinese medicine school, we learn a lot about the taxing effect that continuous work has on both the Spleen and the Heart organ systems. Depletion of the Qi and Blood leads to what is often jokingly called “Exhausted Student Syndrome.” On my Qigong retreat, I found myself contemplating whether it is better to work very hard with little time for “relaxation” and then take a stretch of time COMPLETELY off or whether it’s more advantageous to work continuously, but with small regular breaks. Further, what is true relaxation? Watching television? Hiking? Playing a sport? Meditating? It’s a variety of things, to be certain, but what is it for me?
A subset of the relaxation question concerns the importance of taking microbreaks while doing sit down work, especially at the computer. Repetitive strain injury is something all Chinese Medicine students and bloggers should think about. One quick note - some recent software programs help you avoid long stretches at the computer with no break. One simple practice I could incorporate into my daily life is simply to use a program like that and to review my ergonomics at my desk.
I’d be interested to hear how other people think about rest, relaxation and work in their own lives. Please leave your thoughts in the comments. In my next article, released shortly, I will declare my March Year of Sagely Living goal.
Eric
Tags: Acupuncture, autumn, fall, focus, human physiology, lung, organ-clock, Seasons, spring, symbolic-thinking, symbolism, Year of Sagely Living
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