Better understanding Chinese energetics

"Chinese Energetics" refers to the system of understanding the body based on a vital energy that nourishes our organs and vital functions, as well as our emotions and behavior. This has given rise to various medical care systems, often within a family tradition passed down from generation to generation for millennia.
We have written this document to help you learn more about the basics of Chinese energetics.

The law of Yin & Yang
The 5 elements and emotions
The 5 organs and meridians
The law of the 5 elements

THE LAW OF YIN & YANG

Vital energy must circulate everywhere in a harmonious way to ensure health. If it is absent or blocked, it is a source of problems.

This global energy has a dual polarity:

on one side, it has positive effects, activation, warming, acceleration (this is Yang);
on the other, it has negative effects of inhibition, slowing, cooling (this is Yin).

Both are essential, and our inner harmony and health depend on their balance. Thus, for the body to be healthy, our energy must circulate everywhere, but Yin and Yang must also be balanced. Neither should dominate the other.

THE 5 ELEMENTS AND EMOTIONS

More strange for us, Westerners, the correspondences between the 5 elements and emotions are no less pertinent and subtle. The Chinese are keen observers, and thus over the millennia, they have established a whole series of correspondences, initially objective then symbolic, between the 5 elements and various aspects of the cosmos and nature. In accordance with the laws of relations, planets, organs, vital functions, seasons, plants, minerals… all influence each other.

Thus, the color green strengthens the Liver and the color red strengthens the Heart. The same applies to flavors. This notion is very important in Chinese Energetics. Beyond the pleasant or unpleasant taste an food may have, flavor is a means used to classify plants according to the quality of the action they exert on our vital energy. This applies to food and, of course, medicinal plants!

An example: the bitter flavor, linked to the Fire element, summer, and the Heart, primarily exerts a stimulating action on this organ. This is confirmed with coffee. But the interactions are often a little more complex because the same flavor can act on different organs: bitter tea regulates the Lung; bitter gentian regulates the Stomach (appetizer); bitter artichoke regulates the Liver (drainage)…

Furthermore, depending on the energy of the plant (Yang or Yin), the same flavor will be stimulating or soothing for the same organ. The Energetic Elixirs have been carefully composed with plants of different flavors. But each respects the dominant flavors specific to balancing the organ for which it is intended.

Each organ, just as it is linked to one of the 5 elements, is related to an emotion. This psychosomatic view of man is at the center of the Chinese conception of life. Thus, for millennia, the Chinese have taught that the Liver is linked to anger, hence a two-way relationship: between the Liver and anger, and between anger and the Liver.

This dual relationship can be expressed as follows:

If the Liver is disturbed, the person is angry, irritable
If the person is subjected to a situation of aggression or frustration that makes them angry, their Liver will be disturbed.

To this, let's add the notion of Yin and Yang: if a person is very angry, the energy of their Liver will be in excess (Yang). This is indeed a predisposition that each of us has, different from one another.

Through the relationship that exists with character in all these ancient medicines, it is possible to know one's predisposition if one knows one's character. In Chinese Energetics, as we have seen, emotion is related to the organ, and the organ is related to emotion.

Our characterological test (free) therefore allows you to assess the constitutional state, the energies of your organs in excess or insufficiency. Through this test, you obtain information about your character, your temperament, and consequently the main energetic tendencies of your organs that you have probably acquired hereditarily.

THE 5 ORGANS AND MERIDIANS

Under the control of each element is a main organ. And this organ is itself in relation with a viscus. Organs are yin, they are full; viscera are yang, they are called "hollow organs" by the Chinese because they are passage zones. We are thus in the presence of 5 organ-viscera couples, which maintain an anatomical relationship (they act together) and an energetic relationship (their meridians are linked).

For the Wood element, the organ is the Liver: it purifies and stores blood.
- The associated viscus is the gallbladder: it produces bile, a liquid that aids digestion.
For the Fire element, the organ is the Heart: it pumps blood and is the conductor of all organs.
- The associated viscus is the small intestine: it sorts the pure from the impure, and absorbs food.
For the Earth element, the organ is the Spleen and pancreas: it extracts and processes water from food.
- The associated viscus is the stomach: it receives food and sorts substances.
For the Metal element, the organ is the Lung: it expels impurities and allows for the exchange of vital gases.
- The associated viscus is the large intestine: it transports waste from the small intestine.
For the Water element, the organ is the Kidneys: it filters blood plasma and ensures the detoxification of the body.
- The associated viscus is the bladder: it evacuates impure liquids.

Meridians are like electro-magnetic lines of force, which propagate the organ's energy throughout the body, from feet to head, from hands to chest. This explains certain distant manifestations of an organ's energetic imbalances. For example, an imbalance of Liver energy, through the Liver meridian, can affect the eye, genital organs, knee, or even the big toe. Only the Fire element houses 2 pairs of meridians. The first pair, as with other organs, associates the Heart meridian and the Small Intestine meridian. The second is deeper and more global: it associates two meridians called Pericardium and Triple Burner.

It is useful to know the path of the meridians of each element, even in a somewhat schematic way. This allows for the detection of correspondences between certain somatic manifestations and the original organ whose energy is imbalanced. At the same time, it helps to choose the Energetic Elixir that will be most effective in correcting this initial imbalance and restoring harmony to the entire body.

THE WOOD ELEMENT

The Liver meridian concerns: The big toe, calf, inner side of the knee, thigh, external genitalia, veins, hemorrhoidal plexuses and erectile tissue, genital glands, hernia orifices, fat digestion, liver metabolism, liver immune tissues, skin and mucous membrane defenses, muscles and their contractility, heart rhythm, top of the head, memory, eyes and vision, face, middle ear artery, vestibule and balance.

The Gallbladder meridian concerns: Eyes, temporals, parietals, cerebral hemispheres, middle ear artery, vestibule, occiput, cerebellum, shoulders, flanks, psoas, pyramidalis muscle, external sciatic nerve, outer border of the thigh, outer border of the leg, 4th toe.

THE FIRE ELEMENT

The Heart meridian concerns: The heart, blood circulation, red blood cells, eyeballs, jaws, tongue, speech, alertness and sleep, emotions, armpit, inner side of the arm and forearm, little finger, uterus.

The Small Intestine meridian concerns: The little finger, ulnar side of the forearm and back of the arm, shoulder blade, temporomandibular joint, ear, eyelids, alertness and sleep, pineal gland, small intestine, immunity, lactation, uterus, ovaries and their secretion, childbirth, ureter, external genitalia.

The Pericardium meridian concerns: The middle finger, palm of the hand, wrist, carpal tunnel, median nerve, elbow, armpit, chest, eyes, head, capillary microcirculation, alertness, mood, tongue, cardiac plexus, emotionality, sexual arousal, blood circulation in the chest, lower abdomen, uterus. The path of this meridian explains hyper-emotionality associated with sexual blockages, violent uterine spasms, vascular disorders of the hands (icy cold or, conversely, sweaty extremities) or carpal tunnel syndrome.

The Triple Burner meridian concerns: The ring finger, wrist, elbow, shoulder, mandibular and maxillary joint, cheek, middle ear and its artery, temporal lobe, eye, regulation of body fluids, as well as all phenomena of edema, water retention, anuria or incontinence. Some people experience inexplicably by usual Western medicine criteria, ringing in the ears, Meniere's vertigo, variously associated with diffuse joint pain, stiffness of the arms and shoulder, difficulty resisting sudden climate changes, water retention under the eyelids and at the ankles, temporal migraines, facial neuralgia, ocular neuralgia…

THE EARTH ELEMENT

The Spleen and Pancreas meridian concerns: The big toe, calf, inner thigh, reproductive organs and fertility, all abdominal viscera, especially the pancreas and digestive juices, intestines, digestion, appetite, hunger sensation, sweet taste, lymphatic system, lymph nodes, spleen and diaphragm, immunity, thorax and lungs, mouth, lips and cheeks, tongue and taste, salivary glands (parotid and submandibular), armpits and ribs, collagen and connective tissue, circulation of interstitial fluids, nutrition of the muscles of the four limbs.

The Stomach meridian concerns: The lower jaw, temporomandibular joint, forehead, maxillary sinuses, neck, carotid arteries and aorta, circulation of large arteries, femoral and tibial arteries, clavicles, nipples, abdominal muscles, hernia orifices, stomach, digestion, appetite, hunger sensation, sweet tooth, front of the thigh and leg, femoral nerve, instep and 2nd toe.

THE METAL ELEMENT

The Lung meridian concerns: The chest, neck, vocal cords, voice, pharynx, head, hair, nose, sinuses, arm and forearm, thumb, outer side of the radius, skin, colon.

The Large Intestine meridian concerns: The index finger, forearm and arm, shoulder, neck, upper jaw, nose, thorax, lung and colon, skin.

THE WATER ELEMENT

The Kidney meridian concerns: The sole of the foot, back of the calf, thigh, rectum, urethra, genital organs, adrenal gland, genital glands, sexual appetite and potency, kidneys, bladder, bones, bone marrow, red blood cells, spinal cord, brain, tonsils, inner ear, hearing, teeth, vital energy, immunity.

The Bladder meridian concerns: The inner corner of the eye, sinuses, skull, brain, meninges, concentration, sleep-wake cycle, cervical vertebrae, thoracic vertebrae, lumbar vertebrae, spinal cord, sciatic nerve, bladder, urethra, lactation, childbirth, urinary elimination, skeletal system, adrenal and sexual hormones.

THE LAW OF THE 5 ELEMENTS

The Chinese needed 5 symbolic elements to coherently classify, in their eyes, all phenomena of nature. These symbolic elements are linked to 5 seasons, 5 organs, and 5 fundamental emotions, always within the same system of perfect harmony. A way to always remind us that we are not separate from the nature in which we live, on the contrary, since it lives deep within us! In other words, there is an intimate relationship between a season, the energy of the corresponding organ, and that of the moods associated with it.
This already gives us indications on the care to be given to each organ, on when to act to maintain its balance, and consequently on the choice of energetic elixirs useful for each person in each season.
The 5 elements are not only linked to each other, they are also interconnected according to laws of generation and opposition, specific to Chinese Energetics in general and acupuncture in particular.

The law of generation: The law of generation is easily understandable. Everyone knows that spring precedes summer, which gives way to late summer which precedes autumn, and so on. In the same way, the 5 elements generate or nourish the next element:

WOOD generates FIRE (wood burns and becomes fire): Wood is the mother of Fire, and Fire is the son of Wood.
FIRE generates EARTH (ashes become fertilizer and enrich the earth): Fire is the mother of Earth and Earth is the son of Fire.
EARTH generates METAL (earth produces metals): Earth is the mother of Metal and Metal is the son of Earth.
METAL generates WATER (metal can liquefy): Metal is the mother of Water and Water is the son of Metal.
WATER generates WOOD (trees need water for their growth): Water is the mother of Wood; Wood is the son of Water.

This principle also applies to organs: the Liver communicates its energy to the Heart; the Heart in turn communicates its energy to the Spleen, which then gives energy to the Lung, the Lung to the Kidney, and the Kidney to the Liver.

The law of control: The law of control is based on another principle. Each organ exercises control over another organ, each being itself capable of in turn monitoring the organ that exercises control over it. This dual control system helps stabilize the energies of the 5 organs.

Therefore, when treating an imbalance, it is the entire system that is rebalanced by touching only one organ.