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Channels or Meridians in Acupuncture - The invisible Pathways of Qi
In acupuncture, each meridian is related to, and named after, an organ or function, the main ones are: the lung, kidney, gallbladder, stomach, spleen, heart, small intestine, large intestine, gall bladder, urinary bladder, san jiao (three heater) and pericardium (heart protector/ or circulation sex meridian). There are also 8 extraordinary channels in acupuncture that are considered to be reservoirs supplying qi and blood to the twelve regular channels. These are believed to have a strong connection to the kidney. The meridians are shown in the figures. Dotted along these meridians are more than 400 acupuncture points, classified by the World Health Organization (WHO). (There may be as many as 2000 points in use for different treatments.) These are listed by name, number and the meridian to which they belong. When Chi flows freely through the meridians, the body is balanced and healthy, but if the energy becomes blocked, stagnated or weakened, it can result in physical, mental or emotional ill health. An imbalance in a person's body can result from inappropriate emotional responses such as: excess anger, over-excitement, self-pity, deep grief and fear. Environmental factors such as cold, damp/humidity, wind, dryness, and heat can also cause imbalance so as factors such as wrong diet, too much sex, overwork and too much exercise. To restore the balance, the acupuncturist stimulates the acupuncture points that will counteract that imbalance. So, if you have stagnant Chi, he will choose specific points to stimulate it. If the Chi is too cold, he will choose points to warm it. If it is too weak, he will strengthen it. If it is blocked, he will unblock it, and so on. In this way, acupuncture can effectively rebalance the energy system and restore health or prevent the development of disease. The points that the practitioner chooses to stimulate may not necessarily be at the site of the symptoms. The acupuncture points also seem to be electro-magnetically sensitive points used as input channels for appropriate frequencies, using tuning forks and other methods. The Phoenix Project is working with wholistic/holistic health care providers to identify these 400-2000+ points and correlate them to the associated frequencies, organs, colors, chakras, etc. Whereas
the Genome Project's goal was to map the human DNA, the goal of the
Phoenix Project is to create an energy map of the human body.
Acupuncture is one of the most thoroughly researched and documented of the alternative medical practices. A series of controlled studies has shown evidence for the effectiveness of acupuncture in the treatment of a variety of conditions, including osteoarthritis, chemotherapy-induced nausea, asthma, back pain, painful menstrual cycles, bladder instability, and migraine headaches. |
Studies on acupuncture also have shown positive results in the areas of chronic pain management and in the management of drug addition, two areas where conventional Western medicine is very limited. Healing Applications of Acupuncture
In the United States, acupuncture is used frequently for the treatment of chronic pain conditions such as arthritis, bursitis, headache, athletic injuries, and posttraumatic and post surgical pain. It is also used for treating chronic pain associated with immune function dysfunction such as psoriasis (skin disorders), allergies, and asthma. Acupuncture is also found to be effective for the treatment of mind-body disorders such as anxiety, chronic fatigue, irritable bowel syndrome, hypertension, insomnia, PMS, menopausal symptoms, and depression. Some modern application of acupuncture is in the treatment of disorders such as alcoholism, addiction, smoking, and eating disorders. |
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Chinese
use the term "jing luo" which means, channels, conduit,
meridian etc. According to acupuncture, these are the invisible channels
through which qi circulates throughout the body. The acupuncture
points (or holes as the Chinese term xue is more aptly translated
means) are the locations where the qi of the channels rises close to the
surface of the body. There are 12
main meridians, six of which are yin and six are yang and numerous minor
ones, which form a network of energy channels throughout the body.
Acupuncture is best known for the
control of pain. However, acupuncture can treat a wide variety of
common and uncommon disorders. The following is a list of disorders that
can be treated by acupuncture (World Health Organization data):