Water extending to the knees.

As the five transformations cycle through us, Fire extends above our bodies into the world and Water below our bodies to root in the ground. The internal transformations cycle through our torsos circulating qi and allowing our bodies to function. Fire extends above our torso into the head, which is a wonderful way for us to receive information from the world. Water extends below our torsos into our knees and legs.

When the Water element is dysfunctional, we may experience it as knee pain. If water qi doesn't descend properly, the knees can be in a state of deficiency. Or they may disconnect from the body and their motions become improper. Or the lack of flow causes the knees to lose lubrication which leads to problems. In all cases, part of the cure is helping the transformation of Water extend below itself and into the knees.

Photo courtesy of postbear

Fever

Fever is one of the body's way of purging itself of unwanted Qi. When a person is sick, the five transformations shift and the body locks itself into the Fire element. During the Fire transformation, the exterior is open as the Fire element connects to the Qi of the surrounding world. In a fever, the exterior is purposely left open to allow something to exit, kind of like leaving the gate open to get an unwanted dog out of the yard.

To make sure that the dog leaves, the Fire element warms the core of the body and takes over the role of protective qi from Metal. If you've ever stood near a hot fire, you know that your reaction is to move away from the heat. The fever plays on the same principle. The expanding internal heat drives out any external improper Qi, and prevents anything else from entering into the body.

When the fever breaks, a person often sweats. This closes the exterior and signals that the body is resuming it's normal transformations in shifting from Fire to Metal.

Photo courtesy of Ryan Greenberg

Wood: Where you look is where you go

The classics teach that Wood pushes up and out, and the liver opens through the eyes.

When I was learning to drive, I was told to pay attention to where I was looking because where you look is where the car will go. I've spent enough time on the road to know that this is true.

Eyes are both receivers and directors. We receive the image as we see it, but our actions are directed by what we see. We go towards the things we see. Wood energy reaches out into the world in all directions looking for connections. When our eyes fall upon something, we move towards it to make a connection. Observe an infant exploring her world as her body moves towards each new sight.

Within Wood is the desire to conquer and the desire to hunt. Wood is involved with dominance over the world and over others, and our competitive nature. Our ability to maintain that focus and vision of where we are going allows us to work steadily. If we lose focus or sight, then we falter. As the expression goes: keep your eyes on the prize.

Photo courtesy of fatboyke (Luc)

Five Element Pulses

My friend and colleague Ethan Borg came up with a wonderful way of taking pulses based on the Su Wen. I think it's a great way to describe the pulses in addition to overall quality. It gives insight into the five transformations within the body.

Each element is represented by a facet of the pulse. Metal is felt on the top of the pulse. Wood runs lengthwise along the sides of the pulse. Water is felt at the bottom of the pulse. Earth is the fullness of the blood passing through the vessel, and Fire is the motive force of the pulse itself. Keep in mind that these are both energetic and physical attributes, so they can be palpated by either adjusting your fingers to that facet of the pulse, or by adjusting your intention.

A wiry pulse can be seen as a Wood excess leading to stiffness and enlargement of the sides of the pulse. If it's narrow, one knows that the excess wood has led to an earth deficiency. Or one can feel as if the center of the pulse has also become stiff which would indicate that wood has invaded earth. A knotted pulse indicates a problem with the heart, which is represented by the a dysfunction in the motive force of the pulse.

For a deeper exploration and understanding of this style of pulse taking, including the quotes from the Su Wen upon which the system is based, see page 21-29 of The Secret Chamber by Ethan Borg.

As a side note: Meridian style acupuncture looks for relative imbalances within the six positions of the pulse, dividing each position into an upper yang and a lower yin position. For an excellent description of that style of acupuncture and pulse taking, I recommend Denmei Shudo's Japanese Classical Acupuncture: Introduction to Meridian Therapy. This Su Wen style of pulse taking can be done in addition to the Japanese style for greater insight.

Sleep: the descent into ourselves

Sleep is the process where a person's qi retreats from the world into the inner cycle of five. The outer cycle is about interacting with the world, but the inner cycle flows through the body alone.

When we fall asleep, the energetic flow contracts into the body. We close our eyes to fall asleep and then our senses dull while we're asleep. Loud lights or noises can intrude into us, but we stop seeking connections and energetic input from the outside world. Wood, which normally pushes out into the world, settles into itself, content with just pushing up within the body, but not above it. During this time, the Wood and Metal cycle through the earth of our body to aerate and clean it.

Fire, which is connected to the flow of qi in the world around us, connects instead to ourselves. It sinks down from our heads, and above our heads, into our physical heart and connection with ourselves. In our hearts, we also find a connection to God. Our dreams reflect ourselves, though some dreams go beyond ourselves through our internal spiritual connection to God.

Metal descends qi and moderates barriers to the outside world. When we are falling asleep, deep breathing helps us to descend into ourselves and fall asleep more easily. Lying down changes the orientation of the descending qi so we are no longer descending into the Water roots of the ground beneath us, but our whole body sinks as one. We sleep not connected above and not connected below, but flowing gently through ourselves.

When we wake, our bodies are contracted, our spines are shorter than at the end of the day. The transformations that normally extend us above and below are just starting again to connect us fully to the world.

Photo courtesy of onkel wart

Internal transformations: Digestion

The digestive system is a mirror of the cycle of five transformations. The Yang organs are known as the hollow organs through which food passes and is absorbed into, or excreted out of, the body. Examining the pathway of digestion and the organ's elemental association reveals a repetition of the larger cycle. Nourishment enters through the Fire element, and is drawn down by Metal.

Food enters our mouths and digestions begins on the tongue, which is associated with Fire. It goes down the throat which is associated with Metal (though not generally a part of the traditional Chinese digestive system). It then enters the earth element. The Stomach rots and ripens the food, and the Spleen separated the pure from the impure. The Spleen is the only Yin organ associated with digestion, though this fits with the five transformations model of Earth as the center of the other transformations.

At this point, the cycle repeats itself. The food enters the Small intestine, which is Fire, and goes into the Large Intestine which is metal. Metal continues it's downward push through the anus to excrete the solid waste, which is interesting as Metal draws in vapour and excretes solid.

The Bladder controls the release of waste fluid from the body. The metal descends, or roots, water for collection in the Bladder, and here the Water element is directly related to water.

The Gall bladder is also involved in digestion as it's the wood Yang organ, but it's function is very unclear. My sense is that it helps smooth the motion that moves food through the system. Yang is generally thought of as rising, but all of the Yang organs are designed to descend. Another example of the wonder and complexity of the Human body.

Photo Courtesy of GreenFlames009

The Flow of Yin and Yang through the Body

The larger cycle of five transformations extends beyond the body into the world around, so the question arose if it brings anything into the body in those connections? I think the answer lies in the layout and organization of the meridians of the body:

The elemental meridians are divided according to locations. Metal and Fire channels connect to the hands. Earth, Water, and Wood channels connect to the feet. Fire is the highest point of the cycle, metal draws energy downward. Water is the lowest point of the cycle while wood raises energy in the body. Earth is the weave the body, and is mostly comprised of Yin.

Yang channels begin at the fingertips and end at the head, or begin at the head and move downward to the feet. Yin channels begin at the feet and move upwards to the torso or go from the torso to the fingertips.

According to the Chinese anatomical position, these make perfect sense for upward movement of Yin and downward movement of Yang through the body. (Traditional Chinese Anatomical position is with a person standing upright, arms laterally extended at a 90 degree angle to the body with the arms bent, so the hands are raised beside the head.)

The Yang meridians on the hand go from the hands to the head then connect to the leg yang meridian to draw exterior Yang Qi down through the entire body to the feet.

The Yin Meridians of the feet draw yin from the feet up into the torso where they connect with the hand Yin meridians to raise external Yin Qi to the fingertips.

In the flow, the body balances itself. Yin Qi tends to sink slightly or not move at all and Yang qi rises, but the body rises Yin and descends Yang. A friend points out that Yang does all the movement because Yin tends to silence. So a paradox in the body is that Yang qi raises Yin.

In this way, Yin and Yang are circulated throughout the entire body and can nourish everywhere, and in this way, the body can draw what it needs from the outside world.

Photo courtesy of JustinCaze

Metal body type

The metal body type is very thin throughout the entire frame. The Metal body often appears to others as too thin, even bordering on emaciated. Limbs appear thin and stick like.

Metal Qi is characterized by descending energy and pushing out in opposition to incoming qi to filter what comes in. In a Metal body type, the function of pushing out is weak. Outside influences easily penetrate and push in on the person. The overly thin body has been compressed on all sides from the pressure of external qi. Think of when you dive deeply in the water and the pressure around you increases. For the Metal body, all of life is living in that pressured environment. Over time, the body gets compressed.

When working on people with this body type, be aware that they tend to be more sensitive and responsive to treatment. But you may also feel greater resistance to your work until you gain their trust. Their barriers are compromised, so they tend to have trust issues and may erect walls to prevent you from influencing them.

Photo courtesy of Tim Sheerman-Chase entitled Diver Silhouette

The Fire receiver that is our head

Our heads are very interesting places. Four of our five senses are there, and this reflects the preponderance of the Fire element in our heads. Fire is connected to the world around us, but the energetic flow is inward, geared towards reception of qi from the weave around and between us. The classical sense-element correspondences are: Smell is connected to Metal/Lungs, hearing to Water/kidneys, sight to Wood/liver, and taste to Fire/heart.

Senses are, by their nature, receivers of information. They are located at the top of the body. When wood qi rises, it pushes out into the world and connects to the qi around it. Then the Fire receives qi from the connection. The direction of senses is inward.

When we smell, we inhale and activate Metal qi. We take in qi from the outside while pushing our internal qi out to meet it. The respiratory system is one big filter to help us allow good qi in, while keeping bad qi out. Smells are the first part of that system, designed to alert us to danger or nourishment.

We hear with Water. Water is still qi, rooted below. Hearing is most acute in silence and stillness. Though our ears may move slightly, there is no action involved in hearing.

We look out our eyes with Wood qi. Our eyes are poorly adapted to examine things  that are extremely close to us, but prefer to look out into the world for things to interact with. You can watch a baby examining the world and he engages with his eyes and then moves to interact with something based on the visual contact.

When we taste a food, we connect to it. It is the moment when the food ceases to be something outside of ourselves. I had a client who had temporarily lost his sense of taste and he told me he had lost his connection to food. It looked good, but he no longer wanted to eat it or make it a part of him. Without the connection, things remain apart and can never nourish us.

Fire is all about reception and connection, and our senses allow those two things to happen. They are located at the top of our bodies, which is the place of power for the Fire transformation.

Note: I will talk about touch and Earth Qi in a later post, as touch is built into the weave of our bodies and is both reception and nourishment at the same time.

Photo courtesy of gullevek

Two Cycles of Transformation: inside and outside

There two cycles of five, one within, one without.

The larger cycle is the interaction between ourselves and the world around us. It extends below our feet and above our bodies. The smaller cycle is within our bodies. The classical Chinese position for the Human being is standing with both arms bent, hands facing upwards. This comes from understanding that heaven enters our bodies through our fingers, which need to be raised to receive it, and earth enters our bodies through our toes, which need to be firmly on the ground. All meridians end or begin on the tips of fingers or toes. The five transformations are embedded in this worldview. Metal goes downward below our feet and Water roots in the ground. Wood rises above our heads and Fire connect us to the world around.

There is a second cycle within our torsos. Our internal organs mirror the flow outside with an internal flow. Liver (wood) qi rises in the body to reach the Heart (fire). Lungs (metal) connect to heart and descend the energy to the Kidneys (water), the root of our energy. Our spleen (earth) resides in the middle, gaining nourishment and regulating all of the transformations.

One should also note that the Fire element is doubled: one for each cycle. (More about this in a later post.) 

Our limbs are the link between the two cycles, receiving and sending energy to the outside world. Our torso is the small mirror of the cycle that resides inside of us. Both need to be harmonious and in harmony with each other for health.

Photo courtesy of Muhammad

Metal controls wood: Breath directs wood Qi

Metal provide the direction and the form for wood. Wood energy is directional - it tends to go upward and outward. Metal draws boundaries between internal and external. When we push on something, we exhale to direct the wood energy where we want it to go. We open the boundary to allow the wood qi to extend from our body and influence the world. Two aspects of metal allow us to make use of the power of Wood qi.


Photo courtesy of RyanBSchultz

Metal controls Wood: Exhale to relax

Many years ago, I had a client who's muscles were like rocks. He moved with a slightly manic energy and always seemed wound up. When he walked in, I took note that his muscles were very defined and had good tone, but when touched, his muscles had no give or pliability. They felt like rocks even when he was trying to relax. The wood element dominated him and had invaded his earth. The key to his treatment lay in the Metal element.

Metal moves in the opposite direction as wood. Wood controls earth. While Earth is the substance of the muscles, wood provides the motion, tension, and tone for the muscles. When you exhale,  metal is at it's strongest, and your energy descends in the body. This counteracts the rising expansion of wood and decreases the strength of the wood qi within the muscles. We experience this as muscle relaxation.

Over time, the tone of my client's muscles relaxed so his muscles were firm but pliable. It represented a more harmonious balance between metal, earth, and wood.

Photo courtesy of Tim_d

Functional disharmony

I wanted to take a step away from my normal focus to write about a condition I call functional disharmony. It usually occurs when a person has a chronic condition that they have gotten used to over time. I first noticed it in a patient in his early 20's who had severe back pain. His pulses did not point to any clear imbalance, and when I treated him, his body felt very healthy. In fact, aside from the back pain, he told me that he was in great health.

But when I put my hands on his back, in the area of pain, I found that his body had re-routed the channels around the area of pain, and had returned to a normal level of function. The problematic area had been isolated so that the body could continue to function.

The first step of the treatment was to reconnect the area to the rest of his body. Unfortunately, this increased his pain, or at least his awareness of the pain, and he discontinued treatment. This illustrates the need to set expectations with a client as well as making him aware of all possible outcomes. In subsequent times when I've seen a similar situation, I let the patient know that they might experience an increase in their symptoms as part of the treatment. Once they understand what is going to happen, they are usually fine with it.

Only when the body becomes aware of the pain and reconnects with the problematic area can treatment be effective.

Photo courtesy of mouton.rebelle

The transformative cycle of our breath

Breathing can be divided into four segments, each corresponding to a particular element: inhale, pause, exhale, pause.

Wood: Inhale. The air fills up the diaphragm and qi moves upward and outward, filling the body.

Fire: pause. Qi is at the top of the body and we are most perceptive of outside energetics.

Metal: Exhale. Downward motion of qi. We strike and push on the exhale so that our exterior qi can push against the internal motion of rooting.

Water: Pause. Rooted qi. When we are most internal and most solid. It's also the place where we are most in touch with our fears.

Fire and Water are states of being, while Metal and Wood are movement.

Try breathing through the elements and let me know what you experience.

Photo courtesy of Naturalturn

Metal: the expanding filter

Metal is about downward movement and circulation, boundaries and regulation. The organ associated with metal are the lungs. They are a directional paradox.

When the lungs inhale, we bring qi from outside into our bodies. When we exhale, we push the interior qi out into the world. But when we bring qi in, our chest moves outward into the world, and when we push qi out, our chests contract. For tonification, we are taught to insert the needle on the exhale, so that it follows the qi sinking into the body. But the qi is exiting the body at the same moment. The air goes out, the body goes in. When the air comes in, the body goes out.

This paradox demonstrates how the lungs creates boundaries. I used to think of Wei qi, the defensive qi that surrounds the body, as an energetic armor. But point indications all use the term "circulating wei qi", so I amended my image to armor that was in constant motion. When external qi tries to attach itself to a person, the wei qi's motion doesn't give it any purchase or way to attach. Think about trying to grab a person's hand while it's in constant motion. I now have to amend my wei qi image further.

As we draw air in from the outside world, our bodies expand and push against improper qi. The air enters our lungs where the qi is extracted and temporarily held. The outward push of our bodies protects us and keeps us centered. The chest expansion is the filter against bringing external improper qi into our bodies. When we exhale, the good qi in the lungs descends while the body can relax as there is no longer anything to press against.

The back of the neck and head is the wind gate where the 100 diseases can enter the body. When we breath, there is no motion there. The wind can enter the body directly, bypassing the filter of our expansion, and bring with it improper qi that causes illness. We hunch our shoulders when it's cold to try to limit and close that gate. We relax our shoulders in the warmth to allow the warm qi to enter freely. With practice, one can extend the lung's motion up to the base of the skull to help protect one's wind gate.

During the exhale, the metal energy descends in the body, and below the body, rooting downward and creating Water. During the inhale, the metal filters and regulates the external qi that enters the body. This cycle motion circulates qi throughout the body.

Photo courtesy of Marshall Astor

Earth is the Center

In classical Chinese thought, the earth element was located in the center, with the other four elements surrounding it. As each element transformed to the next, the transformation involved the earth element. This has been more true to my clinical experience than the standard generation chart.

It is most noticeable during the seasonal changes. There always seems to be an earth period as the seasons transition, not just during the late summer. It can be a few days to a few weeks, but the body always seems to check in with the earth element as the weather is changing.

Directionally, it makes more sense as well. Wood pushes outward and upward, while metal regulates and pushes downward. Water and Fire have no directionality, but are states of being, one of reception and the other of firmness. Earth accumulates in the middle.

The best analogy is a flower. The upward growth towards the sun is the wood energy. The reception of sunlight is fire. The nutrients traveling down to the roots are metal, and the roots are Water. The Flower itself is earth. Earth provides the structure and form for the other elements. It's directionality is accumulation. It takes parts of the other elements and combines them into a form that allows the other transformations to take place.

In human terms, the fire energy is our connection to the energetic world around us. The water is the firmness of our step upon the ground.  The wood and metal are the rising and descent of qi in our bodies. The earth is the weave and matrix of our bodies. Earth is the center of our beings, and the center of the Elements.

The Control Cycle

Fire controls metal to regulate the connections with the energetic world around us. If the boundaries are too weak, fire connects more strongly and metal firms up the boundaries in response. If the metal is too strong or stiff, the fire lessens so metal can open in response. The balance we are seeking is to be about to receive without being overwhelmed.

Metal controls wood by regulating the downward force that is rebounded into wood energy. When we push down with less force, less wood pushes back up with the contact.

Wood controls earth by making sure there are no clumps in the soil. The wood energy moves through the weave to make sure it is clear and the moisture can disperse throughout the entire weave. When there is stagnation in the earth weave, too much wood travels through the established passages and doesn’t fulfill it’s function of clearing and leveling. Anger disturbs the weave and the heart connections so that we are not nourished by those around us and are left wanting.

Earth controls water in that the roots of the kidney are composed of the earth weave. If the weave is weak, the roots are weak. If the roots are improper, the spleen can soften the weave to adjust.

Water controls fire in that water is rooted in the ground below and Fire is connected to the world around us. If we start to lose ourselves into our connections, the water roots us down into the ground and into ourselves. By adjusting the depth and strength of our roots, the water can control how we connect into the world around us.

Descriptions of the Five Elements

The matrix of the spleen in the body is like dirt in a potted plant. It needs to be moist at all times, but not overly so. If the dirt becomes clotted, the water runs through the channels and the soil remains dry. The moisture doesn’t disperse to the extremities in this case and the feet and hands feel cold. The nature of the earth is to hold the qi and moisture within it to support life. If it’s weak, the moisture falls downward and the feet get swollen and things are not held up in the body. The spleen is connected to the world around it and receives it’s nourishment from touch and connection. The spleen turns food into the weave of the body. The spleen doesn’t like to change or move, preferring constancy so the weave is not disturbed.

Metal regulated the barriers between ourselves and the outside world, regulating what comes in and what goes out. Metal pushes downward in the transition into Water qi. Water is rooted, metal moves downward. The lungs are in constant motion, pulling the air into the body, regulating the qi that enters our body and that which remains outside of it.

Man exists between heaven and Earth. Water roots the man in the Earth. It powers our will by anchoring us so we can move forward without being swayed. We feel the pull of gravity upon us and allow ourselves to extend into the ground beneath us. When we aren’t properly rooted, we easily slip and fall. Our step becomes treacherous and we become fearful, not knowing when or how hard we will fall.

Wood energy moves us out into the world. It arises from the Earth as it pushes back on our Water roots. The taiji push exemplifies this – the power arises from the extension between our rooted feet and our extending hands. When the wood energy flows clearly through us, our qi moves easily and smoothly, holding our bodies erect and even. When the wood is obstructed, the stasis leads to anger and pain and the qi attempts to move through our body, but is diverted and blocked. Wood transforms into fire through laughter (dark) and sex (light), two actions which bring joy and bring people closer together.

Fire is the qi we feel when we are connected to other people or energies in the world. Fire heals. The spleen is the weave of our body, the heart is the weave of the world. The pericardium helps to regulate our place in that weave. When we become disconnected with the world, the fire burns itself and we are left with anxiety and fears of unreality. The connections to others nourish our internal earth weave, but the heart connections are our place in the world. When we are healthy, our internal earth weave aligns with our external heart weave. The liver energy creates our heart connections, but once made, they flow inward and nourish the earth weave. The metal is created to regulate that flow. As the heart spreads outward, we may start to lose ourselves or we may find that we need a stronger connection.

The flow of the Five Elements

Wood energy pushes outward and connects to other energies in the world and Fire is the connection. Once the connection is made, qi flows inward to support, nourish, and create Earth energy, the matrix that holds the body together. Then the metal engages to regulate that flow and puts up barriers between us and the world. When the barriers encircle us, our energy roots downward in the form of Water. As the water pushes downward into the earth, the ground below pushes back up at us in the form of Wood energy, which pushes outward and begins the cycle anew.

Photo courtesy of Gregory Bastien

A moment of clarity

In the middle of a deep meditation last week, I suddenly felt myself going through a repeating series of energetic transformations. I noticed that there were five and they matched the five elements of Chinese medicine and thought: fire, earth, metal, water, and wood. As I breathed through the transformations, two full breaths per complete cycle, my mind started to apply what I was feeling to what I know and have learned through my ten years of practicing acupuncture. The results led me to more clearly understand Chinese Medicine and begin to make sense of some of the more puzzling associations. I hope to use this blog to explore my moment of clarity and flesh out my vision.