Beyond Magic: TCM Daoyin Therapy and the Meridian System
I have studied acupuncture and the meridian system for more than two decades. At first, meridians existed in my mind as lines drawn on acupuncture charts. No one could tell me exactly what a meridian was.
Over the past fifty years, many researchers have tried to connect the meridian system with mesh-like structures in the body, including the vascular, nervous, lymphatic, and myofascial systems. Each may help explain part of the picture, but none of them fully represents the meridian system.
Some patients have told me that their abdomen reacts when I needle points on their feet. Many times, distal treatment has made an immediate change in the function of the chest, abdomen, or brain. Both the patient and I are often surprised. The ancient chart is not just imagination.
For a long time, I occasionally felt that the work was almost magical, but the effect was not always predictable.
About three years ago, I began practicing Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Daoyin Therapy on the meridians. Daoyin means "guiding movement," and it has been practiced in China for at least two thousand years.
With this method, the provider and patient can often feel the meridians at the same time. Most importantly, the effect can often be seen immediately. I gained a deeper understanding of the meridians because I could observe their responses directly.
In Lingshu - Benzang, a classical Chinese medical text, it states that the meridians are responsible for moving qi and blood. They are pathways composed collectively of fascia, vascular, nervous, and other systems.
What are qi and blood? In simple terms, they include nutrients, bioenergy, neurotransmitters, and other forms of communication and nourishment in the body. The meridians connect tissues and organs throughout the body. They moisten the tendons and bones and benefit the joints.
In Lingshu - Jingmai, it also states: "The meridians determine life and death, treat all diseases, and regulate deficiency and excess; they must remain unobstructed." This is a classical way of saying that unobstructed movement through the meridians is central to health.
When the meridians are obstructed, pain, dysfunction, and illness can appear. If a blockage is not found and remains for a long time, it may spread along the meridians from superficial to deeper tissues, and the condition may progress from mild to more severe.
Acupuncture treatment is based on the meridian system. Following the meridians to look for blockages is key for pain management and many functional conditions. Once the meridians become perceptible, their therapeutic effects can become more reproducible.
Acupuncture begins to go beyond magic.
