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		<title>Are the Qigong Meridians Even Real?</title>
		<link>https://flowingzen.com/are-the-qigong-meridians-even-real/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=are-the-qigong-meridians-even-real</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Sifu Anthony Korahais]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Wed, 15 May 2019 00:19:38 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chinese medicine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[meridians]]></category>
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					<description><![CDATA[<p>Meridian theory is at the heart of qigong, acupuncture, and other forms of Chinese Medicine. It is the common thread between all Chinese healing arts. This ancient theory is robust, sophisticated, and deep. But are the meridians even real? If so, where are they? Naturally, I get questions like this all the time. I&#8217;ve already [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://flowingzen.com/are-the-qigong-meridians-even-real/">Are the Qigong Meridians Even Real?</a> appeared first on <a href="https://flowingzen.com">Flowing Zen</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img data-recalc-dims="1" fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-20713" src="https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IMG_7629-1024x768.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768" alt="" width="1024" height="768" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IMG_7629.jpeg?resize=1024%2C768&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IMG_7629.jpeg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IMG_7629.jpeg?resize=768%2C576&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/IMG_7629.jpeg?w=2000&amp;ssl=1 2000w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></p>
<p>Meridian theory is at the heart of qigong, acupuncture, and other forms of Chinese Medicine. It is the common thread between all Chinese healing arts. This ancient theory is robust, sophisticated, and deep.</p>
<p>But are the meridians even real? If so, where are they?</p>
<p>Naturally, I get questions like this all the time. I&#8217;ve already written two articles about the meridians, which you can read below. These articles will answer many of the questions that you might have.</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://flowingzen.com/19897/making-sense-of-the-meridians/">Qigong Students: Here’s How to Make Sense of the Meridians</a></li>
<li><a href="https://flowingzen.com/19883/acupuncture-meridians-what-qigong-students-need-to-know/">Acupuncture Meridians: What Qigong Students Need to Know</a></li>
</ul>
<p>In today&#8217;s video blog, I give my thoughts about the meridians and whether or not they are real.</p>
<p>In the video, I mention the discovery of a &#8220;new organ&#8221; in 2018. Here are just a few of the articles published on that topic:</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/interstitium-fluid-cells-organ-found-cancer-spd">National Geographic: New Human &#8216;Organ&#8217; Was Hiding in Plain Sight</a></li>
<li><a href="https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/meet-your-interstitium-a-newfound-organ/">Scientific American: Meet Your Interstitium, a Newfound &#8220;Organ&#8221;</a></li>
</ul>
<p>I also mention the fascia, which is a topic of great interest to me. Modern research on the fascia is hugely important for qigong practitioners. In particular, the parallels between the fascia and the Chinese concept of the Triple Burner (sanjiao, 三膲) should be of interest to every qigong practitioner, as well as every acupuncture physician.</p>
<p>If you&#8217;re new to the idea of the fascia then this quote will be of interest:</p>
<p>&#8220;Our biomechanical regulatory system is highly complex and under-studied — though new research is filling in the gap. Understanding fascia is essential to the dance between stability and movement — crucial in high performance, central in recovery from injury and disability, and ever-present in our daily life from our embryological beginnings to the last breath we take.&#8221; [Taken from the <a href="https://www.anatomytrains.com/fascia/">Anatomy Trains website</a>.)</p>
<p>Watch the video blog here:</p>
<p><iframe src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9nQXFA8iVY4" width="854" height="480" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p class="p1"></br></br>From the heart,</br> Sifu Anthony </br></br>


<p>The post <a href="https://flowingzen.com/are-the-qigong-meridians-even-real/">Are the Qigong Meridians Even Real?</a> appeared first on <a href="https://flowingzen.com">Flowing Zen</a>.</p>
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		<post-id xmlns="com-wordpress:feed-additions:1">20707</post-id>	</item>
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		<title>Qigong Students: Here&#8217;s How to Make Sense of the Meridians</title>
		<link>https://flowingzen.com/making-sense-of-the-meridians/?utm_source=rss&#038;utm_medium=rss&#038;utm_campaign=making-sense-of-the-meridians</link>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Sifu Anthony Korahais]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 04 Jun 2018 19:22:21 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[beginners]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chinese medicine]]></category>
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://flowingzen.com/?p=19897</guid>

					<description><![CDATA[<p>&#8220;You don&#8217;t find all this history and theory stuff painfully boring?&#8221; I asked. The year was 2012, and I had just finished a lecture on Chinese Medicine theory in my brick-and-mortar studio. In order to make sense of the theory, I also had to teach some history. &#8220;Not even a little bit,&#8221; she said. This surprised me. [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://flowingzen.com/making-sense-of-the-meridians/">Qigong Students: Here&#8217;s How to Make Sense of the Meridians</a> appeared first on <a href="https://flowingzen.com">Flowing Zen</a>.</p>
]]></description>
										<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><img data-recalc-dims="1" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-20076" style="font-size: 16px; font-weight: 400;" src="https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/chinese-medicine-meridians-qi-acupuncture-TCM-body-1024x730.jpg?resize=1024%2C730" alt="" width="1024" height="730" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/chinese-medicine-meridians-qi-acupuncture-TCM-body.jpg?resize=1024%2C730&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/chinese-medicine-meridians-qi-acupuncture-TCM-body.jpg?resize=300%2C214&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/chinese-medicine-meridians-qi-acupuncture-TCM-body.jpg?resize=768%2C548&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/chinese-medicine-meridians-qi-acupuncture-TCM-body.jpg?w=2000&amp;ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/chinese-medicine-meridians-qi-acupuncture-TCM-body.jpg?w=3000&amp;ssl=1 3000w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></p>
<p>&#8220;You don&#8217;t find all this history and theory stuff painfully boring?&#8221; I asked.</p>
<p>The year was 2012, and I had just finished a lecture on Chinese Medicine theory in <a href="http://flowingzen.com/17065/why-i-closed-my-studio-doors-for-good/">my brick-and-mortar studio.</a> In order to make sense of the theory, I also had to teach some history.</p>
<p>&#8220;Not even a little bit,&#8221; she said.</p>
<p>This surprised me. For years, I had assumed that students weren&#8217;t interested in esoteric Eastern theories, and that they DEFINITELY weren&#8217;t interested in history.</p>
<p>I mean, I LOVE both the history and theory aspect of qigong, but I&#8217;m an outlier. Or am I?</p>
<p>In a <a href="http://flowingzen.com/19883/acupuncture-meridians-what-qigong-students-need-to-know/">previous article about the acupuncture meridians</a>, I asked my readers if they wanted to learn more. The answer was loud and clear: YES!!</p>
<p>Apparently, I&#8217;m not an outlier. Thousands of you enjoy learning about history and theory, just like I do.</p>
<p>So my fellow nerds&#8230;shall we get this party started?</p>
<h1>The Qigong Meridians?!?</h1>
<p><a href="http://flowingzen.com/19883/acupuncture-meridians-what-qigong-students-need-to-know/">In my previous article</a>, I used the term <em>Acupuncture Meridians</em>, but not because it&#8217;s correct. I used it so people would have some clue what I&#8217;m talking about!</p>
<p>If I used the term &#8220;Qigong Meridians&#8221;, many people would be confused, especially people who are more familiar with acupuncture.</p>
<p><strong>Actually, both terms &#8212; Qigong Meridians and Acupuncture Meridians &#8212; are equally INCORRECT.</strong></p>
<p>As I&#8217;ve said, the Chinese term is jingluo (經 絡, pronounced <em>jing-low</em>), which translates to &#8220;channel&#8221;.</p>
<p>But here&#8217;s what you need to understand. <strong>F<span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">or thousands of years, the </span>meridian system has been shared by MANY Chinese arts, including:</strong></p>
<ul>
<li><strong>qigong </strong>(<a href="https://flowingzen.com/start-here/">click here</a> if you&#8217;re new to qigong)</li>
<li><strong>acupuncture</strong> (the use of sterile needles to stimulate the flow of qi via acu-points)</li>
<li><strong>acupressure </strong>(same as acupuncture, but uses fingers instead of needles)</li>
<li><strong>moxibustion</strong> (the burning of the mugwort herb on acupuncture points to promote healing)</li>
<li><strong>Chinese herbal medicine</strong> (the use of oral herbal decoctions and tonics)</li>
<li><strong>kung fu</strong> (Chinese martial arts, including tai chi)</li>
<li><strong>shiliao</strong> (Chinese food therapy)</li>
<li><strong>Taoist bedroom arts </strong>(Chinese sexual practices that promote longevity)</li>
<li><strong>tuina </strong>(Chinese massage therapy)</li>
<li><strong>die da</strong> (Chinese traumatology for bruises and breaks)</li>
</ul>
<p>In other words, we could just as easily use the term Qigong Meridians, Acupressure Meridians, or Tai Chi Meridians. All of these terms are equally inaccurate.</p>
<h1>Needling and Moxibustion</h1>
<p><img data-recalc-dims="1" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-20081" src="https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/TCM-chinese-medicine-needles-acupuncture-1024x683.jpg?resize=1024%2C683" alt="" width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/TCM-chinese-medicine-needles-acupuncture.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/TCM-chinese-medicine-needles-acupuncture.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/TCM-chinese-medicine-needles-acupuncture.jpg?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/TCM-chinese-medicine-needles-acupuncture.jpg?w=2000&amp;ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/TCM-chinese-medicine-needles-acupuncture.jpg?w=3000&amp;ssl=1 3000w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></p>
<p><strong>It gets worse! The term <em>acupuncture meridian</em> is actually a DOUBLE misnomer!</strong></p>
<p>Not only is the term &#8220;meridian&#8221; a poor translation of jingluo, but the term &#8220;acupuncture&#8221; is just utter Western nonsense!</p>
<p>The Chinese term for acupuncture is: <strong>zhenjiu</strong> (針灸, pronounced <em>jun-geo</em>)</p>
<p>Zhen (針) means needle, and jiu (灸) means moxibustion (see above). So <em>zhenjiu</em> literally translates to &#8220;needling and moxibustion&#8221;.</p>
<p>I know what you&#8217;re thinking: <strong><em>Where the hell did the word &#8220;acupuncture&#8221; come from?</em></strong></p>
<p>It&#8217;s a good question. The term &#8220;acu&#8221; comes from the latin for &#8220;needle&#8221;. So they got that part right.</p>
<p>But &#8220;puncture&#8221;? Where did that come from, and who thought that this was a good idea?</p>
<p>Talk about bad PR! I can&#8217;t think of a worse word to scare off confused Westerners.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the word stuck (pun definitely intended). Not only that, but the term &#8220;acupuncture&#8221;has become an umbrella that refers to several branches of Chinese Medicine, not just acupuncture.</p>
<p>For example, most acupuncturists today also practice Chinese herbal medicine. Traditionally, these were two separate arts. But today, they often all under the same moniker of &#8220;acupuncture&#8221;.</p>
<h1>The Influence of Chinese Medicine</h1>
<p>Here&#8217;s a simple way to make sense of all this: <strong>It&#8217;s all Chinese Medicine!</strong></p>
<p>Qigong, acupuncture, acupressure, herbal medicine, tuina &#8212; these are all branches of Chinese Medicine.</p>
<p>By Chinese Medicine, I&#8217;m referring to the 5000-year old system that originated in what we now call China.</p>
<p>The traditional term is zhongyi (中醫, pronounced <em>jawng yee</em>) which translates nicely to &#8220;Chinese Medicine&#8221;. This ancient medicine not only influenced all of the Chinese arts that I listed above, but also influence arts in much of Asia.</p>
<p>Here are some examples of non-Chinese arts that were heavily influenced by Chinese Medicine:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>The <em>Bubishi</em></strong>, an ancient Japanese manual that is often called &#8220;The Bible of Karate&#8221;</li>
<li><strong>Korean Acupuncture</strong>, which focuses more on the hand (and traditionally uses copper needles, but now uses sterile, single-use needles)</li>
<li><strong>Japanese Acupuncture</strong>, which often uses extremely thin needles, and sometimes uses needles without even breaking the skin (see, no puncturing!)</li>
<li><strong>Shiatsu</strong>, a form of Japanese bodywork that uses the principles of Chinese Medicine</li>
<li><strong>Reiki</strong>, a form of energy medicine that involves transmitting ki (or qi) for healing</li>
</ul>
<p>In other words, Chinese Medicine is everywhere! Today, it&#8217;s not just in Asia, but all over the world.</p>
<h1>Jingmai vs. Luomai</h1>
<p>Enough history. Now that it&#8217;s clear that we&#8217;re really talking about Chinese Medicine rather than just qigong or acupuncture, let&#8217;s dive into some theory.</p>
<p>The meridians are divided into 2 main categories: the jingmai (經脈, pronounced <em>jing-my</em>) and the luomai (絡脈, pronounced low-my).</p>
<p>The jingmai consist of:</p>
<ol>
<li><strong>The 12 Primary Meridians</strong></li>
<li><strong>The 8 Extraordinary Vessels</strong></li>
<li>The 12 Divergent Meridians</li>
</ol>
<p>The luomai consist of:</p>
<ol>
<li>The 15 Connecting Collaterals</li>
<li>The Muscular Collaterals</li>
<li>The Superficial Collaterals</li>
</ol>
<p>In qigong, we&#8217;re mainly concerned with the 12 Primary Meridians and the 8 Extraordinary Meridians, which is why I put them in boldface.</p>
<h1>The 12 Primary Meridians</h1>
<p>According to ancient Chinese Medicine theory, you have 12 Primary Meridians (十二经脉), as follows:</p>
<ol>
<li class="li1">Taiyin <strong>Lung</strong> Channel of the Hand (<span class="s1">手太阴肺经</span>)</li>
<li class="li1">Shaoyin <strong>Heart</strong> Channel of the Hand (<span class="s1">手少阴心经</span>)</li>
<li class="li1">Jueyin <strong>Pericardium</strong> Channel of the Hand (<span class="s1">手厥阴心包经</span>)</li>
<li class="li1">Shaoyang <strong>Sanjiao</strong> Channel of the Hand (<span class="s1">手少阳三焦经</span>)</li>
<li class="li1">Taiyang <strong>Small Intestine</strong> Channel of the Hand (<span class="s1">手太阳小肠经</span>)</li>
<li class="li1">Yangming <strong>Large Intestine</strong> Channel of the Hand (<span class="s1">手阳明大肠经</span>)</li>
<li class="li1">Taiyin <strong>Spleen</strong> Channel of the Foot (<span class="s1">足太阴脾经</span>)</li>
<li class="li1">Shaoyin <strong>Kidney</strong> Channel of the Foot (<span class="s1">足少阴肾经</span>)</li>
<li class="li1">Jueyin <strong>Liver</strong> Channel of the Foot (<span class="s1">足厥阴肝经</span>)</li>
<li class="li1">Shaoyang <strong>Gallbladder</strong> Channel of the Foot (<span class="s1">足少阳胆经</span>)</li>
<li class="li1">Taiyang <strong>Bladder</strong> Channel of  the Foot (<span class="s1">足太阳膀胱经</span>)</li>
<li class="li1">Yangming <strong>Stomach</strong> Channel of  the Foot (<span class="s1">足阳明胃经</span>)</li>
</ol>
<p>You&#8217;ll notice that each meridian is associated with an internal organ.</p>
<p>You don&#8217;t need to memorize the 12 meridians (unless you&#8217;re an acupuncturist, duh), but if you take away once concept from this article, it should be this one:</p>
<p><strong>The meridian is NOT the organ.</strong></p>
<p>It&#8217;s tempting to the Western mind to hear &#8220;Heart Meridian&#8221; and just think of the physical organ that we know of as the heart.</p>
<p>That&#8217;s a mistake, and if you think that way, you&#8217;ll never understand Chinese medicine.</p>
<h1>Yin and Yang Organs</h1>
<p>In Chinese Medicine, the organ-meridian association is called Zang-Fu (臟腑, pronounced <em>zahng foo</em>).</p>
<p>In Zang-Fu theory, the organs fall into 2 main categories: yin and yang.</p>
<p><strong>The Yin organs are:</strong></p>
<ol>
<li>Heart</li>
<li>Liver</li>
<li>Spleen</li>
<li>Lung</li>
<li>Kidney</li>
<li>Pericardium</li>
</ol>
<p><strong>The Yang organs are</strong>:</p>
<ol>
<li>Small Intestine</li>
<li>Large Intestine</li>
<li>Gallbladder</li>
<li>Urinary Bladder</li>
<li>Stomach</li>
<li>Sanjiao.</li>
</ol>
<p>(Note: the Sanjiao is an organ not yet recognized by Western Medicine. However, resent research, like this <a href="https://www.today.com/health/scientists-discover-large-new-organ-interstitium-study-t125970">discovery of a &#8220;new organ&#8221;,</a> is bringing Western Medicine closer and closer to the concept of the Sanjiao.)</p>
<p>If you think of the Zang-Fu simply as organs, like we do in the West, then you&#8217;ll get confused.</p>
<p><strong>It&#8217;s better to think of each organ as a SYSTEM.</strong></p>
<p>In Western Medicine, we have systems like the Circulatory System, the Endocrine System, the Nervous System, etc.</p>
<p>But in Chinese Medicine, the systems are different. For example, instead of the Circulatory System, we have the Heart Meridian. (This analogy only goes so far, so please don&#8217;t get carried away with it. They are not identical systems.)</p>
<p>The Circulatory System involves more than just the physical heart, and the same is true of the Heart Meridian.</p>
<h1>Pale And Tan, Yin and Yang</h1>
<p>Yin Meridians run down the more yin part of your arm.</p>
<p>That makes perfect sense. But what part of your arm is more yin? Here&#8217;s an easy way to figure this out:</p>
<ul>
<li>The tanner parts of your body are more yang</li>
<li>The paler parts of your body are more yin</li>
</ul>
<p>For example, the palm and the inner forearm are less than than the back of the hand and the back of the forearm.</p>
<p>The same is true of the legs. The inner thighs are paler than the outer thighs.</p>
<p>This will simplify things when trying to understand where the meridians are located (see below).</p>
<h1>Where are the 12 Primary Meridians?</h1>
<p>If you&#8217;re in acupuncture college, then you&#8217;ll need to memorize all of the meridians (not to mention the points along them.)</p>
<p>Luckily, this isn&#8217;t necessary for most people, and it&#8217;s definitely not necessary for qigong students.</p>
<p>Nevertheless, it&#8217;s good to have SOME idea about the meridians. Here&#8217;s a super simple explanation:</p>
<p><em>(Note: all of these meridians are bilateral, which means that they are located on both sides of your body.)</em></p>
<ol>
<li class="li1">The <strong>Lung</strong> Meridian runs from your chest, down the inside (yin and pale) part of the arm, and ends at the tip of your thumb.</li>
<li>The <strong style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">Heart</strong><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;"> Meridian starts in your chest and runs down the inside (yin and pale) part of the arm to your pinky finger.</span></li>
<li class="li1">The <strong>Pericardium</strong> Meridian runs from your chest, down the inside (yin and pale) part of the arm, and ends at the tip of your middle finger.</li>
<li>The <strong style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">Sanjiao</strong><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;"> Meridian starts at the tip of your ring finger and runs up the outside (yang and tan) part of the arm, around the shoulder, and ends above the ear.</span></li>
<li>The<strong style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;"> Small Intestine</strong><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;"> Meridian starts at the the tip of your pinky, runs up the outside (yang and tan) part of the arm, and ends near the entrance to the ear canal.</span></li>
<li>The <strong style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">Large Intestine</strong><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;"> Meridian starts in the tip of the index finger, runs up the outside (yang and tan) part of the arm, and ends next to your nostril.</span></li>
<li>The <strong style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">Spleen</strong> <span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">Meridian</span><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;"> starts at your big toe, runs up inside (yin and pale) part of your leg, up the torso, and ends near the front of your shoulder.</span></li>
<li>The <strong style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">Kidney</strong> <span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">Meridian starts at the bottom of the foot, runs up inside (yin and pale) part of your leg, up the belly, and ends near the clavicle.</span></li>
<li class="li1">The <strong>Liver</strong> <span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">Meridian</span> starts at the tip of your 2nd toe, <span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">runs up inside (yin and pale) part of your leg</span>, and ends on the front of the torso.</li>
<li class="li1">The <strong>Gallbladder</strong> <span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">Meridian</span> runs from the outer corner of your eye, down the side of your head, down your body, down the outside (yang and tan) part of your leg, and ends in the 4th toe.</li>
<li class="li1">The <strong style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">Bladder</strong> <span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">Meridian</span><span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;"> starts at the inner corner of your eye, runs up the head, all the way down the back, down the outside (yang and tan) part of the leg, and ends in the pinky toe.</span></li>
<li class="li1">The <strong style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">Stomach</strong> <span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">Meridian</span> runs from just below your eye, down your torso, down the outer front (yang and tan) part of your leg, and ends in the 2nd toe.</li>
</ol>
<p>And here&#8217;s a helpful image if you want to geek out on the meridians. Click the image to enlarge it.</p>
<p><a href="https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/chinese-medicine-meridians-qi-acupuncture-TCM-body.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img data-recalc-dims="1" loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-20076 size-full" src="https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/chinese-medicine-meridians-qi-acupuncture-TCM-body.jpg?resize=8412%2C6000" alt="" width="8412" height="6000" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/chinese-medicine-meridians-qi-acupuncture-TCM-body.jpg?w=8412&amp;ssl=1 8412w, https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/chinese-medicine-meridians-qi-acupuncture-TCM-body.jpg?resize=300%2C214&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/chinese-medicine-meridians-qi-acupuncture-TCM-body.jpg?resize=768%2C548&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/chinese-medicine-meridians-qi-acupuncture-TCM-body.jpg?resize=1024%2C730&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/chinese-medicine-meridians-qi-acupuncture-TCM-body.jpg?w=2000&amp;ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/chinese-medicine-meridians-qi-acupuncture-TCM-body.jpg?w=3000&amp;ssl=1 3000w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></a></p>
<p>Whew! And that&#8217;s just an overview. Now, do you see why acupuncture college requires 4 years and thousands of hours of training?</p>
<h1>The 8 Extraordinary Meridians</h1>
<p class="p1">You also have what are known as the 8 Extraordinary Vessels (奇經八脈):</p>
<ol class="ol1">
<li class="li1"><strong>Conception Vessel (Ren Mai, <span class="s1">任脈)</span></strong></li>
<li class="li1"><strong>Governing Vessel (Du Mai, <span class="s1">督脈)</span></strong></li>
<li class="li1">Penetrating Vessel (Chong Mai, <span class="s1">衝脈)</span></li>
<li class="li1">Girdle Vessel (Dai Mai, <span class="s1">帶脈)</span></li>
<li class="li1">Yin Linking vessel (Yin Wei Mai, <span class="s1">陰維脈)</span></li>
<li class="li1">Yang Linking vessel (Yang Wei Mai,<span class="s1">陽維脈)</span></li>
<li class="li1">Yin Heel Vessel (Yin Qiao Mai, <span class="s1">陰蹻脈)</span></li>
<li class="li1">Yang Heel Vessel (Yang Qiao Mai, <span class="s1">陽蹻脈)</span></li>
</ol>
<p>The Ren Mai and Du Mai are the two that we&#8217;re most interested in.</p>
<p><img data-recalc-dims="1" loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-6288 size-medium" src="https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/ren-du-meridians-e1349376957510-300x300.jpg?resize=300%2C300" alt="" width="300" height="300" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/ren-du-meridians-e1349376957510.jpg?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/ren-du-meridians-e1349376957510.jpg?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/ren-du-meridians-e1349376957510.jpg?resize=1024%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/ren-du-meridians-e1349376957510.jpg?w=2000&amp;ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/ren-du-meridians-e1349376957510.jpg?w=3000&amp;ssl=1 3000w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></p>
<p>The Ren Main runs from your chin down to your perineum, and the Du Mai runs from your perineum, up your spine, over the top of your head, to your upper lip.</p>
<p>If you&#8217;ve ever wondered why many teachers tell you to lift the tongue to the upper palate while practicing qigong, it&#8217;s to connect these 2 meridians. (<a href="http://flowingzen.com/18297/why-qigong-students-should-stop-lifting-the-tongue/">Here&#8217;s an entire article</a> about whether or not you should lift the tongue in qigong.)</p>
<p>When you connect these two meridians and direct lots of qi into them, you get what is sometimes known as the Small Universe, also called the Small Heavenly Circuit or Microcosmic Orbit.</p>
<p>I like the idea of a <strong>circuit</strong> because that&#8217;s what it is. It&#8217;s a powerful energetic connection.</p>
<p>This connection is HUGELY important for martial artists. In fact, I would go so far as to say that the reason most people in the 21st century have little internal power (neijin, <a href="http://flowingzen.com/8599/internal-strength-what-it-is-and-isnt/">read more here</a>) compared to past masters is simply because they don&#8217;t have the Small Universe.</p>
<p>Let me be clear that many people PRACTICE the Small Universe, often for years or even decades, but they don&#8217;t HAVE it.</p>
<p>And the main reason they don&#8217;t have it is because they haven&#8217;t spent enough time with more fundamental techniques.</p>
<p>I&#8217;ve written several articles about the Small Universe, which you can read here:</p>
<ul>
<li> <a href="http://flowingzen.com/1461/the-small-universe/">The Real Truth About the Small Universe Qigong;</a></li>
<li> <a href="http://flowingzen.com/6320/secrets-of-the-small-universe/">7 Secrets of the Small Universe Qigong.</a></li>
</ul>
<h1>What are Acupuncture Points?</h1>
<p><img data-recalc-dims="1" loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter wp-image-20077" src="https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/acupuncture-qi-meridians-TCM-points-man-683x1024.jpg?resize=500%2C750" alt="" width="500" height="750" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/acupuncture-qi-meridians-TCM-points-man.jpg?resize=683%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 683w, https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/acupuncture-qi-meridians-TCM-points-man.jpg?resize=200%2C300&amp;ssl=1 200w, https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/acupuncture-qi-meridians-TCM-points-man.jpg?resize=768%2C1152&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/acupuncture-qi-meridians-TCM-points-man.jpg?w=2000&amp;ssl=1 2000w" sizes="(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px" /></p>
<p>We can&#8217;t talk about meridian theory without also talking about the &#8220;points&#8221;.</p>
<p>Some people believe that there are over 2000 different points. Modern students of acupuncture typically learn 300-400 points.</p>
<p>In 1992, The World Health Organization (WHO) developed <em>A Proposed Standard International Acupuncture Nomenclature Report,</em> which identifies 361 acupuncture points.</p>
<p>But what are acupuncture points?</p>
<p>As I&#8217;m sure you will have guessed by now, the term &#8220;acupuncture points&#8221; is <em>no bueno</em>. Not only are they used outside of acupuncture, but they aren&#8217;t even points!</p>
<p>For example, my qigong students often feel a tennis-ball-sized vortex of energy at laogong (勞宮), which is located in the center of the palm.</p>
<p><strong>In other words, they feel not a tiny point of energy, but a vortex. And this happens in qigong, not acupuncture.</strong></p>
<p>Actually, vortex is a good word because it gives us a better idea of what acupuncture points really are.</p>
<p>In Chinese, the two most common terms are:</p>
<ul>
<li>xuewei (穴位)</li>
<li>shuxue (<span class="w">腧穴)</span></li>
</ul>
<p>Those words give us the idea of a cavity or depression where &#8220;movement&#8221; takes place.</p>
<p>What kind of movement takes place in these depressions?? The movement of qi, of course!</p>
<h1>Summing Up</h1>
<p>Whew! We covered a ton of ground in just one post! Anyone ready for recess?</p>
<p>Remember, you do NOT need to memorize this information in order to have a healthy, thriving qigong practice.</p>
<p>Here are the things that I hope you take away from this post:</p>
<ol>
<li>Chinese medicine has many branches, including acupuncture and qigong</li>
<li>The 12 Primary Meridians are important (but not worth memorizing)</li>
<li>Two of the 8 Extraordinary Meridians are important (especially for advanced qigong students)</li>
<li>The Meridian is a system, not just an organ.</li>
<li>Acupuncture points are not tiny points, and aren&#8217;t just for acupuncture</li>
</ol>
<p>I hope this post helped you to better understand the meridians and how they relate to your qigong practice, even if it&#8217;s just food for thought.</p>
<p>Many of my students enjoy having a better working knowledge of Chinese Medicine theory, and <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/flowingzen/">our Facebook group</a> has become a great place to discuss these topics. Why not join us over there! It&#8217;s free!</p>
<p>You can also post your questions and comments below.</p>
<p>And as always, if you think that this post will help someone, then please click the share buttons below. </br></br>From the heart,</br> Sifu Anthony </br></br>




<p>The post <a href="https://flowingzen.com/making-sense-of-the-meridians/">Qigong Students: Here&#8217;s How to Make Sense of the Meridians</a> appeared first on <a href="https://flowingzen.com">Flowing Zen</a>.</p>
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		<title>Acupuncture Meridians: What Qigong Students Need to Know</title>
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		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Sifu Anthony Korahais]]></dc:creator>
		<pubDate>Mon, 09 Apr 2018 20:26:41 +0000</pubDate>
				<category><![CDATA[Blog]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[beginners]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[chinese medicine]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[meridians]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[qi]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[qigong]]></category>
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					<description><![CDATA[<p>I stared at the question in my inbox, blinking for at least 10 seconds. &#8220;So ignorant!&#8221; I thought to myself. The question came from a sincere student, and what it revealed was not his ignorance, but my own. Here&#8217;s the question: Dear Sifu Anthony, How can I balance my meridians and remove blockages? Or how can I [&#8230;]</p>
<p>The post <a href="https://flowingzen.com/acupuncture-meridians-what-qigong-students-need-to-know/">Acupuncture Meridians: What Qigong Students Need to Know</a> appeared first on <a href="https://flowingzen.com">Flowing Zen</a>.</p>
]]></description>
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<p><img data-recalc-dims="1" loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-19893" src="https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/shutterstock_261281402-2-1-1024x609.jpg?resize=1024%2C609" alt="" width="1024" height="609" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/shutterstock_261281402-2-1.jpg?resize=1024%2C609&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/shutterstock_261281402-2-1.jpg?resize=300%2C178&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/shutterstock_261281402-2-1.jpg?resize=768%2C457&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/shutterstock_261281402-2-1.jpg?w=2000&amp;ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/shutterstock_261281402-2-1.jpg?w=3000&amp;ssl=1 3000w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></p>
<p>I stared at the question in my inbox, blinking for at least 10 seconds. &#8220;So ignorant!&#8221; I thought to myself.</p>
<p>The question came from a sincere student, and what it revealed was not his ignorance, but my own.</p>
<p>Here&#8217;s the question:</p>
<hr />
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><em>Dear Sifu Anthony,</em></span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><em>How can I balance my meridians and remove blockages? Or how can I keep them flowing and strengthen them? Do they self balance and clear with daily qigong practice? Thank you for your time in advance! It is appreciated.</em></span></p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><em>-Joshua</em></span></p>
<hr />
<p>Let me be clear: I know the answer to Joshua&#8217;s question. That&#8217;s not the ignorance I&#8217;m talking about.</p>
<p>Ignorance can mean a lack of knowledge or information, but it also means a lack of awareness.</p>
<p>In my case, I don&#8217;t lack the knowledge or information to answer the questions above. But I did lack the proper AWARENESS.</p>
<p><strong>As a teacher, it&#8217;s my job to be constantly aware of what qigong looks like through the eyes of my students, including fresh beginners.</strong></p>
<p>That&#8217;s not always easy. Like most teachers, I&#8217;ve been doing this for a long, long time. Decades. Maybe lifetimes.</p>
<p>I&#8217;ve studied with masters from all over the world, read hundreds of books, practiced for thousands of hours, and I even went to acupuncture college to deepen my understanding.</p>
<p>And yet, as I read Joshua&#8217;s email, I saw my own ignorance, my own lack of awareness.</p>
<p><strong>Concepts like &#8220;meridians,&#8221; &#8220;energy,&#8221; and &#8220;blockages&#8221; are still completely foreign to most people. It&#8217;s MY job as a teacher to make those concepts clearer.</strong></p>
<p>And that&#8217;s what I&#8217;m going to do in this post.</p>
<h1>What Are Meridians?</h1>
<p>Let&#8217;s start with the word &#8220;meridian&#8221;. This word is widely used in acupuncture, qigong, Chinese herbal medicine, and tui na (Chinese massage therapy).</p>
<p>Unfortunately, the word &#8220;meridian&#8221; is a poor translation from the Chinese word:</p>
<h4>經 絡 (<i><span lang="zh-Latn-pinyin" xml:lang="zh-Latn-pinyin">jīngluò)</span></i></h4>
<p>The simple translation is &#8220;channel&#8221;, like a channel that water runs through. In this case, it&#8217;s qi, or vital energy, that flows through the channels.</p>
<p>But there&#8217;s an additional connotation here.<span style="font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, 'Segoe UI', Roboto, Oxygen-Sans, Ubuntu, Cantarell, 'Helvetica Neue', sans-serif;">The 2nd character, 絡, means &#8220;net-like&#8221;. </span>So the jingluo are a net-like series of channels through which qi flows.</p>
<p><strong>Think of a highway system, with big Interstate highways and smaller roads, all forming a complex network. Except that instead of cars, it&#8217;s qi that flows along the network.</strong></p>
<p><em>Note: Even though the word &#8220;channel&#8221; is a better translation, I&#8217;m going to continue to use the word &#8220;meridian&#8221; because it is already in common usage. Hell, even Google translates the Chinese word to &#8220;meridian&#8221;. I&#8217;m too busy with my teaching to pick a fight with Google right now!</em></p>
<h1>What is Qi?</h1>
<p>I mentioned that your meridians are a net-like series of channels through which qi flows.</p>
<p>But what is qi?</p>
<p><strong>Qi is THE central theme in qigong, acupuncture, and Chinese herbal medicine. It&#8217;s also central in feng shui and tai chi chuan.</strong></p>
<p>I&#8217;ve written about this in the past (for example <a href="https://flowingzen.com/16952/sensing-your-qi/">here</a> and <a href="https://flowingzen.com/15937/the-15-most-frequently-asked-questions-about-qigong/">here</a>), but let&#8217;s keep things simple.</p>
<p><strong>Qi is your life energy or life force.</strong></p>
<p>Whether that&#8217;s the energy that moves food through your digestive system, or the energy that mobilizes your immune system, or the energy that powers your cells — all of that is qi.</p>
<p>Qi is also information &#8212; like data running through an internet network. For example, the information that signals the production of a hormone, or that tells certain genes to turn on or off &#8212; that is also qi.</p>
<p>This is the &#8220;substance&#8221; that flows through your meridians.</p>
<h1>How Does Qi Flow?</h1>
<p><img data-recalc-dims="1" loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-19935" src="https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/minor-3288025_1920-1024x683.jpg?resize=1024%2C683" alt="" width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/minor-3288025_1920.jpg?resize=1024%2C683&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/minor-3288025_1920.jpg?resize=300%2C200&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/minor-3288025_1920.jpg?resize=768%2C512&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/minor-3288025_1920.jpg?w=1920&amp;ssl=1 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></p>
<p>Most of the classics talk about a &#8220;flow&#8221; of qi. A common analogy is to compare it to the flow of water.</p>
<p>In fact, some of the Chinese Medicine classics compare the flow of qi to water flowing from bubbling springs, streams, rivers, seas, or oceans.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s important to remember that the concept of qi is ANCIENT. It&#8217;s thousands of years old.</p>
<p>Back then, they didn&#8217;t know about protons, neutrons, or electrons. They had no electric lights, no electric cables, and (gasp!) no WiFi.</p>
<p><strong>In the 21st century, it&#8217;s natural to think of qi as a form of energy, like a current running through a wire.</strong></p>
<p>And that&#8217;s fine as long as we remember that the ancient masters didn&#8217;t have this paradigm. They had a close connection with nature, so that was where they looked for analogies. And I think that these analogies still work today as long as you don&#8217;t take them too literally.</p>
<h1>Where are the Meridians?</h1>
<p><a href="https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/meridians-body-qi-chinese-medicine-TCM-acupuncture-flow.jpg"><img data-recalc-dims="1" loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-19920" src="https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/meridians-body-qi-chinese-medicine-TCM-acupuncture-flow-1024x730.jpg?resize=1024%2C730" alt="" width="1024" height="730" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/meridians-body-qi-chinese-medicine-TCM-acupuncture-flow.jpg?resize=1024%2C730&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/meridians-body-qi-chinese-medicine-TCM-acupuncture-flow.jpg?resize=300%2C214&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/meridians-body-qi-chinese-medicine-TCM-acupuncture-flow.jpg?resize=768%2C548&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/meridians-body-qi-chinese-medicine-TCM-acupuncture-flow.jpg?w=2000&amp;ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/meridians-body-qi-chinese-medicine-TCM-acupuncture-flow.jpg?w=3000&amp;ssl=1 3000w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></a></p>
<p>Speaking of taking things too literally, <a href="http://flowingzen.com/17247/the-skeptics-guide-to-feeling-the-qi/">skeptics</a> love to point out that the meridians can&#8217;t be found and therefore don&#8217;t exist.</p>
<p>It&#8217;s true that if you dissect your leg (please don&#8217;t do this), you won&#8217;t see any acupuncture meridians. But that doesn&#8217;t mean they don&#8217;t exist.</p>
<p>Don&#8217;t let 21st-century hubris block you from benefitting from this ancient wisdom. Just because we haven&#8217;t understood something yet doesn&#8217;t mean it doesn&#8217;t exist.</p>
<p>Open-minded researchers are doing interesting studies into the meridians, and I believe that the next 10-20 years will confirm their existence.</p>
<p>For example, <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3838801/">this study</a> looked at wave-induced flows in the meridians. This is a bit obtuse, but the study concluded: &#8220;that the strong light propagation and optical properties along the meridian channel comprised a histological structure correlated with interstitial fluids.&#8221;</p>
<p>And <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20633480/">this study</a> tried to document a new micro-circulatory system that corresponds to classical acupuncture meridians.</p>
<p>Not convinced?</p>
<p><strong>What would you say if I told you that researchers just recently discovered a whole new organ in the human body?</strong></p>
<p>It&#8217;s true. <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-23062-6">In this new study,</a> researchers discovered not only what they think is a new organ, but the largest organ in the body!</p>
<p>The new organ, the <em>interstitium,</em> contains tiny fluid-filled structures that can be found just about everywhere in the body.</p>
<p>Will this discovery eventually lead to a deeper understanding of the Chinese meridian system? Who knows, but it&#8217;s definitely an exciting time to be alive!</p>
<h1>How Were Meridians Discovered?</h1>
<p>This raises an important question: How did ancient masters discover the meridians?</p>
<p>After all, they didn&#8217;t have microscopes or high-tech equipment. How could they possibly have known about such a complex, invisible network in the human body?</p>
<p>Years ago, I taught qigong at an acupuncture college. I had both students and professors in my classes.</p>
<p>After practicing qigong for about a year, one of the professors had an epiphany.</p>
<p><strong>&#8220;I can feel my Gallbladder Meridian!&#8221; she said excitedly.</strong></p>
<p>The same thing sometimes happens in acupuncture. I&#8217;ve seen patients talk about a strong sensation running down an arm or a leg. If you ask them to trace the sensation, they&#8217;ll trace the meridian almost exactly! How cool!</p>
<p>In qigong, feeling acupuncture points along the meridians is quite easy. Most of my students can start to feel this within 1-2 years of practice, especially my <a href="http://flowingzen.com/101">Qigong 101 students</a>.</p>
<p>For example, acu-points like laogong (P 8) in the palm, baihui (GV 20) at the top of the head, or hegu (LI 4) in the web of hand &#8212; all of these points are can be felt even by beginners.</p>
<p>At more advanced levels, techniques like <a href="http://flowingzen.com/1461/the-small-universe/">the Small Universe Qigong</a> give you a clear and obvious perception of acupuncture meridians.</p>
<p>Back to the question about how the meridians were discovered: I believe that ancient mystics began to perceive the flow of energy in their own body. It&#8217;s likely that they transmitted their discoveries through oral traditions, and eventually through writing.</p>
<h1>Creating Harmony and Clearing Blockages</h1>
<p><a href="https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/yin-yang-balance-black-white-natural.jpg"><img data-recalc-dims="1" loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-large wp-image-19922" src="https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/yin-yang-balance-black-white-natural-1024x680.jpg?resize=1024%2C680" alt="" width="1024" height="680" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/yin-yang-balance-black-white-natural.jpg?resize=1024%2C680&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/yin-yang-balance-black-white-natural.jpg?resize=300%2C199&amp;ssl=1 300w, https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/yin-yang-balance-black-white-natural.jpg?resize=768%2C510&amp;ssl=1 768w, https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/yin-yang-balance-black-white-natural.jpg?w=2000&amp;ssl=1 2000w, https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/yin-yang-balance-black-white-natural.jpg?w=3000&amp;ssl=1 3000w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></a></p>
<p>Let&#8217;s come back to Joshua&#8217;s questions. His original email contains 3 related questions:</p>
<ol>
<li>How can I balance my meridians?</li>
<li>How can I remove blockages in my meridians?</li>
<li>How can I strengthen my meridians?</li>
</ol>
<p>If we&#8217;re talking about Acupuncture or Chinese Herbal Medicine, then the answer is simple: leave all of this to your physician. In other words, don&#8217;t try to self-diagnose what your meridians might need. (That&#8217;s a subject for a future blog post.)</p>
<p>But qigong is a self-healing art, especially <a href="http://flowingzen.com/18271/history-of-qigong-the-5-categories-of-qi-cultivation/">the category called Medical Qigong</a>. <strong>With the right qigong method, you can heal yourself, even without a proper diagnosis.</strong></p>
<p>Notice that I said &#8220;with the right method&#8221;, not &#8220;with the right exercises.&#8221;</p>
<p>My students are always asking me which exercise they should practice for _____ problem. I&#8217;ve written about this in depth (<a href="http://flowingzen.com/19278/which-qigong-exercise-should-you-practice-for-insert-problem/">click here to read more</a>), but the takeaway is the same.</p>
<p>To balance, strengthen, and clear your meridians, you should practice the following routine:</p>
<hr />
<ol>
<li>Entering Zen</li>
<li>Smiling from the Heart</li>
<li>Lifting The Sky</li>
<li>Pushing Mountains</li>
<li>Carrying the Moon</li>
<li>Flowing Breeze Swaying Willow</li>
<li>Flowing Stillness</li>
<li>Washing the Face with Both Hands</li>
<li>Combing the Hair with the Fingers</li>
<li>Massaging the Vital Points</li>
<li>Rubbing Two Coins</li>
<li>24 Heavenly Drums</li>
</ol>
<hr />
<p>The above routine will simultaneously balance, strengthen, and clear all of your meridians. (I teach this exact routine, and much more, in <a href="http://flowingzen.com/101">my Qigong 101 program</a>.)</p>
<p>Because of the way <a href="http://flowingzen.com/1068/the-5-phase-routine/">this routine</a> is organized, you don&#8217;t need a diagnosis, and you don&#8217;t need to worry about which meridians are blocked, weak, or unbalanced.</p>
<p>But you do need to practice diligently!</p>
<h1>The 12 Dimensions</h1>
<p><a href="http://flowingzen.com/17304/the-12-ways-of-cultivating-qi/"><img data-recalc-dims="1" loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-17155" src="https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/12-dimensions-circles-spiraling.jpg?resize=720%2C540" alt="" width="720" height="540" srcset="https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/12-dimensions-circles-spiraling.jpg?w=720&amp;ssl=1 720w, https://i0.wp.com/flowingzen.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/12-dimensions-circles-spiraling.jpg?resize=300%2C225&amp;ssl=1 300w" sizes="(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px" /></a>Does that mean you only need the above routine to heal anything and everything?</p>
<p>No. It doesn&#8217;t.</p>
<p><strong>In the world of qigong, there are many different styles and methods, but there are only 12 different things that you can do with your qi.</strong></p>
<p>In my teachings, I call these the 12 Dimensions of Qi Mastery. (<a href="https://flowingzen.com/17304/the-12-ways-of-cultivating-qi/">Click here to read more about the 12 Dimensions</a>.)</p>
<p>Different teachers may use different names, but when you boil everything down, the skills are the same.</p>
<p>The routine I listed above focuses on the first 4 of the 12 Dimensions:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">1. Discovering the Qi<br />
2. Circulating the Qi<br />
3. Aligning the Qi<br />
4. Gathering the Qi</p>
<p>I call these The 4 Pillars of qigong because they form a stable foundation for any holistic qigong practice. If you don&#8217;t have this foundation, then advanced qigong skills will continue to elude you.</p>
<p>The 8 remaining skills are:</p>
<p style="padding-left: 30px;">5. Protecting the Qi<br />
6. Purifying the Qi<br />
7. Mobilizing the Qi<br />
8. Directing the Qi<br />
9. Consolidating the Qi<br />
10. Transforming the Qi<br />
11. Unifying the Qi<br />
12. Transmitting the Qi</p>
<p>As you become more skillful in qigong, you can use more advanced skills to continue balancing, strengthening, and clearing your meridians.</p>
<p>For example:</p>
<ol>
<li>To <strong>balance</strong> the meridians, you can use: Circulating the Qi (#2), Aligning the Qi (#4), and Mobilizing the Qi (#7).</li>
<li>To <strong>remove blockages</strong>, you can use: Purifying the Qi (#6) and Protecting the Qi (#5).</li>
<li>To <strong>strengthen</strong> your meridians, you can use: Gathering the Qi (#4), Consolidating the Qi (#9), and Transforming the Qi (#10).</li>
</ol>
<p>In other words, focus on learning and mastering the 12 Dimensions and you will have ways to balance, clear, and strengthen your meridians for the rest of your life!</p>
<p>(Read more about the 12 Dimensions <a href="http://flowingzen.com/17304/the-12-ways-of-cultivating-qi/">here</a>, <a href="http://flowingzen.com/17154/do-you-know-all-12-skills-of-qi-cultivation/">here</a>, and <a href="http://flowingzen.com/14315/the-12-phases-of-qi-mastery/">here</a>.)</p>
<p>Remember that these are skills, not techniques. The techniques may differ from teacher to teacher, but the underlying skills are the same.</p>
<h1>Want to Learn More About Meridians?</h1>
<p>I hope you found this article helpful. As always, if you have questions, post them below.</p>
<p><strong>If you&#8217;d like me to write more on the subject of meridians, then please let me know in the comments below.</strong></p>
<p>Honestly, I only scratched the surface here. I didn&#8217;t talk about the 12 Primary Meridians, the 8 Extraordinary Meridians, or the Yin and Yang Organs.</p>
<p>There is a ton of Chinese Medicine theory and philosophy that I can write about, but I need to know if you&#8217;re interested in this stuff! So whadaya say? Are you interested?</p>
[Edit: Y&#8217;all asked for more on the subject, so I wrote another article, <a href="http://flowingzen.com/19897/making-sense-of-the-meridians/">which you can read here</a>.] </br></br>From the heart,</br> Sifu Anthony </br></br>
<p>The post <a href="https://flowingzen.com/acupuncture-meridians-what-qigong-students-need-to-know/">Acupuncture Meridians: What Qigong Students Need to Know</a> appeared first on <a href="https://flowingzen.com">Flowing Zen</a>.</p>
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