Chinese medicine conceives of the body as an intricate network through which life-energy called Qi flows freely; when this energy becomes blocked it leads to dysfunction and illness.
Meridians are key to restoring balance and activating your body’s natural healing power, so Acupuncture works to balance their flow of energy.
Triple Burner Meridian
The Triple Burner Meridian regulates body fluids and Qi. When healthy, this meridian allows lung and spleen cells to gather and transform Qi from upper, middle, and lower burners into balanced circulation, providing for healthy lung functioning and smooth urination. When out of balance however, symptoms such as fluid retention (edema) or difficulty with urinating may appear – creating symptoms such as fluid retention and difficulty with urination.
The Triple Burner begins at the tip of your ring finger and moves backward between your 4th and 5th metacarpal bones before travelling along the side of your hand, eventually passing between your ulna and radius, up through your arm between ulna and radius, around shoulder neck area then down behind clavicle into chest area where it permeates pericardium then eventually passes CV-17 and dissipates into your chest region.
As such, this channel is often known as the “Pericardium and Lung Channel.” When this channel becomes imbalanced, it can cause various health problems for lungs, spleen and kidneys as well as headaches, eye and cheek pain, insomnia or other forms of discomfort.
Chinese Medicine utilizes acupuncture and bodywork techniques to restore the proper function of the Triple Burner by treating any imbalances that have contributed to its disharmony. If you would like more information on acupuncture point locations, relationships, functions and precautions please check out our triple warmer Meridian Acupuncture Flash Cards; an invaluable resource for students and practitioners alike with images, clinical applications and precautions for each point on this meridian – digital as well as printable versions available!
Yang Wei Mai
The Yang Wei Mai or Yang Linking Vessel is responsible for managing energy flow between all the Yang meridians, ensuring they work together efficiently. It regulates body movements and alertness while contributing to maintaining physical strength and equilibrium; its lack can result in muscle stiffness, dizziness and imbalanced yang energy throughout the body.
This incredible vessel begins at Acupuncture Point G b 20 on the lower leg and travels upward along its path, through acupuncture Points g b 20, onto the side of neck, then through ear canal to gallbladder 13 at the back of head. Along this meridian’s path lie San Jiao channels, small intestine channels and gallbladder channels – sharing points with each of them along its course.
In a healthy body, Wei Qi serves to protect organs from external pathogenic factors and regulate body temperature by opening and closing pores and sweating. When Wei Qi becomes weaker, however, its weakening increases susceptibility to colds, flu and infections as well as decreasing skin’s ability to absorb moisture resulting in dryness or excess heat for many individuals.
Chinese Organ Clock provides each organ with two-hour windows when its Qi is most easily available to nourishment or healing, enabling treatment via acupuncture or herbal medicine to target specific organs more directly.
The Yang Wei Mai can be used to treat various conditions, including chronic headaches that involve the Gallbladder channel (such as those occurring in the head, neck or eyebrow area) as well as intermittent chills and fevers as well as pain on either side of the body. The opening points and coupled points on this instrument provide optimal care.
Shen Jiang
Shen Jiang is a traditional Chinese Medicine herb which assists the flow of Qi and Body Fluids while strengthening lungs. Additionally, Shen Jiang can assist with coughing up mucus or wheezing as well as benefits to COVID-19 infection when Yang depletion occurs early on.
Shen Jiang, born and raised in Yancheng, had to work hard from an early age in order to support her family financially. Juggling various jobs to supplement income helped build her a strong work ethic that would serve her well later when entering the entertainment industry.
TCM recognizes that each season presents unique health challenges, which must be met using herbs suitable to each season. For instance, winter calls for warming herbs like Ginger and Cinnamon Bark to stimulate Yang energy and increase circulation; Astragalus and Licorice Root strengthen immune systems against cold-related illnesses.
Shen Cao Gan Jiang Tang (SCGJT) is an altered traditional remedy composed of eleven herbal ingredients including Radix Glycyrrhizae, Rhizoma Zingiberis, and Radix Ginseng. Historically used as a prescription to treat diabetes in TCM medicine and recent studies have demonstrated its protective benefits against diabetic nephropathy.
Yin Jiang
Over the past 150 years, Western scientific medicine has made tremendous advancements in treating infectious diseases and creating effective long-term management practices for noncommunicable diseases. Unfortunately, this success has also created new obstacles, including resistance to pharmaceuticals and an increasing need for preventative care services. Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) can offer an effective solution by lowering serum cholesterol levels and supporting cardiovascular wellbeing.
TCM is founded on an ancient health paradigm which views vital energy (Qi) as the force that sustains and nurtures overall well-being. Qi can also be found within nature itself as either complementary or contradictory forces which coexist together, making the balance between them vital to overall wellness. TCM recognizes this and stresses balancing them for optimal wellbeing.
The Yin Jiang herbal formula includes 13 herbs such as Sheng Di Huang, Dang Gui, Bai Shao, Bai Zhu, Xia Ku, Shu Di Huang, Chen Pi and Tian Men Dong to nourish kidney yin while supporting liver function while decreasing lipid accumulation and improving circulation. This herb combination can help nourish kidney yin while supporting liver functions while reducing lipid accumulation and increasing circulation; making this an effective solution to exhaustion, yin and blood deficiency with excessive internal heat symptoms like fever, night sweats, palpitations cough fatigue dry mouth or throat insomnia weight loss constipation red tongued tongued and deep rapid pulse.
The Yin Jiang herbal treatment involves applying pressure to two acupoints on each of the yin meridians in the hand and foot: LU5 and LU6 on Taiyin lung meridians; PC3 and HT7 on Jueyin heart meridians; BL34 and BL57 on Shaoyang gallbladder meridians of feet, with its effects being strengthened liver yin, helping move spleen, relieving abdominal pain, dysmenorrhea symptoms, chronically low appetite as well as its beneficial effects on strengthening liver yin.
Du Jiang
TCM recognizes Gan Jiang as one of the herbs which “Warm the Interior and Disperse Cold”. This means it can treat those suffering from too much internal coldness or Yang deficiency (as determined by TCM’s concept of balance between Yin and Yang). As Gan Jiang is generally hot-natured it helps restore this delicate balance.
Gan Jiang tastes pungent, which is beneficial according to Chinese Medicine’s Five Phases Theory: taste is what determines its action within your body and therefore pungent ingredients like Gan Jiang can promote circulation of Qi and body fluids.
TCM is a holistic approach that views the human body as a self-regulating network with its own energy source, designed to maintain health. TCM emphasizes qi (life energy) and five element theory when classifying herbs; viscera are also taken into consideration as part of this classification system; such as kidneys and the brain as categories within this category.
