Expression of the Unity of Dao and Virtue
The Meridians
All things arise from the Dao.
They are nourished by Virtue.
They are formed from matter.
They are shaped by environment.
Thus the ten thousand things all respect Dao and honor Virtue.
Respect of Dao and honor of Virtue are not demanded,
But they are in the nature of things.
Laozi, Daodejing
The meridians are a network of energy channels running throughout the entire body. We may picture them as a kind of road map, with twelve major meridians serving as the motorways, eight additional meridians like major trunk roads, and twelve divergent meridians like minor roads running alongside the motorways. Flowing out from all these meridians like a network of country lanes are small branches called collaterals.
The meridians do not figure in the anatomy of the body according to conventional western science, since they are not solid structures like arteries, veins, lymph ducts, or even nerves. Yet more than two thousand years ago, certain practitioners of Chinese medicine developed the art of “x-ray vision” through the skill of working directly with qi and described these “rivers of energy” in detail.
The ability to work with qi is called qigong in Chinese (the word “gong” meaning skill) and comes from an esoteric tradition that lies at the heart of Daoist and Buddhist teachings. Through the cultivation of special meditation techniques, the practitioner overcomes the limits of ordinary sense perception and develops extraordinary powers.
These include mastery over mind and matter to such a degree that paranormal phenomena, as they are known in the West, are experienced and utilized in everyday life. This is how the leading doctors of Chinese medicine first observed the flow of subtle energies in the body, for these practitioners were accomplished qigong masters.
Over the last twenty years, scientists have begun to investigate the meridians using electrical conduction techniques. Research demonstrates that not only do meridians exist; they correspond exactly to what qigong masters have been “seeing” for more than two millennia.
The flow of qi within the meridians is deeply connected to fluctuations in the energy of the sun, moon, earth, and stars. When we see how powerful the effect of the moon is in producing the tides, it is not surprising that the body itself can be affected, because the body is eighty-five percent water. The gravitational pull of the moon causes the qi in the meridians to rise, and where there is already emotional imbalance; the rise will be even greater as increasing qi stimulates the system.
A more gradual change is brought about by the four seasons. In summer, qi rises up to the surface of the skin. In winter, it runs deeper. Every acupuncturist knows that this change will affect the depth to which needles must be inserted into the body to find the meridians.
When we stand with our arms stretching upward, we stand between earth and heaven. According to the Daoist tradition, this is our place in the cosmos. In this posture, in the small cosmos of the body, qi flows in accordance with universal law. All six yin meridians of the body flow upward and all the six yang meridians flow downward, just as moist air (yin) rises and warmth of the sun (yang) radiates down on us.
The taiji identifies the twelve major meridians. Each meridian plays its part throughout the twenty-four-hour cycle in maintaining the overall balance of qi in the body. However, each meridian in turn passes through a phase of maximum sensitivity lasting about two hours, during which the flow of qi is concentrated in that meridian.
The Heart Meridian
You can see from the illustration that this meridian has three main branches running from the heart. One branch goes down to the small intestine, one branch to the throat, mouth, eye, and brain, and one branch to the lung, then down the inside of the arm to the tip of the little finger.
The heart itself functions overall as a yang organ. TCM visualizes it as a “fire organ” associated with activity and heat. During heart meridian time, between 11:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m., it is tempting to exploit this readily available yang energy. Many people do just that by taking working lunches day after day. Yet heart meridian time deserves special attention because it is intimately linked with the birth of baby yin, which the Chinese picture as drops of cool liquid. Although all meridians are concerned with the flow of both yin and yang, the heart meridian is defined as a yin meridian because of its role in the birth of baby yin.
When baby yin has been nourished by taking a rest during heart meridian time, the qi flows strongly in the heart meridian, with the result that the digestive system works well, the mind is alert and the eyes are bright, concentration and memory are enhanced, and the rhythm of sleep is deep and regular. The lungs will be healthy and the arms strong. In TCM, the lungs in turn control the skin, so that the condition of the skin, too, will be good.
In contrast, if no rest period is taken, the long-term consequences of yin deficiency can be serious. These include palpitations; pain around the heart; insomnia; excess sweating, especially at night; overheating of the palms and soles; arthritis; thirst; mouth ulcers; dryness of eyes; and intolerance of light. Other possible effects are itchy skin, headache, anxiety and depression, loss of concentration and memory, restlessness, and irritability.
In some countries, the lunch break is usually between 1:00 and 2:00 p.m., during small intestine meridian time. An earlier lunch hour is preferable, but if this cannot be managed, it is still better to rest between 1:00 and 2:00 p.m. than to go without.
After baby yin has been born, it is important to nurture yin carefully by refraining from too much vigorous activity and excitement in the second half of the day. Whereas yang energy is given over to “doing,” the character of yin is that of “being.” Since the meridians carry both yin and yang, it is not surprising that symptoms also arise when the heart meridian is deficient in yang. This happens either because baby yang has not been nourished at night or because the reserves of yang have been exhausted through excess activity. More often than not, it is caused by a mixture of both. We will examine the birth of baby yang during the night when discussing the gallbladder meridian. As to the exhaustion of yang qi during the day, bear in mind that because the first half of the day is
yang time, people often feel energetic and get carried away with the challenge of tasks needing to be done and the excitement of interacting with other people. If yang qi is weak to start with, working straight through lunchtime makes further demands on it. The result is that the heart meridian yang becomes inflamed and burns out. Because the body’s warning system has been masked by over activity, damage takes place without awareness of what is going wrong. The list of problems which can occur when yang is depleted is a long one: bad breath, indigestion, irritable bowel syndrome, loss of voice, dizziness, weakness, fatigue, fainting, vomiting blood or losing blood in stools or urine, heavy and irregular menstruation, shortness of breath, discoloration of nails, overexcitement, impulsiveness, agitation, and irrationality.
We have dealt with the problems of yin and yang in the heart meridian separately here in order to describe how the two energy patterns coexist. In everyday life, however, when the qi in the meridian has been affected, both yin and yang are likely to be disturbed and so the picture is often a mixed one with a combination of symptoms.
