OUR BODY'S COMMUNICATION SYSTEM: CIRCULATORY, NERVOUS, MERIDIAN

Our body which is made up of approximately 37.2 trillion cells do not exist and act alone. Each of these cells in our body works in a perfectly orchestrated manner. What enables each cell to function in an organized manner so that the body works as ONE and not 37.2 trillion individual cells is communication between the cells.

This article tries to expound in a simplistic manner, the infrastructure of this communication namely, the circulatory system, the nervous system and the meridian system. Whereas the circulatory system and the nervous system can be scientifically proven and verified by studying anatomy and physiology, the meridian system is more abstract. However abstract does not mean it does not exist.

Try proving 'wind' to someone who has never experienced or used wind before. Wind is defined as moving air due difference in air pressure. But air is not wind and wind is not air. Wind is moving air. The operative word is 'moving'. You can never prove the existence of wind by sampling wind in a container and study it under a microscope. Nevertheless this never stops the sailor from sailing or the boy from flying the kite or windmill from turning. The usefulness and power of the wind are harnessed for immediate use even though the user has not proven the existence of wind in the lab under the microscope. Perhaps the instrument to study 'wind' has been wrong from the start.

CIRCULATORY SYSTEM

We eat our food. Food gets digested. The digested nutrient is carried by the blood to the whole body by the blood (plasma). The nutrients reach the cells. The cells metabolize the nutrients. The metabolic wastes produced by the cells are then carried by the blood (plasma) to the liver and kidneys for detoxification and excretion outside the body as urine and feces.

We breathe air that contains oxygen. The oxygen is mixed with blood in the lungs. The oxygenated blood (red blood cells) is then carried to the whole body and delivers oxygen to every living cell in the body. The cells use the oxygen to metabolize the nutrients. Subsequently carbon dioxide is produced as a metabolic waste. Carbon dioxide is then carried back to the lungs by the blood (red blood cells) to be expelled in the exhaled air.

• This system consists of the heart as the pump. Blood is the fluid acting as the carrying vehicle. The arteries (blood flowing away from the heart), veins (blood flowing towards the heart) and capillaries (a network of the smallest unit of blood vessels where arteries and veins meet) are the conduit in which the blood flows.
• The blood components (red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, plasma) carries nutrients, oxygen, pathogens, chemical toxins, heavy metals, dead cell debris, metabolic waste towards (veins) and away (arteries) from the heart.
• The blood baths all the cells of the body to deliver nutrients and oxygen and to collect the metabolic wastes and carbon dioxide. Heavy metals, chemical toxins and pathogens (bacteria, viruses, fungus and parasites) are transported in similar fashion also.
• The speed of blood flow is 40cm/s (Aorta), 15cm/s (Vena Cava), 0.03cm/s (Capillaries).
• Food poisoning, gas poisoning, and venom from bites all takes effect in a few seconds because that is how fast blood travels.
• The traveling speed depends on the force from the heart as a pump.

THE NERVOUS SYSTEM

There is a loud bang and you recoil in split second from the unexpected sound. You see an object flying towards your face and in a split second you shut your eyes, turn your face away and hold your hand in front of your face in an attempt to avoid the impact of the object to your face. Unknowingly, your finger touched a very hot glass of water and in a split second, you withdraw your hand automatically without thinking consciously. You are accidentally pushed from behind and you lost your balance and falls face forward towards the floor. In a split second, you managed to extend your arm in front of your body and avoid hitting your head on the floor.

All the above examples illustrates how fast and spontaneously the body reacts as a reflex (without thinking), in a perfectly coordinated manner to save the body from danger. One system activates the other in a split second and all this is possible thanks to our nervous systems that communicates via electrical impulses. The speed of nerve impulse is approximately 1000cm/s and that is 25 times faster than the blood circulation. That explains the instantaneous effects of electrocution as compared to poisoning which may take minutes to hours.

The nervous system is also linked to other bodily systems for a more rapid and efficient response and thus terms such as neurovascular, neuroendocrine and neurohormonal are coined. The nervous systems provides the speed needed for communication between the sensory organs (eyes, ears, skin, smell etc), the central nervous system (brain & spinal cord) and the effector organs (muscles, heart, lungs, intestines, iris etc).

THE MERIDIAN SYSTEM

Your Qi and its circulation

The meridian system consists of pathways or channels where Qi flows. So what is Qi circulation? There is a network of invisible pathways (diagram below) called 'channels' (sometimes known as 'meridians') spanning your whole body according to the theory of Chinese medicine which has been an integral part for healing by the Chinese for thousands of years. This meridian map although deemed ancient, has been used by the German and Russian physicians in designing modern equipments which manipulates the flow of Qi using electromagnetic waves, lasers, infrared, shockwave, radiofrequency, ozone, platelet rich plasma plorotherapy (PRP) instead of the more traditional acupuncture needles and moxibustion.

Qi- the energy flowing through the channels- is much less dense than matter, so you cannot see it. It is nevertheless essential to your well-being. Qi is originally created from the combination of the air that you breathe with the food you eat. This mixture then goes through several refining process to become the Qi that moves through your channels. The Qi in your channels connects to and nourishes your organs.

The channels and Organs

You can compare the channels and Organs to the Google Map of a country. The first thing you would probably notice are the roads. Some of these would be large dual carriageways where cars and lorries move from one major town to another. Other smaller roads give people access to more remote areas. The network of roads is similar to the network of channels that extend throughout your body.

The cities and towns can be compared to the Organs of the body. Often a road is named after the town it leads to. I come from Damai and in that town there is a Jalan Damai. In the same way the channels are named after the Organs they join up with.

Roads are vital links that bring supplies into the cities and towns. Sometimes roads become blocked. Most commonly nowadays this is due to traffic jams, but it can also to an accident, a fallen tree or sometimes construction works like Jalan Lintas highway currently. There might also be a food shortage, so that nothing is available to reach the cities or outposts. In both of these cases the residents become desperate when they do not have provisions they need. If provisions are cut off for a long time, worse problems occur and looting and violence can even result.

Similarly, when the channels in the body become deficient or blocked, the organs are starved of vital Qi. If this continues for a long period, sickness may manifest physically, mentally or spiritually. A problem affecting the Qi pathways alone is called a 'channel problem' in Chinese medicine.

Sometimes problems in urban areas are not due to poor road access but because there is unrest or pollution in the towns and cities themselves. The Organ of the body can be affected in much the same way. Rather than being weakened by lack of nourishment from the channels, they can be influenced directly by bad diet, pollution, injuries or emotional problems. In this case the cause of an illness is called an 'Organ problem'.

The 'Western' medical doctor sometimes unwittingly describe a clinical symptoms which is hard to explain by anatomy or physiology but clearly illustrates the connection between the channels and Organs. Here are two examples. When patients are having heart problems, they often have pain radiating down the left arm to the left little finger. This could be easily explained by the fact that the acupuncture channel of the Heart travels down the little finger. Another puzzle is why people who have headaches often feel nauseous at the same time. An acupuncturist understands that this is because many headaches are caused by an imbalance in the Gall Bladder. The Gall Bladder channel has numerous pathways traveling over the head and Gall Bladder problems can also lead to a feeling of nausea.(Refer diagram below)

Of course what I just mentioned was not taught in a conventional medical school. But in clinical practice I cannot help but agree with the existence of such meridian systems although I cannot prove it scientifically. Nevertheless that will not be an obstacle for me to benefit my patients who has not been successful with conventional therapy, thus an 'integrative' approach is used to solve clinical problems. Fundamentally, irrespective of conventional or integrative therapy, any healer should 'First do no harm' in whatever approach of treatment.

 

QI

What is Qi?

Qi is the energy that underlies everything in the universe. If it is condensed it becomes matter or if refined it becomes spirit. The Chinese character for Qi shows the 'vapour'  or 'gas' given off during the cooking of rice.

Qi is variously called ki in Japan, prana in India and rlun in Tibet. It has also been translated in various other ways including 'influences', 'life force', 'breath' or 'vital energy'.

To a practitioner of Chinese medicine the theory of Qi is important. If you tried to see particles of Qi through a microscope you would not find it, but the restoration of its balance is vital to restore a patient's health. Everything that is living, moving and vibrating does so because this invisible substance moves through it. The reason that your blood circulates, your limbs move, your stomach digest food and your hair grows is because you have Qi activating everything in your body. Your Qi gives you vitality. Without it you would no longer be alive.

The Qi inside your body is created from the combination of the food you eat and digest via your Stomach and Spleen and the air you breathe into your Lungs. In fact Chinese medicine considers Qi to be so important that a Chinese text called the Nan Jing states: 'Qi is the root of all human beings'.

THE FUNCTIONS OF QI

Qi has five main functions. It moves, transforms, protects, warms and holds or contains.

Qi and movement. Qi create all involuntary and voluntary movement such as the beating of your heart, the continuation of breathing while you sleep and the ability to move your body from place to place or your thoughts from subject to subject.

Qi and transformation. Qi enables your food to be assimilated, air to oxygenate your blood and information to be taken in and digested. All processing in the body and mind comes about as a result of the Qi's transformative function.

Qi and protection. Your defensive Qi allows you to have a strong immune system, leading to the ability to resist disease. If people easily succumb to infections this may be because their protective Qi is weak.

Qi and warming. Qi keeps your blood at a stable temperature. Humans are warm-blooded and warmth is essential to the maintenance of good health.

Qi and containment. Qi allows all of your Organs, tissues and blood vessels to remain in their correct position, ensuring their continued ability to function healthily.

DISHARMONIES OF QI

If Qi goes out of balance it becomes either deficient or stagnant.

Deficient Qi. If your Qi becomes deficient this will result in an inability to remain vital and energetic throughout the day. If plants are not nourished they wilt. Without enough Qi you can also wilt and feel increasingly feeble. As a result you can easily become depleted and lethargic and will not have enough energy to get through the day. Other symptoms include breathlessness, especially on exertion, a weak voice, poor appetite and spontaneous sweating.

Deficient Qi can also cause 'sinking Qi'. This can lead to prolapsed Organ because the Qi no longer holds them in their correct position.

Most people who are ill have some underlying Qi deficiency although it may not be the main reason for their problem.

Stagnant Qi. If the normal flow of Qi becomes blocked this is called 'stagnant Qi'. Stagnant Qi often occurs in a limb if you injure yourself. In this case the instinctive need to rub the area will enable your Qi to move once more. Qi also stagnates when you hold back your emotions, especially anger. In this case you could have a variety of different symptoms that include depression or mood swings, pre-menstrual tension, digestive problems, and lump or 'plumstone' throat. These symptoms can all be caused when people do not express themselves.

If food, fluid or breath becomes blocked or travels in the wrong direction this is called 'rebellious Qi' and can cause symptoms such as vomiting, belching or a cough.

(Adapted from 'The Acupuncture Handbook' by Angela Hicks)