The Handbook of Five Element Practice

Nora Franglen

• Publisher: Singing Dragon
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9780857011459
• Topic: Medicine
• Subtopic: Acupuncture

A practical companion for students and practitioners of five element acupuncture that helps stimulate thoughts, refresh memories and strengthen the foundation of practice.

With detailed outlines of the different components of five element diagnosis and treatment and overviews of the main characteristics of the five elements, this complete manual will support and invigorate practice. Full of examples, it explores the skills and techniques needed to nurture patient-practitioner relationships, assess patients correctly, select appropriate treatments and needle the points effectively. The book also includes a Teach Yourself Manual to further refresh understanding of this ancient form of healing.

This comprehensive handbook will be of immeasurable use to students and practitioners of five element acupuncture, as well as those who are interested in studying acupuncture and want to know more.

CHAPTER 1

THE FIVE ELEMENTS

The guardian element

A study of the elements as abstract concepts is a study of the very essence of life itself. How, then, to find a way on to this vast landscape? Here nature comes to our aid, offering us evidence of the elements’ manifestations in plant and tree, soil and pond. The changes wrought by the elements upon all things by the changing seasons can be seen, smelt, experienced within ourselves and thus provide the easiest first step towards developing our understanding. One advantage of studying nature in this way is that we do not at this early stage get caught up in all the awesomely complex layers which a human being adds to this picture. A rose is so simply and beautifully there, does not demand things of us, does not impinge upon us, does not, as far as we know, think the deep thoughts or have the deep feelings which make each of our lives so intricate and complicated. But, for all that, a rose, from seed, to bud, to withered petal, is as much a manifestation of the workings of each element in turn upon it as are its much more complex fellow manifestations in the human being, which create within each one of us those different aspects of our body and of the soul which animates this body.

Nature can therefore be used to help us more easily grasp the concepts of the different stages of this cycle as a first step along the path of our understanding. Thus to think of Wood as our body’s spring or Metal as its autumn is to give us a first foothold on the complex human landscape. We then have to take the more difficult step of transferring such understanding to the processes of life within us. One way in is to look at how the elements unfold through the cycles of our life we know of as our ageing process. Here Wood can be seen as our childhood and youth, Fire early adulthood, Earth the time when we settle down to have our families, Metal the time of reflection in late maturity and Water the time when life is brought to a close before it restarts again in the shape of the next seed. Looking at the elements as parcels of our life in this way certainly helps us understand a little more about the differing qualities they impart to us, for we then learn that Earth always has about it some of the maturity we hope our thirties and forties bring us, Wood will retain into old age some of the freshness of our teens, and Metal, even in youth, will have some of the wisdom old age imparts.

We now need to extend our fledgling understanding of the elements by translating it on to the more complex human scale. And here we need to look at how the elements spread their spheres of influence over us through the medium of the organs of the body. We know that the ancient Chinese gave to each organ a function far exceeding those which Western medicine recognizes, endowing them with personal characteristics. We continue this tradition by calling each organ an official. Each is seen as fulfilling a function in the kingdom, much as officials would have surrounded the emperor in days long gone. Together they form a community, a kingdom of body and soul, in which each has specific responsibilities which contribute to the wellbeing of the whole.

We need to remember that the very structures over which the meridians pass, as well as the organs whose name they bear, are created by the energies of the elements flowing through these meridians. What we see as the superficial network of energy shown on the acupuncture chart interconnects below the surface with deeper pathways of energy emerging from the organs which give the meridians their names. We know that there are 12 meridians in all, and that each meridian relates to a specific organ or function, and that the 12 meridians thus formed relate to 12 different aspects of the elements’ work. The meridians are the messengers which convey the organs’ instructions to the remotest regions of this kingdom, and eventually to every cell in the body.

It is at the various sites at which the meridian network surfaces on the skin which we call acupuncture points that it becomes accessible to the interventions by the needle. Acupuncture points form entrances along the superficial meridian network to the structures lying hidden deep within us. These openings create tiny foci of energy at intervals along the meridians, and are the places at which energy can be drawn in, along and out of the meridians. Each is a powerful point of access to the energetic network which shapes us, body and soul. Each point reflects a different quality of energy, is regarded as having a unique function within the body of points and has been endowed since the earliest days with a unique name which reflects this function.

When viewed on the chart alone, the points may appear to lie at what could be considered random intervals along the meridians. And yet their positioning is far from arbitrary. They appear at sites where the energy feeding that particular part of the body encounters varying structures on its passage around the body, and are sited strategically along the meridian to encourage the smooth flow of that energy through and over these obstacles. Thus there are important points on all meridians as they encounter the obstacles created by the junction of joint to joint and tendon to tendon at important sites such as the knee, shoulder, vertebrae or neck. Points also provide interconnections with other meridians flowing through the same area, so that a particular function of one point drawing energy from one official is enhanced by a different form of energy drawn to it from another official crossing its path at that point. And yet so distinct are the individual functions of the points that one lying half an inch away from another on the same meridian is said to have a completely different action from that of its neighbour.

Most significantly of all, those areas of our body where we reach out to interact with the cosmos outside us, our hands to the air around us, our feet to the earth beneath us, are covered by the greatest concentration of important points, each finger and toe becoming a receptacle for the energies feeding the world, and in turn through these creating points of access to the outside world for the energies within us. These are the major sites of interaction between outside and inside, and places where this exchange of energy is most focused.

Each tiny acupuncture point will therefore be drawing to it energy brought to that unique site along a specific meridian. The acupuncturist’s skill depends upon translating his/her understanding of these unique actions into a treatment protocol which is meaningful for that particular person on that particular day and at that particular stage of their life.

The energetic system formed initially of elements, subdivided first into officials, then into individual acupuncture points, reaches here an awesome degree of complexity comparable to that of Western medicine’s multi-layered approach to the body. If we then interweave into every level of this complex structure that further layer of the soul within this body, we build up a symbolic representation of human beings in all our complexity.

THE GUARDIAN ELEMENT

At the heart of five element practice lies the understanding that each of us has a particular association with one element. This provides the focus for our life, endowing it with characteristics specific to that element. All the elements flow to a rhythm within us, their interplay determining who we are. Much as a painter can never put together an assembly of colours in exactly the same combination of pigments each time he mixes his paints, so the combination of elements which goes to make up our individual colour cannot be replicated elsewhere. Upon all of us they lay a hand of blessing, but one in particular has been selected as our special guardian to watch over and protect us, singling us out to bestow upon us the responsibility of our own individuality.

This element is known variously as the element of the causative factor of disease (CF) or the constitutional element. I call it our guardian element. I see it as protecting us as it guides us through life, being the place among the circle of elements where we can develop ourselves to our highest potential. The attributes this element imparts to us play an integral part in the way in which our energies become unbalanced, as well as in the way in which we grow and develop. Imbalance of any kind, whether of body or soul, is the result of some failure in the guardian element’s ability to maintain balance.

In his book In the Footsteps of the Yellow Emperor, Peter Eckman (2007) gives an excellent overview of the various approaches to the constitutional element.1 Of the concept of the CF he states: ‘The technical definition of the CF is that it is the Element or Official whose chronic state of imbalance cannot be completely corrected by nature itself, and which in turn is responsible for producing or at least allowing imbalances to develop and persist in the other Elements or Officials. The CF thus becomes the primary focus for acupuncture treatment’ (p.222). He adds: ‘the various schools of Meridian Therapy in Japan and the Korean Constitutional style of acupuncture all specify a particular Element and Organ as the focus of treatment for each patient based on Five Element considerations, although they differ in regard to beliefs about when this predominant imbalance becomes established in life, and how invariant or changeable it may be over time’ (pp.222–223).

There has thus always been much discussion as to whether we are born with this element as a dominant element, or whether it acquires its dominant position as a result of early trauma. Much of this discussion centres upon our differing beliefs as to whether we regard that element as being a site of weakness in the circle of the elements, or, by contrast, the focus for individual development, and thus potentially the site of our greatest strength.

If we view the constitutional element as revealing a weakness, treatment is seen as restoring that element to balance so that it can rejoin its fellow four in a dance of health. According to this perspective, this element’s mark upon us, detected through sensory signals, is expected to fade and become neutral when good health is restored. If, however, we view this element as having a deeper function to perform, these diagnostic indicators are expected to lose their unbalanced expressions once treatment is focused upon this element (for example, the lack of red which the Fire element can show will change to a glowing pink), but will remain visible as the dominant expressions of the constitutional element even when it is in a state of health. Acupuncturists who base their practice upon the diagnosis and treatment of a constitutional element (to be called from now on by the generic term of five element acupuncturists) must therefore decide which of these approaches they wish to adopt. The one I have come to accept is the second.

How we view our individual destinies hinges to a large extent upon the vision we each hold as to what life is about. I cannot accept that a human life can be nothing but the sum total of its inherited characteristics, determined purely by parental adequacies and inadequacies, with nothing added of some spark of individuality, giving to these characteristics something more and something different. It seems clear to me that the tiny soul, emerging untarnished from its mother’s womb, brings with it into the world something uniquely its own, seen physically as its unique genetic imprint. Translated into the language of the elements, that imprint corresponds to a unique elemental imprint. I therefore see the guardian element as a blessing handed to us at our conception to provide a direction for our life, which is then shaped by the attributes and needs peculiar to this element.

Each of us in our uniqueness can thus be seen as reflecting reality from a slightly different angle. The tilt of that angle, its particular emphasis, is the product of the unique balance of the elements within us, and of the dominant position of one element. This forms the hub of the wheel of our life around which the other elements circle. It shapes our life for good, if we heed its warnings, or for ill, if we ignore them. All the other elements within us feel stronger if it is strong, grow weaker as it weakens. It is the focal point of each of our lives, dictating by its health or ill-health whether or not we will remain balanced within ourselves. It forms the core of our individuality. To those trained to detect the marks of the elements upon us, we appear each as a physical manifestation of the presence and power of this element within us.

We come into the world blessed with its special gift, and with this gift, the potential for using it either wisely or unwisely, of choosing to live within the shadows of its dark side rather than in its bright sunlight. And thus each of our five great guardians comes with its own dark companion, its Mephistopheles dogging its every footstep. Such positive, creative forces trail in their wake negative, destructive forces. Like everything else, an element can become a force for balance or imbalance. It can show us the way forward or bring us to a halt.

Our element imposes its own obligations upon us, for to live our life in balance requires us to live that life in tune with our element’s demands. When we run true to its needs, we find a direction to our life which is fruitful. Many of my patients will tell me things like, ‘I feel more myself now than I have ever felt’, or, ‘I know now who I am.’ When we run counter to these needs, we lose our way, as though the undergrowth closes over the path we should take. Then our element turns from guardian into avenging angel, exacting revenge from us in the shape of ill-health and distress. To that extent we are not free, much as we are not free to choose when we are born, to which parents we are born, whether we are born poor or rich, tall or short, curly- or straight-haired.

In everything we do and everything we are we shout out our allegiance to this element. It puts its special seal upon us, and we bear its distinguishing mark printed upon us, no more to be altered than can the colour of our eyes or the size of our bones. We are who we are because we have received the gift of its patronage. So profound is the influence of this element, so all-pervasive is its mark upon us, that it lays a visible, palpable, audible signature upon us, writ large on our bodies, to be interpreted by eye and ear, and by touch and smell. It reveals itself by giving a specific colour to our face, a specific sound to our voice and a specific smell to our body.

My voice, for example, is not just a disembodied voice. It emerges from deep within me, and expresses who I am and what I am and how I am at any moment in time. It is the product of the unique interaction of the elements’ work within me, and is sufficiently distinct that my voice-print can now open doors for me which will remain closed to any other voice. Similarly my smell and the colour upon my skin are unique to me and cannot be replicated elsewhere. They therefore offer unique diagnostic information if interpreted correctly.

Our element also endows us with a specific emotional orientation to our life which throws a patina of its own over all that we do. This emotional filter colours the way we see things, the way we respond to things, the way we move. It will affect the way we express ourselves in words as well as in action, and the way we perceive things. Our response to the stresses of life, as they act themselves out upon the elements, is therefore no haphazard process. The characteristics of our guardian element, determining as they do all that affects our life, will also determine the nature of our individual response to the difficulties we encounter. The way in which we fall ill will thus be as much influenced by our guardian element as will the way in which we fall in love, the jobs we do, the way we walk and talk and what we find funny or sad. Every facet of an individual life will be orientated towards that one segment of the complete cycle of the elements represented by this element.

The closest we come in the West to determining individual traits in a comparable way to this is when we categorize people as belonging to certain character types. The ancient medical concept of the humours, consigned long ago to gather dust on the shelves of medical libraries, also approaches this concept of the guardian element. Such systems of medicine, and others around the world, predominantly in the East, such as the Indian and Tibetan systems, all share a common belief that we shape our illnesses, that the type of person we are is a factor in the way in which we succumb to disease, and that we have a constitutional predisposition to certain imbalances.

The pursuit of the highest each one of us can achieve in a lifetime’s efforts should be our life’s aim. In acupuncture terms, it is acted out as the development of our guardian element to its highest potential. And this development is not a one-off thing, beginning at the start of treatment and coming to an end a few months later. It follows a continuous path throughout our life, as we develop and change, and the cycle of the elements turns again and again through each year and on to the next. Each time the cycle reaches the same point a year later it should do so at a higher level, representing another ring of experience added to our life, like the rings indicating a tree’s age. And acupuncture treatment, experienced at the highest level, will accompany the patient on this journey through life, sometimes becoming more frequent as stresses occur and more support is needed, at other times infrequent, as the need for help recedes.

If we are to reach our true potential in body and soul, our guardian element must therefore be encouraged not only to reach a state of balance within itself but to stretch and challenge itself, and these two aims may sometimes clash. Our journey towards the fulfilment of our greatest potential may thus not always be a comfortable one as this element goads us...

Table of contents

• Cover
• By the Same Author
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Quote
• Contents
• About the Author
• Acknowledgements
• Introduction
• 1. The Five Elements
• 2. Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water
• 3. Components of Five Element Diagnosis
• 4. Secondary Diagnostic Information
• 5. Treatment
• 6. Acupuncture Points
• 7. Blocks to Treatment
• 8. Treatment Techniques
• 9. Treatment Protocols
• 10. Point Selection
• Notes
• Postscript
• Appendix: Teach Yourself Manual
• Also available