Visuals of the set up of the elements and vocabulary

Fire is on top of the circle. Wood is to the right. On the Opposite side of wood is Earth. Under Wood is Water. Next to water, under earth is metal.


See how these form a circle? Wood generates fire. Ashes from fire nourish the earth. Earth generates metal. Metal generates water. Water generates wood. This is called the GENERATING SEQUENCE.

In this circle, Wood is the mother to fire and fire is the mother to earth. Fire is the child of wood as earth is the child to fire and so on. When it's out of balance it's either because the mother element isn't nourishing the child element, or, the child element is taking too much from the mother element.

ex. Liver, mother affects the heart, child: the liver fails to nourish the heart, making the liver-blood deficient. This will affect heart blood and make it deficient, which in turn create heart palpitations and insomnia. The gall bladder affects the heart too. This is on a more psychological level though. The gall bladder controls the capacity to make decisions. Not that it makes the right one, mind you, it provides the courage to make the decision. The mind is housed in the heart and thus an impaired gall bladder may make making the decisions difficult, emotional weakness, lack of assertion.

There is also the CONTROLLING SEQUENCE. So, now inside the circle draw lines. Wood crosses over to earth. Earth goes down to water. Water goes up to fire. Fire goes down to metal. Metal goes up to wood.

Wood, trees prevent erosion and help hold the earth in place. Earth gives water boundaries. Wood needs water to grow. Fire needs wood to burn. Fire melts metal. Metal cuts wood.
Each element needs the others to be balanced to be able to do it's jobs.

There is also the INSULTING SEQUENCE. So, wood insults metal. Metal insults fire. fire insults water. Water insults earth. Earth insults wood. This also takes place when there is a disruption in the balance.
The essence of eastern philosophy lies in the yin yang together they are chi/Qi. Yin/ yang are are more of associations.

YIN- soft, hollow, dark, moist, shade, rest, earth, flat, space, west, north, right

YANG- Light, sun, brightness, activity, Heaven, round, time, east, south, left

CHI/QI- Energy that's in all living things.

MERIDIAN- A river of Qi. The Twelve regular meridians have organ systems associated with them and have internal and external trajectoires. The energy pathways running in the body. Ex. Metal's organs or meridians are lung and large intestine. One travels up the body one travels down, as each one is either yin/yang.

EIGHT PRINCIPLES- An evaluation paradigm common in modern acupncture in China and the West. The eight principles are 4 sets of polar opposites used to define and assess a pattern of disharmony. Signs and symptoms are categorized as cold/hot, deficient/excessive, Yin/ Yang. Internal/ External.

FIVE ELEMENTS- An evaluating paradigm used in acuuncture and bodywork. The Five Elements are culled from observable phenomena and can be seen as the different ways an organism can resppond to stimuli. These possible responses can be associated with elements of nature that have similar characteristics. The elements are: Fire, Earth, Metal, Water, and Wood.

KEYO- Yin. Soft, Hollow, cold, bottomless, deficient.

JITSU-Yang. Overactive, hard, warm, pulsing, in a state of excess.

TONIFY - To support, built, nourishment. To strengthen the energy of an element or meridian.

DISPERSE-To cut the energy of an element or meridian that's jitsu. To remove stagnant Qi.
Generating Cyle/ Sequence- The Creation relationship of the Five Elements, when one element transforms itself to give birth to the next. Can be used to tonify or disperse

HARA- Abdominal area. The center of energy in the body. The quality of the different energy zones in the hara is a microcosm of the energetic pattern in the Body/ Mind/ Spirit that is most acute- in that moment.

HARA EVALUATION- Using the Hara to know how to work that session so the client achieves optimal results.

MU POINTS- Are on the yin side of the torso, face up. They also correspond to the different meridians. They reflect the state of our "being", or consitutional energy. When used in evaluation, they can indicate a disharmony that is slightly more chronic. When used in a treatment they can be used to consolidate and nurture the constitional energy. Note these are not the hara points. Mu points run directly down the center of the front of your body. Hara is in abdominal area only.

SHU POINTS- These points are located along the spine and reflect our state of "becoming". When used for evaluation they can tell us the most chronic imbalances. When used in treatment, they correspond to each of the meridians and particularly resonate with the condition of the physical body.
GU QI- Also known as, food Qi. The energetic component of food. The process of it's extraction and cultivation is begun by the stomach and governed by the spleen. It's the basis for blood, moisture, and post-natal Qi.

TA QI- The energetic component of air, combines in the lung with Gu Qi to form Zong Qi.

ZONG QI- Chest Qi, Ancestral Qi, Gathering Qi. The combination of Gu Qi and Ta Qi. Zong Qi fuels the voice andporives support to the lung and heart.

SHIATSU- An oriental massage that involves passive stretches, and palming and thumbing the energy channels to create balance.

KATA- A form. A basic formula for a complete full body session.

SEIZA- Traditional posture in Japanese culture. Allows the practitioner to work from a centerd place with an elongated spine and with a great degree of maneuverablity.

IMBALANCES- Disruption in the energy flow that manifests itself either physically, psycologically, or emotionally.

MOTHER HAND- The hand that doesn't break contact with the client. This is done for grounding and so the client always knows where the therapist is at all times.