How is qi affected by environmental and internal temperatures?

[993125002]

i am assuming that cold makes the water meridians overactive just as heat overactivates the fire meridians. im not sure if this is correct though. if this is the case than how could wind possibly affect the wood meridians?

[HealingMaven]

That is a looooong answer, and I'd suggest a couple of years of acupuncture school to answer it. (You may wish to pick up The Web that Has No Weaver and/or Between Heaven and Earth.) The problem is -- these are concepts from another language, and you're attempting to translate the words without understanding the meaning behind them. (Ever had a conversation where 2 people used the same words but meant completely different things? Kind of like that.)

But to *try* and give an abbreviated answer... In general heat speeds up all things and cold slows down all things. It's not as straightforward an explanation as "Cold overstimulates the water meridians." Cold has a tendency to make things slow to the point of being *stuck* (think ice), and in the cold times of the year, you're more likely to see Water patterns of dysfunction.

As to how that translates to Wood & wind. That's one of the ones where the translation gets stickier. Wind is thought/known to trigger symptoms of spasm & headache, both of which are thought to be problems of the wood channel. (Ever fallen asleep with the window open & blowing on you and woken up with a neck/shoulder or back spasm?)

Seriously though, it's a HUGE question you asked and I've barely scratched the surface. There's a reason chinese medicine training is 3-4 years and most people trained in the medicine are still actively studying it for decades after they've graduated.

[993125002]

ok! thanks for your answer. even if it is superficial, at least now i know a little more on how temperature affects the flow of chi

[HealingMaven]

Originally Posted by 993125002

ok! thanks for your answer. even if it is superficial, at least now i know a little more on how temperature affects the flow of chi

Glad I could help. They say that the ideal teacher is 3-5 years beyond you in training, so that you can still understand where the other person is coming from -- as I passed the 3-5 year mark a few years ago, I'm always wondering if my explanations of things make sense anymore.

May I ask why you're wondering about qi flow? Is it just intellectual curiousity or is it for specific application?

[993125002]

A bit of both. i live in canada where it is cold in the winter and sometimes very hot in the summer. in the future i plan on becoming an acupuncturist, or at least something similar to that.