Tag Archives: Kidney Qi

How Cold is Cold?

Cold, GV 4, Kidney, Low back pain, Water Element, , ,

It has seemed a colder winter than usual in the Adelaide Hills. So it was a surprise when I looked at past records for July and discovered that the mean temperature in this area has been a degree warmer than last year, and indeed warmer than most previous years. It must be that my years are catching up with me, since a person’s Kidney Qi declines with age, and that is a factor in one’s resilience to the cold. Indeed, when I rug up to out walking and see young people in shorts and tee shirts, I am reminded that cold is a relative condition.

One of the best acupoints for expelling cold invasion in the body is Governor Vessel 4, Ming Men, Gate of Life. I wrote about this point in The Way of the Five Elements and that article can be accessed here. It revitalises and reinvigorates by strengthening Kidney Qi. It can open the gate to reconnect with our real reservoir of energy, the Jing or Essence.

I’ve been using this point a lot in clinic over the course of the winter in combination with other points. In keeping with the theme for the year, I share here some of my point combinations with Governor Vessel 4.

The first is to combine with Conception Vessel 5, Shimen, Stone Gate. This is the front mu point of the Triple Heater (San Jiao), a place where Qi collects and stagnates if there is an acute imbalance in that channel/organ. One of the functions of Triple Heater is to regulate the heating system and the defensive Qi of the body. In this way it mirrors some of the features of Mingmen. This combination also illustrates a key principle of point combining in Five Element Acupressure, that of holding points that are in the same segment of the body, both front and back. In this case the focus is on the lower abdomen. Gentle pressure on the front pushes towards the back, and pressure in the back pushes towards the front, creating an effect on the fascia of the region, softening and loosening all of the fascial structures and facilitating the flow of Qi throughout the segment, not only in the points themselves.

The second combination is to hold GV 4 with Bladder 40 behind the knee, first on the left side, then on the right. The reasoning behind this combination is that the Divergent Channel of the Bladder meridian breaks off at Bladder 40 and moves up the back very close to the centre of the spine. Treating the Bladder also treats cold in the body. By holding this combination, you can facilitate the movement of Qi through both the Bladder meridian and Governor Vessel, strengthening resistance to the cold.

The third combination I learned very early on in my career and its sources have been lost to memory. With one hand you hold GV 4, while with the other you hold, in sequence, Bladder 62 on the left ankle, Kidney 6 on the left ankle, Kidney 6 on the right ankle, and finally Bladder 62 on the right ankle. Usually, when this final point combination is completed, it feels like a circuit has been connected and there is a rise in the perceptible level of Qi. Bladder 62 and Kidney 6 are important points on channels that treat cold. Furthermore, they are the master points of the Qiao Vessels which support movement, grounding and balance. Here is another article referencing these points.

These three combinations provide a nice off-the-shelf protocol for supporting a person (like me) who is feeling the winter cold more keenly.

Location of Governor Vessel 4

On the spine in the junction between the 2nd & 3rd lumbar vertebrae. It is level with the navel.

Location of Conception Vessel 5

Conception Vessel 5 is 2 cun below the navel, or two-fifths of the distance from the centre of the navel to the top of the pubic bone.

Location of Bladder 40

Bladder 40 is in the middle of the posterior knee crease.

Location of Bladder 62 & Kidney 6

Bladder 62 is half an inch (cun) below the base of the outer ankle bone. Kidney 6 in one inch below the tip of the inner ankle bone.

Midwinter Warming

BL 23, Kidney, Low back pain, Water Element, , , , , ,

The winter solstice is a big deal. Many people are not even aware of this momentous annual event. Yet together the two solstices of midsummer and midwinter provide an existential manifestation of a fundamental principle of our world, namely the polarity of yin and yang. In the southern hemisphere today we are witness to the primacy of yin, while people in the northern hemisphere are experiencing the primacy of yang. I say primacy because, depending where you are located, yin or yang  is at its deepest or highest, but nothing in existence is ever entirely one of the other. If we look at the taiji, the well-known yin/yang symbol, we see that there is always a dot of yin within the yang and there is always a dot of yang within the yin.

Indeed we naturally seek to find aspects of one to balance the other. Here in the Adelaide Hills it is currently very cold. Last week my village experienced 5 nights in a row at or below freezing. Instinctively we look to find warmth within the cold: heating up the bedroom, luxuriating in hot baths, making hot soups, enjoying hot chocolate on a rainy winter afternoon.

The midwinter solstice is not a day. Certainly it falls on a particular day, and that day will be the shortest of year and when the sun will be at its lowest elevation in the sky. But it is actually the precise moment when (in our case) the Earth’s southern pole has its maximum tilt away from the sun. This year that moment is 7.13 am on Sunday June 21st. That’s if you’re in Adelaide. Adjust your celebrations to your own time zone! It’ll be about the time I’ll be stumbling out of bed, fumbling for warm slippers and brewing hot tea ahead of a breakfast of steaming porridge. I’ll be doing everything I can to bring some yang to the most yin of days.

So far I’ve been talking about the cold/hot version of the yin/yang polarity. But there are other ways of viewing it. We could see it as the polarity of darkness and brightness, low and high, within and without, deep and superficial. In Chinese medicine another view is of the Kidney and Heart which are the organs of the Water-Fire axis. This is arguably the most significant organ relationship of all of the deep organs. It represents the relationship of Water and Fire across the Ke or control cycle. The Kidney must be strong and resilient or else the Fire will fail to be controlled, a situation that might produce feverish conditions, a chaotic mind or manic behaviour. Conversely if the Water is so strong that it overpowers the Fire, it might result in cold extremities, lack of joy or interest in life, the spark of the Heart dimmed.

There is a tendency in our modern, fast-paced, demanding world to deplete the Kidney energy by overtaxing ourselves. Doing too much in the winter is like pushing against the river. It takes more effort to achieve things when the ambient energy of nature is pulling us within. So doing less and resting more will recharge the batteries that are our Kidney Qi.

Here are a few suggestions as to how you might support your Kidney Qi in this deepest part of winter.

Warming Foods

Warm food and drinks are key. Nourishing soups, stews and broths are an excellent way to restore Kidney Qi. If you don’t eat meat, beans are a great food for winter. Even their shape is a clue: they look like kidneys. Kidney beans and black beans are especially recommended. As are pulses like lentils and buckwheat, nuts and yang grains such as millet. Salty foods like sea vegetables and tamari are helpful. Garlic, chilli and ginger are warming as is ginseng. Fried foods are more appropriate in winter as this makes the food more yang. This method of cooking transforms yin foods such as tofu and tempeh. And remember to keep hydrated. It is sometimes harder in winter to drink enough fluids as we may not get as thirsty. Herbal infusions such as peppermint or  ginger tea are great.

Warm the kidneys

Tuck your shirt in. (Your mother was right after all.) Wear extra layers around the lower back. The Japanese have a wonderful garment called a haramaki (this is not sushi) which is like a turtleneck for the low back.

Massage your low back with your knuckles. Up and down the erector muscles, and side to side at the level of the waist. With this latter you will be stimulating Governor Vessel 4, Bladder 23 and Bladder 52. These techniques are deeply warming and restorative to the kidneys.

Massage Kidneys and Reach for the Feet. This is the 6th movement of the Eight Strands of Brocade Qi Gong series and can be practised on its own to strengthen Kidney Qi. Look online for some of the thousands of variations, but here is one that I like by Master Zhong. This movement starts at 7:30 minutes in.

If you’ve been struggling with the winter so far, be encouraged by the fact that from Sunday morning onwards, the days will be getting longer, the angle of the sun will be rising, and soon the temperatures will also be rising. In short, the yin half of the year is ending and the yang half of the year is beginning.

I’ll be writing again in 6 weeks when we arrive at the next cross quarter day which marks the beginning of spring. In the meantime, you could treat yourself to a hot chocolate and a ginger biscuit or two.