CONNECTIONS to HEALTH

The Five Elements in Chinese Medicine The term five elements is a translation of the Chinese term 'wuxing'. Wu means five, and xing means to move or walk. Although the word element is commonly used, it is a bit misleading, because it suggests the idea of substances, or fundamental building blocks of matter. Xing has also been translated as 'phases' or 'movements', and these terms convey the sense that they are states, or processes rather than material building blocks. If this seems hard to understand, an easy way to get an idea of the five elements is to consider the cycle of the seasons. Throughout the year there is a cycle of growth, flowering, harvest, decline and storage, and each of these seasons has different qualities. Spring is the season of growth, and corresponds to the Wood element. Summer is the season of flowering and corresponds to the Fire element. Late summer, or harvest time corresponds to the Earth element. Autumn, the season of decline corresponds to the Metal element. Winter is the season of storage and corresponds to the Water element. In the same way that plants cycle with the seasons, so do humans and other animals. And this cycle of growth and decline is seen not only in relation to the seasons but in all organic processes. Qi Here it is helpful to mention the concept of 'Qi'. There is no direct translation of Qi from the Chinese, but probably the English word used most often is 'energy'. There are different manifestations of Qi in nature, but fundamentally, it is what everything is made of; the matter-energy continuum described in modern physics. The Chinese philosopher Zhang Zai (AD 1020-1077) wrote "The Great Void consists of Qi. Qi condenses to become the myriad things. Things of necessity disintegrate and return to the Great Void" and also "If Qi condenses, its visibility becomes effective and physical form appears." So everything from plant growth to human emotions is a manifestation of Qi, and as such is subject to the same laws (used here in the sense of laws of nature). The five elements describe different states of Qi, each of which occur in all organic processes, and this is why they are relevant to both the seasons of the year and to the processes occurring in a human being, to plant growth and to weather, because all of these things are made of the same stuff - of Qi. This illustration shows the five elements as they are often represented diagrammatically - in a circle. Over the next few months I will discuss each element in turn - and the relationships between them. Wood Generally, discussions of the five elements begin with the Wood element, and although it is a little unseasonal, it is a good place to begin. The season that is connected with the Wood element is Spring. This is a time of new and rapid growth. A seed contains information, a sort of life plan, that determines what type of plant it will become, and during the Spring the young plant shoots upwards, moving towards the fulfilment of that life plan. The wood element in a person enables them to move through life so that they may fulfil their potential. If your wood element is healthy, you can assert yourself, plan ahead and be flexible in the face of life's inevitable obstacles and changing circumstances, and develop your own unique potential. When your Wood element becomes imbalanced, this is the function that is weakened, and there are many ways in which this can manifest in our every day behaviour. Assertiveness I mentioned above that assertiveness is associated with the Wood element. When Wood is healthy we can assert ourselves appropriately. It is easy to see an imbalance of this function can easily lead to anger, and this is the emotion associated with Wood. Anger is an emotion that can initiate change, and it may be that anger is an appropriate reaction to particular circumstances - circumstances that are wrong in some way. This is often how such circumstances are changed. So it is possible to experience anger without having a Wood imbalance. If this is the case, having become angry, you would be able to move smoothly out of this state, so that you do not, for example, continue to rage a week later about the parking ticket you got (so unfairly). The judgement as to whether an emotion is appropriate is of course a difficult one - we are all different after all. This is an issue that is explored in some detail in five element acupuncture, but which is outside the scope of this article. However it is regarded as healthy to be able to experience emotions in circumstances that would reasonably evoke them, but not to get stuck in them. Anger as it is used here, in connection with Wood, includes a spectrum of emotions, from frustration and irritation to rage. A Wood imbalance can result in a variety of behaviours, including excessive anger, constant irritability, timidity, never getting angry, and depression. Wood is also concerned with planning and decision making. This is connected with flexibility in life. Generally, being flexible in the face of a change in circumstances involves revising your plans. You are still trying to get what you want, but you can adapt in response to your environment in order to do so - you can think of a 'plan B'. When Wood is imbalanced in a person, they may lack this flexibility, and become rather rigid in their outlook, and unwilling to change their plans. This ties in to the emotions mentioned above. We all experience frustration. Suppose you are on your way to an important appointment. You set out in good time, but the traffic is awful, there are four new sets of roadworks on the way, and now you're stuck behind four other cars in a queue with a tractor at the front of it. Your expected journey time has almost doubled. There are several possible responses to this situation. You could pull over and phone whoever is expecting you at the other end of the journey, explain the situation to them and try to rearrange your appointment for slightly later - i.e. you accept the situation and do what you can about it. Alternatively you could become angry, shout at the drivers in front of you and possibly engage in some reckless driving. This is an unbalanced response, and stops you from moving effectively towards what you want (your appointment). Or you could become resigned to the fact that you're going to be late, but not do anything to improve the situation. Resignation, which leads to apathy and depression, is another manifestation of unbalanced Wood energy. This is obviously a very simple example, but it illustrates how someone with balanced Wood energy can adapt to obstacles and changing circumstances, while someone whose Wood energy is imbalanced may easily become either angry or resigned and chronically frustrated. Of course both excessive anger and resignation and apathy may be present in the same person at different times. Organs Each of the five elements is associated with two organs in the body, and in the case of Wood, these are the Liver and Gall Bladder. The organs as they are understood in Chinese medicine are rather different from the western understanding of organs, although there is some overlap. The Liver in Chinese medicine has some functions which are not considered to be anything to do with the liver in western medicine. So when I talk now about the Liver, I mean the Chinese concept. One of the main functions of the Liver is to maintain the smooth flow of Qi throughout the body, which is important for good health. When the Wood element, including the Liver, is imbalanced, one of the commonest consequences is stagnation of Qi. Instead of flowing smoothly like fresh air, Qi is sluggish and pools, like stale air. Qi Stagnation can manifest in many different symptoms, such as headaches, irritability, breast tenderness, clumsiness, bloating, weepiness or a feeling of a lump in the throat (called 'plum stone Qi' in Chinese medicine, for the obvious reason that it feels as though something is stuck in your throat). Many women will recognise some of these symptoms from their experience of premenstrual syndrome, as Liver Qi tends to stagnate premenstrually, the stagnation usually clearing once the period starts. But Liver Qi stagnation certainly is not confined to women. Many men experience headaches, irritability or bloating. Liver Qi stagnation is very often a factor in irritable bowel syndrome. Frustration and anger are both symptoms and causes of a Wood imbalance. Modern life can be so exceedingly frustrating that it is unusual (and heartening!) to find people with a balanced Wood element. But acupuncture is very good at treating symptoms of Qi stagnation, and this can relieve both physical and mental/emotional symptoms, because, as I mentioned above, all of our body/mind is a manifestation of Qi. The Wood element gives us the capacity to be assertive when appropriate, and to yield, or accept the inevitable when appropriate. The well known Serenity prayer could be a prayer for the Wood element: "God give me the serenity to accept those things I cannot change, the courage to change those I can, and the wisdom to know the difference"

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