Eastern philosophy, Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM)
In Western massage, the focus is on the area where a complaint is located. The treatment with the massage usually takes place locally and focuses on the complaint. Within the eastern massage, the focus is more on restoring the energy balance in the body so that the body can reach the self-healing capacity.
Imbalance arises in our body when we no longer notice its signals properly when we are disconnected from our body. Blockages arise in the energy ("Qi") which can worsen complaints. During a massage contact with your body will be restored and relaxation can arise. The energy can start flowing again and you will feel better.
The circulation of the Qi in our body runs through the meridians. We have 12 meridians, each of which is connected to organs. Qi has a certain "route" within the meridians, there are those that flow from the bottom to the top and there are those that flow from the top down.
5 Elemental theory "Wu Xing"
Within the TCM the theory of the 5 elements is followed, it represents a process. According to this philosophy, all phenomena can be classified into the 5 elements: Wood (green), Fire (red), Earth (yellow), Metal (white) and water (black/blue).
The elements form a circle where each element has a place. They form a cyclical process. Each element has a connection to organs, colors, seasons, archetypes, senses, and stages of life:
- Wood represents beginning growth (spring) and is connected to the liver and gallbladder,
- Fire the peak of growth (summer) and is connected to the heart, small intestine, heart protector and triple heater,
- Earth represents the middle (midsummer) and is connected to the stomach and spleen,
- Metal represents decrease (autumn) and is connected to the lungs and colon
- Water represents the end of the cycle ( winter) and is connected to the bladder and kidneys.
This image shows the two cycles in which the elements follow each other: the “Sheng” cycle and the “Ke” cycle.
In the Sheng cycle, the elements follow each other in a nourishing/nurturing order, it is also called the “nourishing cycle”. These are the black arrows. When fire is balanced, it feeds earth feeds metal, metal feeds water, water feeds wood, and wood then feeds fire.
In the Ke cycle, the elements control each other so that they do not become too strong and excessive because then the balance is off. These are the orange arrows. Wood controls earth, earth controls water, water controls fire, fire controls metal, and metal controls wood. When the cycle can no longer flow properly due to imbalance, this affects all elements.