It strikes me how modern Chinese medicine has lost touch with many basics concepts. A major departure is in the way it deals with qi stagnation and it’s resultant heat. Modern CM looks to move qi and clear heat. However, if one looks to the body’s ecological response as a clue, a different treatment option becomes apparent. The issue is in the confusion of the response as the pathology. Here, heat resulting from the stagnation is not the pathogen. It is the body’s attempt to rid the stagnation. It does this by mobilizing it’s yang/wei qi to break open stagnant areas/blockages. When the stagnation is too great, or the yang/wei qi insufficient, heat becomes trapped and manifests. From this explanation, it should become clear that when one moves the qi and clears the heat, what is really being cleared is the body’s yang qi. Instead, if one looks to assist the bodymind in rectifying the qi stagnation and heat, one should add some more yang/wei qi to disperse the stagnation. Once the stagnation is cleared, the heat resolves through its movement.
Acupuncture, Chinese medicine, herbal medicine, alternative medicine, pulse diagnosis, trauma
By this are you referring to a sort of local to global shift in perspective? Supplement the yang when a general qi/yang deficiency is observed in conjunction with a local stagnation, to eliminate stagnation and resultant heat?
Well, why would something create stagnation if there was enough yang to promote movement?
Because the yang could be incorrectly deployed, for instance due to disordered intent, or structural problems.
Yes, but is still a functional deficiency.
Another way of looking at this discussion is to Support the Constitution of the person through the Yang Qi and perhaps some extra vessel points; if this is the correct route, then less clearing type of points and herbs would be needed to achieve the balanced result, and using less of these types of points/herbs is also less harmful to the patient's qi in general… this is a more supportive treatment then just clearing and moving an obstruction or pathogen…
This is absolutely true. We are looking to support correct function. I would, however, caution about the use of the 8 Extras in this regard as we are not looking to expend jing. First course of action would be to achieve this from other means. We are not necessarily looking to clear, but rather to promote the proper dynamic.