NMT150 TCM E-Learning Lecture 4 PDF

NMT150: NATUROPATHIC THERAPEUTICS I TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE (TCM) E-LEARNING LECTURE 4 TCM HEART AND SMALL INTESTINE FUNCTIONS AND THEORY Author: Dr. Romi Fung, ND, M.Sc, Ph.D (cand.) LEARNING OBJECTIVES Learn the functions of TCM Heart and Small Intestine TCM HEART FUNCTION TCM HEART FUNC...

NMT150: NATUROPATHIC THERAPEUTICS I TRADITIONAL CHINESE MEDICINE (TCM) E-LEARNING LECTURE 4 TCM HEART AND SMALL INTESTINE FUNCTIONS AND THEORY Author: Dr. Romi Fung, ND, M.Sc, Ph.D (cand.) LEARNING OBJECTIVES Learn the functions of TCM Heart and Small Intestine TCM HEART FUNCTION TCM HEART FUNCTION The Heart governs Blood Transformation of Gu-Qi from Food into Blood occurs in the Heart The Heart is responsible for circulation of Blood TCM HEART FUNCTION The Heart controls the Blood Vessels The state of the Heart is reflected in the state of the blood vessels If Heart Qi is strong, the blood vessels will be in a good state and the pulse full and regular TCM HEART FUNCTION The Heart manifests in the complexion If the Heart governs Blood and blood vessels, then it also helps distribute blood throughout the body The state of the Heart and Blood can therefore be reflected in the complexion If the complexion is pale vs purple, or yang-deficient? Or too much heat? TCM HEART FUNCTION The Heart houses the Mind The Heart is the residence of the Mind (Shen) Firstly, in a narrow sense, Shen indicates the complex of mental faculties which are said to ‘reside’ in the Heart. In this sense, the Shen corresponds to the Mind and is specifically related to the Heart TCM HEART FUNCTION The Heart houses the Mind A second way to characterize Shen is whole sphere of mental and spiritual aspects of a human being. In this sense, it is related not only to the Heart but also it encompasses the mental and spiritual phenomena of all the other organs, notably the Yin organs: that is, the Ethereal Soul (Hun), Corporeal Soul (Po), Intellect (Yi), Willpower (Zhi) and the Mind (Shen) Translated as 'Spirit' TCM HEART FUNCTION The Mind of the Heart Mental activity and conscious resides in the Heart State of the Heart (and Blood) reflects the mental activities including emotional state, conscious, memory, thinking and sleep. If the Heart is strong and Blood abundant, there will be a normal mental activity, a balanced emotional life, a clear consciousness, a good memory, keen thinking and good sleep TCM HEART FUNCTION Mind of the Heart If the Heart is weak and Blood is deficient, there may be some emotional problems, poor memory, poor sleep, dull thinking, and in extreme cases, unconsciousness. TCM HEART FUNCTION The Heart is related to Joy 'Joy makes the Mind peaceful and relaxed, it benefits the Nutritive and Defensive Qi and it makes Qi relax and slow down.’ 'The Heart controls joy, joy injures the Heart, fear counteracts joy.' TCM HEART FUNCTION The Heart is related to joy 'Joy’ as a cause of disease is obviously not a state of healthy contentment but one of excessive excitement and craving which can injure the Heart. Continuous mental stimulation (however pleasurable) or excessive excitement: in other words, a life of ‘hard playing’. Define ‘excess joy’ as ‘overstimulation’. Overstimulation is indeed a cause of disease in patients (e.g. overstimulation from drugs, some medicinal drugs, advertising, consumerism, alcohol, etc.) TCM HEART FUNCTION The Heart opens into the tongue The Heart controls the colour, form and appearance of the tongue; it is in particular related to the tip of the tongue. TCM HEART FUNCTION The Heart opens into the tongue The condition of the Heart also affects speech and abnormalities may cause stuttering or aphasia. Heart also influences talking and laughing. Often a disharmony of the Heart can cause a person to talk incessantly or laugh inappropriately. TCM HEART FUNCTION The Heart controls sweat Since the Heart governs Blood and this has a relation of mutual interchange with Body Fluids, of which sweat is part TCM HEART FUNCTIONS The Heart controls sweat Since the Heart governs Blood and this has a relation of mutual interchange with Body Fluids, of which sweat is part, the Heart is related to sweat. Heart Qi Deficiency may often cause spontaneous sweating, while a Heart Yin Deficiency may often cause night sweating and the treatment should be aimed at tonifying Heart Qi or Yin. TCM HEART SUMMARY Controls the Blood vessels Manifests in the complexion Houses the ‘Mind’ Is related to Joy Opens into the tongue Controls sweat TCM SMALL INTESTINE FUNCTION TCM SMALL INTESTINE FUNCTION The Small Intestine controls receiving and transforming Small Intestine receives food and drink from the Stomach to carry out its job of separating a ‘clean’ (i.e. reusable) part from a ‘dirty’ part. The clean part is then transported by the Spleen to all parts of the body to nourish the tissues. The ‘dirty’ part is transmitted to the Large Intestine for excretion as stools, and to the Bladder for excretion as urine TCM SMALL INTESTINE FUNCTIONS Small Intestine controls receiving and transforming Small Intestine has a direct functional relation with the Bladder and it influences the urinary function. Small Intestine points can be used to treat urinary problems TCM SMALL INTESTINE FUNCTION The Small Intestine separates fluids This process is similar to the one outlined above in relation to food, although there is a slight difference. After the ‘dirty’ fluids are passed down from the Stomach, they are further separated by the Small Intestine into a ‘clean’ part, which goes to the Bladder for excretion as urine, and a ‘dirty’ part, which goes to the Large Intestine, partly for reabsorption and partly for excretion in the stools TCM SMALL INTESTINE FUNCTION Small Intestine influences our mental clarity and judgment It is said that it helps us to distinguish our options in any situation clearly in order to come to a decision. REFERENCES Maciocia, G. (2015). Foundations of Chinese Medicine. Third Edition. Chapter 6 Heart Maciocia, G. (2015). Foundations of Chinese Medicine. Third Edition. Chapter 14 Small Intestine