Although this course is primarily about the Extraordinary Channels and their functions it is important to place them in context with the Twelve Bilateral Meridians, as well as the Secondary Channels (the Connecting, Divergent and Muscle Channels) as all the energy flows, in combination, form a large regulating system for the entire physical body.
- The Twelve Bilateral Meridians, with which we are all so familiar, are termed regular because energy circulates in them constantly in a specific direction and sequence, comprising the body’s general energy-circulation system.
- The Connecting (Luo) Channels regulate and balance the Yin and Yang primarily in the limbs at a superficial level.
If the energy system is both in harmony and balance excess Chi and Blood building up in the Regular Twelve Bilateral Meridians would be directed to flow into the Eight Extraordinary Channels to be stored for later use. In simple terms we could consider the Twelve Regular Bilateral Meridians as rivers of energy and the Extraordinary Channels as reservoirs.
The Eight Extraordinary Channels’ energetic structures are intertwined with the human body’s material structure at its deepest level.
Yin and Yang are seen as two states of material or non-material existence, the process of change and transformation for all things in the universe as we understand it. Yin and Yang are either opposite aggregations of matter/energy or opposite stages of a cycle – and yet they are mutually dependant, while they both mutually consume and mutually generate each other.
All the Extraordinary Channels are in some way connected to the Kidney Energy System, which in Oriental Medicine is considered the root of the physical body.
Tapping into the power of these Extraordinary Channels allows us to release genetic predispositions and thus promote a better quality of life with enhanced health and increased longevity for our clients.
Due to its complex pathway the Penetrating Vessel (Chong Mai) influences many of the organs directly through their Meridian Channels – the three Yin of the legs (Kidney, Liver and Spleen) as well as the Stomach and Heart Channels. It is closely connected to the Stomach Meridian.