Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu (6th century B.C.) was an originator of basic Oriental medical theory. In his book, Tao Te Ching, chapter 42, he said: "The Tao begot one, One begot two, Two begot three. Three begot ten thousand things. Ten thousand things carry yin and embrace yang. Chong qi creates harmony by combining forces." That means chong qi harmonizes yin (ren mai) and yang (du mai).
Lao Tzu used the word chong three time in the Tao Te Ching. In chapter 4, he wrote: "The Tao (Chong) is an empty vessel, it is used but never filled. Oh, unfathomable source of ten thousand things!" An empty cup can fill with water, but if it's already full, water will spill.
In chapter 45, he said, "Great fullness seems empty." In Chinese dao, kanji chong means emptiness. Chong and kanji chong have the same meaning. (Old kanji had the character for "child" in the middle, which means uterus.)
Great Chong Mai is a hollow, tunnel-shaped channel moving through the center of the body. It is the channel that the qi from the universe moves through from GV 20 to GV 1, just like a fetus gets nutrients from the umbilical cord. The human body has torus-shaped energy flow.
A hurricane has an eye in the middle; in that eye it is very quiet and you can see blue sky. The wall of the eye has the most powerful wind. A black hole's center axis has a jet – the most powerful energy that moves through the black hole. It is how stars are born.
The universe is a torus. A galaxy is a torus. A star is a torus. A planet is a torus. A tree is a torus. A human is a torus. An acorn is a torus. A cell is a torus. A proton is a torus. Whole universes have torus-shaped energy flow. A torus is a dynamic flow process, rather than simply a topological surface.
In the Tao Te Ching , chapter 11, Lao Tzu said: "Thirty spokes share a wheel's hub, yet it is the center empty space in the hub that makes it function." A wheel also has disks with a center hole, which is torus shaped.
Great Chong Mai harmonizes qi and blood, and the 12 meridians, connected to all the body orifices including the digestive tract, arteries and veins, urinary tract, space between the fascia, nerve system, lymph system and uterus. All the hollow spaces in the body and different liquids move through it.
In Tao Te Ching, chapter 8, Lao Tzu said, "The highest good is like water. Water gives life to the ten thousand things and does not strive." In human health, all the liquids must move smoothly to keep us healthy. If body fluid becomes acidic, thick and clogged up, people become sick. Opening Great Chong Mai is the first and most important step for treatment.
In acupuncture, we cannot needle Great Chong Mai because it is deep in the center of the body. However, we can use meridians next to Great Chong Mai: Du Mai, Hua Tuo Jia Ji, BL meridian, and KI, ST meridians in Hara. We can also use diet therapy: organic alkaline foods, whole grains, beans, vegetables, sea vegetables, fermented grains,beans, and vegetables. This will detox the whole body. Certain exercise also stimulates qi flow in the body, such as qi gong, tai chi and aiki.
Over my almost 30 years in clinical practice, I have used Chai Hu Long Gu Mu Li Tang extensively for a wide array of clinical presentations ranging from chronic headaches to anxiety, insomnia, and prescription drug withdrawal symptoms if these situations fit the appropriate patterns – all with extremely positive clinical outcomes.
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