The Five Element Theory of Chinese Medicine is a complex theory that evolved from observing nature and the five elements it contains: fire, earth, metal, water, and wood. We are part of nature and a microcosm of nature, encapsulating the elements within us.
No one organ works in isolation. Where symptoms manifest aren’t necessarily where the symptoms originated. According to Traditional Chinese medicine, the organs have a nourishing cycle, or sheng cycle. For instance, the wood of the liver feeds the fire of the heart. The fire of the heart nourishes the earth energy of the spleen. The earth energy of the spleen feeds the metal element of the lungs, and the metal element nourishes the water of the kidneys.
There’s also a Controlling Cycle, or ke cycle, to keep things in check. You can think of it as a system of checks and balances. For instance, water controls fire, but is controlled by earth. Although an imbalance in the system can manifest from an over-controlling element, this is in an overactive cycle, or Cheng Cycle. Too much water can put out the fire of the heart. There’s also an insulting cycle or wu cycle where the forces are reversed. For instance, the Fire of the heart can dry up the water element of the kidneys.
The Five Element Theory can be complex and may take decades to understand fully. I’m certainly not an expert in the Five Element Theory, but I do apply the principles in my work as an abdominal therapist. For instance, Chi Nei Tsang (Chinese abdominal massage) is a combination of Chi Kung, massage, breathwork, and the five-element theory. In general, I find the body will reveal three organs to work with at a time.
Western Medicine: The colon and liver may not be the first things to come to mind when you think about hormonal balance. But if it weren’t for the liver inactivating hormones such as estrogen and your large intestine ushering out the deactivated hormones, they would recirculate through the bloodstream, sending outdated messages leading to a hormonal imbalance that could lead to fertility issues, painful periods, fibroids, and PMS. Painful menses is not because your uterus is flawed; we need to look at the system as a whole.
Whether you view the human body from an Eastern or Western perspective, you can see that no single area operates in isolation. So, when looking to improve the health of a specific organ, consider its relationships with other organs and the microcosm within it. But don’t stop there —zoom out to your relationships, community, thoughts, and the environment you live in. You are part of that environment; you can’t separate yourself from the environment around you any more than you can separate your heart from your body. You are the Heart.
Author: Barbara Horsley has more than 26 years of experience as a licensed massage therapist. She specializes in abdominal massage and Visceral Manipulation™ and is an NCBTMB-approved educator. In addition to being certified in abdominal massage, she also studied biomechanics and restorative exercise. She is also a Certified Women’s Herbal Educator and a graduate of the IWHI Perimenopause & Menopause Certificate Program.