chinese medicinewith his particular way of seeing and looking at the universeto touch and feel the human body, taught us a labyrinth where health is observed with meaning and patience, a labyrinth where the path is the answer.
There are four methods of diagnosis: observation, smell and listening, questioning and palpation. Each method has its rules and requirements in order to completely weave the web where the human body is drawn and expresses its physical and emotional state.
Pulse diagnosis is the highest expression of wisdom and experience in the practice of traditional Chinese medicine. It is the professional culmination, which reaches the highest level of understanding.
According to a Chinese proverb explaining the pulse is like drinking a glass of water: whether it’s hot or cold, only the person who drank it knows. If someone else asks “how is the water?”, who can answer exactly?
At least the water can be tasted, but everyone’s pulse is invisible, palpable but intransmissible.
Relationship between pulse and health
The pulse is a reflex then actual state of chi (energy) like the brightness of the face or the good mood of a healthy person. It is the whole of the proper functioning of the heart with the fluidity of the channels and the harmony of the chi Yes xue (some blood).
The book Ling Shu said, “The pulse is hidden in the heart. shen (the spirit, the vivacity) lodges in the pulse”.
The pulse is the rhythm of life and is marked by the heart which receives the pure blood produced by the spleen/stomach after eating food. From the heart comes blood and chi to the whole body.
The chi is the engine and xue is the vehicle: the blood will not flow if the Chinese push it and the chi will not be able to go anywhere without using the blood as a vehicle.
in the constitution of chi Yes xue Four organs are involved.
- Lung. He is the master of chi, the fundamental basis of heart rate and pulse strength. Given the close relationship between chi Yes xuethe chi generated by the lung through breathing reaches the heart to be transported throughout the body. Its quality and quantity determine the state of the pulse.
- Spleen/Stomach. It is the source of chi Yes xuethe acquired land base, where most of the energy is produced. chi and the xue that nourish the body. Good spleen and stomach chi is a sign of good physical and emotional health. This is why it is considered an indicator of life expectancy.
- Liver. Stores blood and regulates its volume. Its main function is to keep the pathways free: blood vessels, meridians and channels. If they are free, the fluids circulating therein will reach their destination unhindered.
- Kidney. This is the root where the yuan resides chi (original chi or hereditary chi), driving source of the functioning of the organs, and also root of the yin and yang of the whole body. The force of the pulse comes from the kidney and the pulse must be rooted there.
Types of Pulse According to Chinese Medicine
Chinese medicine considers thirty types of pulse:
- Big: xiao;
- Little: you:
- Floating: Chen;
- Deep: shou;
- Quick: wow;
- Sliding: I say;
- Rough: jin;
- Time: fu;
- Hidden: ch;
- Hurry: go;
- Restless: xi;
- Filiform: street ;
- Weak: Holy;
- Dispersed or diffused…
Some are made up of two or three different types. For example, yin and yang impulses: the yin are the weak and the hidden, and the yang, the big and the strong.
How to take the pulse according to Chinese medicine
The pulse is taken near the wrist, where the radius bone ends.
The right side reflects yin and the left side reflects yang. Index, middle and ring fingers are used pressing lightly on the radial side of the wrist. And starting from the transverse line towards the heart, a detailed exploration is carried out.
There are three barriers. In the right hand, the pulse of the Lung, Spleen and Kidney (first, second and third barriers in a row) is taken, and in the left hand that of the Heart, Liver and Kidney (also the first, second and the third barrier).
The three depths are you (floating), zhong (middle) and Chen (embedded or deep).
Fingers act as sensors to capture and determine where, when, how and what is happening in the body.
Of the thirty types of pulse which exist to the kinds of pulses which are really usually distinguished in common practice, there is an increasing distance. today that lack of practiceas one loses the forests of the mountains.
In the past, medicine was considered a discipline of life and It was usually a family transmission where was taught disciples chosen from an early age.
They first learned housekeepinguntil the day when the professor saw fit to introduce something as simple as crushing a plant or serving him tea in the consultation. They were instructed without askingthe master was more respected than the parents themselves, there was no other school but the master.
Learning was done day by day, drop by drop, without haste and without time limit, a time that had another value, and the only the working tools were patience and practicefrom which conscientiously arises the refinement of good work.
Since lessons have been systematized and there are many more opportunities for many more people. But the hand that takes the pulse continues to feel the pulse of life and disease.
Like Beethoven’s fingers sliding over the piano keys: They not only produced the sound of the notes, but also the feeling of the music at its best.
Physicians practiced chi kung in order to control chi or energy, and the pulse is the manifestation of chi. If the doctor has not mastered his own chi, he will not be able to distinguish the patient’s chi from his own.
What is the pulse used for in traditional Chinese medicine?
In the pulse, imbalances of yin and yang are detected, chi Yes xue. You can read where problems arise and how to solve them.
In a healthy person, the pulse has four regular beats for each full, calm breath. It’s like an electrocardiogram: it presents rhythm, curves, fluidity, strength, peaks, length, amplitude…
In summer, the impulses are stronger and shallower due to heat and motion; On the other hand, the winter pulse of the same person tends to be deeper and slower because the energy is internalized so as not to disperse.
The pulse is the most complete and subtle code of our existence, and it takes knowledge, dedication and a lot of patience To understand.
We now take the pulse as an additional data. The vast majority of doctors opt for the most practical and simple, such as the pose, or for modern technologies such as resonances, ultrasounds, analyses, etc.
This is the price ancient Chinese medicine must pay to survive in today’s hyper-technological world. Thus, instead of clinging to dogmas, one can play the same piece of music with other instruments. We will not be Beethoven but we can strive to be his best disciples.
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