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rx
chinese medicine models
Kidney ~ Shen
psychospiritual approaches
definition
Kidney ~ Shen stores Jing (Essence) and governs birth, growth, reproduction, development and aging; houses the Zhi (Will Power); expresses ambition and focus; governs Water to regulate body fluids; provides the "Fire of Life" through its Yang functions for the digestive processes and the functions ascribed to the adrenals; provides the nourishing and stabilizing qualities of Yin and Water that balance the Yang and the Fiery qualities of the Heart; controls the bones, particularly the lumbar spine and knees; produces the Marrow which generates the spinal cord, "fills up" the brain, and possibly manifests through the immune system; nourishes the brain to sustain concentration, clear thinking and memory; facilitates inspiration by grasping and pulling down the Qi of the breath; relates particularly to congenital or chronic conditions because it carries the constitutional endowment from the parents; manifests through the reproductive function, particularly the internal aspects of the reproductive organs and governs the process of passing on life to offspring; manifests through the teeth, head hair, ears and equilibrium; and displays the effects of sexual dissipation (esp. excessive ejaculation), overwork, aging, chronic debilitation or degenerative processes, and extreme stress.
» Healthy expressions are gentleness, groundedness and endurance.
» Kidney Xu (Deficiency) signs include indecisiveness; confused speech; dreams of trees submerged under water; cold feet and legs; abundant sweating (Seem, p. 28); fearfulness; apathy; chronic fatigue; discouragement; scatteredness; lack of will; negativity; impatience; difficult inhalation; low sex drive; lumbago; sciatica; and musculoskeletal irritation and inflammation, esp. when worse from touch. As always, chronic Yin Xu (Deficiency) predisposes to Empty Heat and/or acute inflammation.
» Intense or prolonged fear depletes the Kidney. Often chronic anxiety may induce Xu (Deficiency) and then Fire within the Kidney. (Maciocia, p. 250) Overwork, sexual dissipation, parenting, simple aging, and a sedentary or excessively indulgent lifestyle all contribute significantly to Kidney Xu (Deficiency).
» Kidney Shi (Excess) signs include over-decisiveness; dreams of difficulty undoing one's belt; and hot, heavy painful legs. (Seem, p. 28)
» Mental signs of Kidney channel disorders include anxiety, fear in the pit of the stomach; sadness; mental and physical fatigue; antisocial tendencies; and laziness. (Seem, p. 28)
dreams:
When the Kidneys are weak, one dreams of drowning men and swimming after a shipwreck; if the dream takes place in winter, one dreams of plunging in water and being scared.
(from "Simple Questions" as translated in Maciocia, p. 100 and Ni, p. 162)
When the Kidneys are in excess, in dreams one feels like the back and waist are split apart and that the spine is detached from the body ... when they are weak, one dreams of approaching a ravine, plunging into the water, and being immersed in water.
(from "Spiritual Axis" as translated in Maciocia, p. 100 and Ni, p. 162)
footnotes
Reprinted from The Foundations of Chinese Medicine, Maciocia, Giovanni, p. 250, 1989, by permission of the publisher Churchill Livingstone, a division of Elsevier Limited.