About Meridians and Nadis

Meridians are subtle energy pathways in the body. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has for many centuries studied and worked therapeutically with these energy channels.

The body’s vital energies (called “qi” or“chi” in TCM) flow continuously through these pathways--like blood through our blood vessels--nourishing, maintaining and restoring all the body’s organ systems.

There are twelve standard channels, each of which is associated with a human biological function: kidneys, liver, spleen, heart, lungs, pericardium, bladder, gall bladder, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, and triple heater (the body temperature regulator, for which there is no correlate in the Western concept of the body).

There are also two additional energy pathways, called the conception vessel and the governing vessel.

The site www.acupuncture.com lets you get a detailed look at each of the fourteen channels.

The fourteen energy pathways, and the chi that flows through them, are critical to life. If the flow of chi is out of balance—either too strong or too weak--the system supported by the meridian is disrupted.

Along the channels are some 500 tiny points near the skin surface—acupuncture points—that can be stimulated (e.g., as in acupuncture with needles, or acupressure with physical pressure) to balance and restore the flow of energy.

Ayurvedic medicine works with a similar system of subtle energy channels, called nadis. The nadis connect to the chakras.

Photo, © Mark Yuill | Dreamstime.com

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