- Du-20 Baihui and Ren-6 Qihai to tonify and raise Qi. Ren-6 tonifies Qi in general while
Du-20 raises Qi: the combination of these two points is excellent to tonify and raise Qi in
case of prolapses. However, its use need not be confined to such conditions; it also has a
powerful mood-lifting effect in depression.
Balancing Left and Right
Balancing Left and Right provides one of the most interesting options in treatment. The polarity
Left-Right surfaces in many aspects of Chinese medicine.
Left and Right are two aspects of the Yang-Yin polarity, Left corresponding to Yang and Right
to Yin. There are several "reasons" (if they can be called such) for this. One is related to a myth
about the origin of the left-right imbalance in the ancient Chinese cosmos. According to ancient
Chinese views, the sky was like an inverted bowl rotating on its own axis above the earth.
According to legends, a mythical being called Kong Kong tore a hole in the sky and tilted it
towards the East so that the sun shone less in the North-West. This meant that there was a
predominance of Heaven (the sky) in the East (=Left) and a predominance of Earth in the West
(=Right). Thus, the following polarity was established:
Yang = Heaven = East = Left
Yin = Earth = West = Right.Chapter 6 of the "Simple Questions" establishes the cardinal points and their reference to
Left-Right: "The Sage stands facing South ...".11(575) Thus, he has the East to his left and the
West to his right.12(576) Hence the following polarity:
South = East = Left = Yang
North = West = Right = Yin.In chapter 5, the same book confirms the East-West (and Left-Right) imbalance created by the
mythical Kong Kong and applies it to the human body:
... Right and Left are two aspects of Yin-Yang ... Heaven is lesser in the North and
West [and therefore Right] ... for this reason the right ear and eye [belonging to
Heaven] are not as good as the left ones. Earth is lesser in the South and East
[and therefore Left] ... for this reason the left hand and foot [belonging to Earth]
are not as good as the right ones ... Therefore when pathogenic factors attack the
body the right side of the top part, and the left side of the lower part of the body
will suffer more severely ...13(577)The Left-Right polarity is also defined by the energetic sphere of the Extraordinary Vessels. The
Governing and Directing Vessels flowing along the midline of the body, the former along the