The goal of care is to recognize and manage the disruption before illness or disease
occurs. Qi can be thrown out of balance in a number of ways, including genetic vul-
nerability, accident or trauma, diet, lifestyle, emotional upset, spiritual distress, cli-
mate, or noxious agents. Pressure point practitioners bring balance to the body’s
energies, promoting optimal health and well-being and facilitating your own heal-
ing capacity.Meridians
Acupuncture, acupressure, Jin Shin Jyutsu, Jin Shin Do, and reflexology are treat-
ments rooted in the traditional Eastern philosophy that qi, or life energy, flows
through the body along pathways known as meridians. Like major power lines, the
meridians connect all parts of the body. As vital energy flows through the meridians,
it forms tiny whirlpools close to the skin’s surface at places called hsueh, which means
cave or hollow. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, these are acupuncture points; in
India, marmapoints. These pressure points function somewhat like gates to moderate
the flow of qi. Acupuncture needles inserted into these points or pressure on these
points releases blocked energy and improves the circulation of qi in the body.
The body has 14 major meridians and 360 to 365 classic points through which qi
can be accessed. Most practitioners, however, focus on 150 points. The points them-
selves are metaphors for a person’s journey through life with names such as “Spirit
Gate,” “Great Esteem,” “Joining the Valleys,” and “Inner Frontier Gate.” Each merid-
ian is also associated with an internal organ after which it is named: stomach,
spleen, heart, small intestine, bladder, kidney, circulation–sex, gall bladder, liver,
lung, and large intestine. The triple-warmer meridian is associated with the thyroid
and adrenal glands, the governing meridian with the spine, and the central merid-
ian with the brain. Chapter 3, “Traditional Chinese Medicine,” presents more
detailed information regarding energy and meridians.Microsystems
At many points in the body the meridians converge. These points are reflexes to dis-
tant parts of the body and are called microsystems. Microsystemsare areas of the body
that are small, local representations of the whole body and are located on the feet,
hands, and ears. In other words, each individual part of the body has an associated
reflex on the ear, the hand, and the foot. The reflexes are symmetrical in that organs
on the right side of the body are in the right foot, and the left organs on the left foot.
The reflexes also correspond in descending order: The brain reflexes are in the tips of
the toes, the eyes and ears under the toes, the shoulders and lungs on the ball of the
foot, the stomach and pancreas on the instep, the intestines and colon towards the
heel, and the hips on the heel. See Figures 12.1–12.3 for reflexology maps.158 ABSOLUTE BEGINNER’S GUIDE TOALTERNATIVE MEDICINE