The Protective Vital Energy

Protective Vital Energy and Allergy Prevention Through Acupuncture

Benefit from acupuncture to strengthen the protective vital energy and prevent immune disorders: pollen allergies, mold and other discomforts of the mild and warm seasons of spring, summer and autumn are among these disorders.

Indeed, seasonal allergy is considered in Chinese medicine as a "disease of winter," born from the effects and consequences of chilling and its accumulation in the body:
Most inhabitants of a major city with rigorous winters like Montréal experience 1-2 ''chillings'' per cold season.

These different types of ''external perverse winds'' from winter can cause in some individuals a ''latent pathogenic factor'', triggering allergies when the weather warms:

Discover here how ''latent perverse wind'' then produces symptoms of cold or heat, long after winter has passed.

In the case of seasonal allergies, a transient irritant in real time (such as pollen, dust mites, mold, saliva, etc.), combined with ''latent perverse wind'', triggers the histaminic crisis (the allergy), which eventually creates inflammation, more or less pronounced, in the mucous membranes concerned by the initial irritation of the ''latent perverse wind'' from past winters. The system then becomes more sensitive from one winter to the next if the irritation and inflammation of the allergy is not treated after having weakened the mucous membrane. It is then said that the energy circulating at the surface of the body (the Wei Qi), or ''defensive vital energy'', is insufficient or circulates in an obstructed manner.

One can also amplify this defensive energy with correct exercises involving posture, breathing and intention.

The Canadian shield

Visualization to Amplify Wei Qi

Here is an easy exercise to quickly and effectively recharge your ''protective defensive energy'' (Wei Qi; pronounced "way chee"). Wei Qi encompasses immune functions at the physiological level by circulating in the internal superficial tissues (skin, muscles and tendons) and at the exterior of the physical body, just near its surface. Wei Qi therefore also plays a role in energetic proprioception, as well as in establishing limits, boundaries and radiation in the environment.

1. Standing or sitting on a chair in the center of a room in your home, close your eyes and try to feel exactly the space your body occupies. 1-3 minutes.

2. Feel, eyes closed, the space occupied by the objects and beings in the room with familiar contents. 1-3 minutes.

3. Return, eyes closed, to feeling exactly the space your body occupies. 1-3 minutes.

After a few practices of 3 minutes minimum, you can begin to practice outside in a calm location: outdoor courtyards, parks, forests, beaches, fields...

Finally, one stabilizes the growing/expanding vital energy through observation of the joyful behavior of the 5 yin organs: correct nutrition (spleen-pancreas couple), positive thoughts (liver), introspection (kidney), sufficient sleep (heart) and ordered rhythms (lung).

Olivier Roy, Acupuncturist, Clinique Shanti, Montréal.