Harmonizing Ying & Wei?

[Guest guest]

Hi All !

 

There is this question i had for quite a long time,

What is the meaning to harmonize Ying & Wei.

We have to harmonize them in cases of exterior deficiency sweating

when there is a interior deficiency and exterior excess..

 

But what is this Harmonizng thing in terms of Tcm?

 

 

Thank You,

Dan

[Guest guest]

>There is this question i had for quite a long time,

>What is the meaning to harmonize Ying & Wei.

>We have to harmonize them in cases of exterior deficiency sweating

>when there is a interior deficiency and exterior excess..

>

>But what is this Harmonizng thing in terms of Tcm?

 

Hi Dan,

 

First some basic background for the readers who are new to TCM.

 

Protective (Wei, aka Defensive)) Qi circulates over the outer (Exterior)

layers of the body. It protects a person against Pernicious Evls like Wind,

Cold, Heat, Dampness, and Dryness. " The 'Spiritual Axis' in chapter 47

says:Defensive Qi warms the muscles, fills up the skin, enters the space

between skin and muscles, opens the pores.' " (Maciocia, The Foundations of

, p. 45.) Keep in mind that one of the functions of Qi is to

control the opening and closing of the pores. One of the symptoms of Qi

Deficiency is that a person will tend to sweat a lot out of proportion to

the actual temperature or amount of physical labor. There isn't enough Qi

to perform the task of keeping pores closed when it's appropriate. (In

general Qi Deficiency often is associated with what I call " leaks " -

excessive sweating throughout the day, incontinence of urine and feces,

loose bowel movements, etc.)

 

Nutritive (Ying, aka Nourishing, aka Constructive Qi) flows in the Interior

of the body. " Nutritive Qi is closely related to Blood and flows with it in

the blood vessels, as well as, of course, in the channels. " (Foundations, p.

44.) It nourishes and moistens the Organs. " This is the Qi that is activated

whenever a needle is inserted in an acupuncture point. " (Foundations, p.

44.)

 

Exterior conditions are those that affect the Exterior of the body - the

skin, the muscles, the head, the limbs, the neck. Exterior conditions are

further divided into Exterior Excess and Exterior Deficiency. The Exterior

Excess conditions are easy to understand. There is too much of something

causing a problem. It's too hot, it's too cold, it's too damp, it's too

dry, or it's very windy.

 

Exterior Deficiency conditions are abnormal reactions to Exterior

environmental conditions because there is an underlying Qi and/or Blood

Deficiency. For example, it may not be that cold - say 65 degrees F - but

the person feels like she's freezing because the Defensive Qi is Deficient

and not warming the skin and muscles. (Keep in mind that Defensive Qi can

be Deficient because of Lung and/or Spleen Deficiency because these two

Organs play the greatest role in Qi accumulation. But, because Defensive Qi

also is made from Essence (Jing) and Original Qi that is transformed from

Kidney-Yang, long-term Yang Deficiency also can result in Wei Qi Deficiency.

So in cases of Protective Qi Deficiency, the Lungs, the Spleen, and the

Kidneys should be considered.)

 

In addition to the Wei Qi protecting the Exterior and the Ying Qi nourishing

and stabilizing the Interior, they regulate each other. When one is out of

kilter, it affects the other. " Here, however, the protective qi is slightly

weak. When it rises to the surface to fend off wind-cold, fever and chills

are produced. This takes all of its strenghth and it is unable to

adequately perform its other functions, such as guarding the nutritive qi.

The nutritive qi therefore becomes unstable and is unable to contain the

fluids. The resulting sweating does not have the full force of the

protective qi behind it, and thus does not lead to any improvement in the

condition. " (Chinese Herbal Medicine Formulas & Strategies, compiled and

translated by Dan Bensky & Randall Barolet, p. 36.) " Wei and Ying not

harmonized " is the poetic Chinese way of saying one is too Deficient or weak

to control, regulate, or assist the other. Instead of being like two

healthy horses in harness pulling a wagon together, one horse is lame and

putting an extra burden on the other horse, causing the wagon to veer off

course.

 

There are several things which can cause the Wei and Ying to be out of

harmony. For one thing, if the Evil is Wind at the TaiYang (Greater Yang)

stage of Cold-Induced Evil, the pores are already open. Opening them more

with many of the herbs is just going to dissipate the Qi further. (Cold

tends to close pores; Wind tends to open them. This is a general rule,

there are exceptions.) In cases of Exterior Deficiency, there is an

underlying Qi (and/or Blood) Deficiency, and the person already is tending

to sweat too much, and because the Qi is Deficient, " the resulting sweating

does not have the full force of the protective qi behind it. " (p. 36)

You'll see this Wei and Ying not harmonized because of Exterior Deficiency

when a person has been sick a long time or sometimes after childbirth

(especially when a lot of Blood has been lost or the labor has been

unusually long and difficult).

 

Let's look for a moment at herbs and formulas for Releasing Exterior Cold

when they're used properly, as in the TaiYang stage of the 6 Stages of

Cold-induced Evils. This is a case of Exterior Excess Cold. Cold tends to

cause pores to close. Because of this, the Protective Qi can't circulate

properly. What you want to do is to get those pores open so the Protective

Qi can circulate and get rid of that Cold which is trying to invade. You

want to use an herb like Ma Huang in Ephedra Decoction (Ma Huang Tang). Ma

Huang, aka Herba Ephedra, is strongly diaphoretic (producing perspiration).

 

Keep in mind that sweating, especially when induced, is dispersing Qi, using

it up. This is no problem in a person who is basicly healthy, but it can be

a big problem in a person who is already Qi Deficient and has been for some

time. So how do you release the Exterior Cold while at the same time taking

care of the Deficiency and not making it worse? You release and tonify at

the same time with a formula like Cinnamon Twig Decoction (Gui Zhi Tang).

 

Cinnamon Twig is a diaphoretic herb, but it's a much milder one than Ma

Huang. The formula also contains Radix (root of) Paeoniae Lactiflorae (Bai

Shao, white peony) which is a Blood tonic herb that also harmonizes Wei and

Ying and " benefits the yin and contains the weak nutritive qi. Together

they simultaneoursly enhance the ability of the protective qi to dispel

pathogenic influences while strengthening the nutritive qi. For this

reason, the formula is said to regulate both the protective and nutritive

qi. " (B & G, p. 36)

 

In addition the formula contains Rhizoma Zingiberis Officinalis Recens (raw,

uncooked) - Sheng jiang, aka fresh ginger. Fresh ginger is another herb

which warms the Exterior. (Dried ginger warms the Interior.) Fructus

(fruit of) Zizyphi Jujubae (Da Zao) is a Qi tonic herb, and also is good for

harmonizing Wei and Ying. The formula also contains honey-fried Radix (root

of) Glycyrrhizae Uralensis (Zhi Gan Cao - honey-fried licorice root).

Licorice root also is a Qi tonic herb. When it's fried in honey, it becomes

even more tonic in nature than it already is.

 

With the Cinnamon Twig Decoction you're warming the Exterior and tonifying

(adding) Qi and Blood at the same time. Because of this, the sweating

produced by the cinnamon twigs and the fresh ginger does have the " full

force of the protective qi behind it " instead of merely being " leaks " due to

Qi being too Deficient to close the pores. It doesn't matter that sweating

dissipates Qi because the formula is suppling Qi at the same time it's being

dispersed.

 

Victoria

 

 

 

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[Guest Sun Yun]

That was an awesome explanation, Victoria!