Triple Heater meridian

[Guest guest]

The Triple Heater (or Triple Burner) is one of the 12 standard meridians.

 

The 12 standard meridians are:

 

Wood: Liver (Yin)

Gallbladder (Yang)

 

Fire: Heart (Yin)

Small Intestine (Yang)

 

Pericardium (Yin)

Triple Warmer (Yang)

 

Earth: Spleen (Yin)

Stomach (Yang)

 

Metal: Lung (Yin)

Large Intestine (Yang)

 

Water: Kidney (Yin)

Bladder (Yang)

 

The Triple Warmer (San Jiao) is a Yang Fire meridian. It does not correspond to

an organ like the Heart, or Lung, or Kidney meridian does.

 

It is completely funcitonal in nature, and its function is to help regulate

fluid balance in the body and to produce heat. (Remember that in TCM function is

more important than the anatominal structure.)

 

The Triple Heater has 3 divisions - the Upper, the Middle, and the Lower. These

roughly correspond to the division of the trunk of the body into the thoracic

(Upper), the abdominal (Middle), and pelvic (Lower) areas. I say roughly because

the Upper Burner harmonizes the Heart and Lung, the Middle harmonizes the

Stomach and Spleen, and the Lower harmonizes the Kidney, Bladder, Large and

Small Intestines, and Liver. (In some accounts you'll see the Liver listed with

the Middle Burner).

 

When you read stuff in TCM herb books like " drains Dampness from the Lower

Burner " or " tonic to the Middle Burner " , this is referring to parts of the

Triple Heater.

 

Because the Triple Heater coordinates the functions of other meridians, it is

responsible for the production of Protective Qi (Wei Qi) and Nutritive Qi (Ying

Qi). The Ying Qi enters the meridians and nourishes them. The Protective Qi

circulates around the meridians and near the surface of the body, protecting it

from External Evil.

 

Some modern Chinese doctors believe that the Triple Heater does correspond to a

physical structure in the body - the hypothalamus. The hypothalamus is located

in the brain and regulates the functions of endocrine glands, including the

master gland, the pituitary. The hypothalamus sends out messages to the

pituitary gland which in turn sends out directions to the other endocrine

glands. For example, the hypothalamus sends a message to the pituitary telling

it to produce TSH (Thyroid Stimulating Hormone). The TSH then tells the thyroid

gland to produce thyroid hormone which in turn controls the basal metabolism and

influences things like body temperature, energy production, etc. Hypothyroidism

(underactive thyroid function) can be primary (originating in the thyroid

gland), secondary (originating in the pituitary), or tertiary (originating in

the hypothalamus).

 

I'm going into some detail here to demostrate just how important the

hypothalamus is and why some Chinese doctors believe that the hypothalamus

corresponds to the Triple Heater meridian. In Western anatomy and physiology it

is known that the hypothalamus influences things like water balance, body

temperature, thirst and hunger, etc. In TCM the Triple Heater coordinates fluid

balance and the production of body heat.

 

The Triple Heater system is one you definitely want to consider in treating

CFIDS. PWCs (People With CFIDS) tend to be extremely weather sensitive (low

Protective Qi) and to have problems with body temperature. In Western medicine a

lot of the research into CFIDS is centering on the

Hypothalamus-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis.

 

In acupressure you want to consider the Upper Tan T'ien, the seat of Qi. This

roughly corresponds to what some call " the third eye " which corresponds to the

pineal gland and/or hypothalamus. (There's some disagreement on which part of

the brain the third eye corresponds to.) This is a point not on the Triple

Heater meridian but on one of the Strange Flows, the Yang Governor vessel which

runs up the center of the back over the head and terminates just above the upper

lip. The third eye point is between the eyebrows in the indentation where the

bridge of the nose meets the forehead. This is another of those points that get

used a lot in acupressure. Among other things it's used to treat hot flashes in

menopause, to treat CFIDS, to treat colds and flu, to improve concentration and

memory, to uplift the spirit (depression), to relieve some headaches and

hayfever, and to relieve hangovers.

 

Victoria

 

 

 

--== Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/ ==--

Share what you know. Learn what you don't.