Are you tired of being controlled by your bowels? Do you miss out on fun because you have irritable bowel pain known as IBS? Whether it is constipation or diarrhea, Chinese medicine can help you!

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM,) the Wood element is lacking communication in the flow of Qi.  We have good news for you! There is a solution for the root cause of IBS.

In Chinese Medicine, we don’t diagnose using the same terms that western medicine uses.  Understanding how our bodies get out of balance is actually very simple.  You will get a visual understanding by watching the video.  I will give you the text on how the 5 element theory works to relieve IBS.  We are not saying that we can heal IBS, but we have a five thousand old proven theory on how to treat your pain and get your body back into balance.

The IBS Qi Cycle

I want to show you how we treat IBS using Chinese medicine known as the 5 element theory the elements are:

• Fire
• Earth
• Metal
• Water
• Wood

Drawn in a circle, Fire at the top, earth to the right, metal below it, then water and wood.We talk about “Qi” in Chinese medicine. Qi is more than just energy, yet loosely analogous to it.

The Qi flows between these elements in a very defined pathway. Fire burns things to the earth. Within the earth, there are metal deposits. Metal can create condensation which creates water. We use water to grow wood and we use wood to produce fire. This is a very defined pathway in the way the Qi operates.

This is the NORMAL cycle in which the Qi is designed to be flowing through the body. What is NORMAL? A setting on a dryer! There is another “over-controlling” cycle known as the “Ko” cycle. It may be used to heal as easily as it may cause imbalances

Water controls fire-Fire controls metal-Metal controls wood-wood controls earth-Earth controls water.
This is known as the ko cycle, or the over controlling cycle.

More about Chinese medicine IBS and the 5 elements

Each of these elements has seasons, tastes, colors herbs, animals, grains, and many, many other attributes.
Within the wood element, the 2 organs are liver and gall bladder. Water houses the kidneys and urinary bladder. Metal contains the lungs and large intestine. The earth houses the spleen and stomach. Fire contains the heart, pericardium, small intestines, and triple-burner has to do with water metabolism in the upper three portions of the “trunk” of the body.

Imbalances of IBS

The Qi’s job is to flow smoothly from one element to another.   What happens if there is an interruption in that flow?
The example will be from the liver-gallbladder (Wood) element for IBS. The liver is the organ of the body that takes the hit for all the stress we incur in life. When this qi is flowing smoothly to the wood element and there is a lot of stress in our life, it adversely affects the liver. The liver takes on a pathology we call “excess.”

The communication between the wood and fire elements becomes impaired. This inner “Ko” cycle functions like the path of least resistance. When we have an excess situation where the liver is stress and becomes excess, Qi begins to take the “path of least resistance” over to the earth element. This element organ is spleen, which in Chinese medicine, we are talking about the metabolic functions of the pancreas and stomach The Qi in the liver has lost its way and beats down on the spleen and the stomach, which weakens these two organs and creates the “deficiency.”

Look at the next element, the metal element, which is lung and large intestine, or colon!  The bowels are stressed, resulting in an irritable bowel. This may lead to either diarrhea or constipation or both!

IBS, acupuncture and Chinese herbs

It is very easy to understand the diagnosis of IBS in 5 element theory.

Now that we understand it, what do we do about it? We have to go back and do a couple of things. First of all, we can’t take the stress out of your life, but we can soothe the liver Qi. This helps the body adapt and handle the stress by recommunicating the pathway between the wood and the fire element (through herbs and acupuncture) for the Qi to flow more smoothly. That way, the Qi that has invaded the earth element spleen and stomach will begin to retract. As a result of this correction, the Qi will not beat down on the spleen and the stomach.  Constipation and diarrhea will begin to cease.

IBS and stress

It seems as if everything you google on body issues and pain will circle back to stress. Stress is a way of thinking. It is a point of view regarding how you see life situations.

1. Are you aware of any patterns that are connected to anxiety and stress that bring on surges of pain?
2. Have you noticed if your colon is highly sensitive to your emotions?
3. For those that experience depression, it is common to be constipated.
4. Feelings of anxiety will typically produce diarrhea.
5. Are you holding on or letting go of your life force?
6. What thoughts take your power away?
7. Notice if you are holding on to a destructive belief?

Find the words and sentences connected to your pain.  Give them the truth.

To get some help with releasing the emotional pain that is connected to your physical pain through Rapid Eye Technology, Emotion and Body Code as well as listening prayer call the Neeley Center for Health and schedule an appointment with Mike and Cindy.

“The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.”
– William James

Traditional Chinese Medicine treats IBS

• Acupuncture to soothe the liver
• Chinese herbal formula’s specifically for the liver and the spleen
• TCM re-establishes the connections that have been broken and strengthens spleen and large intestine, as well as sedating the liver

Click here to find an acupuncturist in your area

The Neeley Center for Health   256-716-4048

TheNeeleyCenterforHealth@gmail.com

NeeleyAcupuncture.com