Basic philosophy of acupuncture Physiology. The whole body comprised of yang which is descending force and touching conversion into yin . So the channels are divided in three yang channel and three yin channels . viz Tai Yang , Shao Yang, Yang Min , Tai yin shao yin , Jue yin . sages who went to deeper level of pathways and found out the definite pathways of the energy having circulation of Qi . the channels get associated with zang fu organs . So those yang in nature flows from top to bottom and those in yin nature flows from earth ie bottom to top. The circulating pathways of the twelve Meridians flow from the face to the feet, from the feet to the chest, from the chest into the hands, and from the hands back to the face. The Yang Meridians generally flow along the outward (lateral) side of the limbs and along the back of the body. The Yin Meridians pass along the inward (medial) side of the limbs and along the front of the body. It has already been mentioned that the pathways leading to or from the arms are called Hand Meridians, and those that descend to the legs or ascend from the legs are the Foot Meridians. The three Yin hand meridians travel from chest to hand; the three Yang hand meridians, from hand to head (face). The three Yang foot meridians travel from head to foot; and the three Yin foot meridians travel from foot to chest. This describes the circulation of energy over the entire body and delineates the pathways in which Qi, or energy, flows. With the arms raised over the head palms facing forward, the energy in the three Yin Hand Meridians (Lung, Heart, and Pericardium) will be flowing from the chest to the fingertips, upward along the forward portion of the arm. The energy in the three Yang Hand Meridians (Large Intestine, Small Intestine, and the San Jiao) will be flowing from the fingertips, downward on the back part of the arm, to end their flow in the face. From the head, the energy of TWO of the three Meridians of the Foot (the Bladder and Gall Bladder, but not the Stomach) will be traveling down along the side or back of the body and outward side of the leg to end in the toes. To complete the cycle, the energy in the three Yin Meridians of the Foot (Spleen, Liver and Kidney) will be traveling up from the toes along the inward side of the leg, continuing along the front of the abdomen and ending in the chest, at which point the cycle begins again from the chest to the hand. There are exceptions to this, but the general pattern is accurate. The Stomach Channel is one exception. Although it is a Yang Meridian, it runs on the front of the body with the Yin Meridians, instead of up the back like the rest of the Yang Meridians. The other exception is the Governor Vessel, which is a Yang Meridian in the center of the back, in which energy flows upward as opposed to the rest of the major Yang Meridians in which energy flows downward. The Governor Vessel, or Du Mai (Du or GV), follows the spine upward on the back, travels over the head and ends on the inner surface of the upper lip. It has no direct connections to any internal organ. Its energy flow is Yang and ascends from the bottom of the pathway beginning near the anus. It connects with all the Yang Meridians of the body, and is important in many conditions requiring manipulation of the Yang energy of the body. The Conception Vessel, or Ren Mai (CV or Ren) travels up the midline in front of the body. It runs from near the anus to the mouth, and its energy is Yin, ascending from the lower body to the upper, as does the Governing Vessel. In effect, these two meridians vertically encircle the body on its midline, front and back. These two Vessels are not bilateral. They do not form a direct part of the organ meridian's energy circulation network, nor are they associated with any one organ. They belong to the eight Extra Vessels. The energy traveling from the chest to the fingertip is predominantly Yin energy. Yet on its way back up the other side of the arm, it becomes Yang energy. The energy changes polarity, from Yin to Yang, or from Yang to Yin, the nearer it approaches the extremities of the limbs. The energy traveling from the chest to the fingertip begins as predominantly Yin energy, but as the energy approaches the extremity the polarity begins to change, and by the time the tip of the finger is reached the Yin becomes progressively mixed with the Yang energy. Energy traveling from the fingertips to the face begins as mixed Yin/Yang, but by the time it arrives in the face it is predominantly Yang energy. Energy traveling from the face to the toes begins as predominantly Yang energy. As this Yang energy approaches the lower extremities of the leg, the polarity begins to change again. By the time the toes are reached the Yang energy is mixed with the Yin energy in almost equal proportions. The return from the toes to the chest causes the transformation again. This Yin energy then flows back into the arm, to continue the cycle. It can be seen, therefore, that as Qi circulates through the Primary Meridians, it alternates in coupled pairs of Yin and Yang Meridians, staying for two hours in the Yin and two hours in the Yang, in a smooth alternating rhythm. In the central area of the head and chest, even though the energy passes from one Channel to another, there is no polarity change. The head is the area where one Yang meridian joins another Yang meridian, and the chest is where each Yin meridian joins another. The polarity change is not a sudden thing, but occurs gradually, mostly between the elbow and the fingertips, and between the knee and the toes. Therapeutically, it is at points below the knee and below the elbow that energy polarity changes can be most easily accelerated or retarded. Within these limits, the most important control or energy manipulation acupuncture points are found. On acupuncture charts, the meridians appear as thin surface lines connecting a series of dots that represent the acupuncture points. Actually, there is much more to each meridian than what is shown in the acupuncture charts and diagrams. Every Channel has an inner pathway and an outer pathway, and it is usually the outer pathway with its acupuncture points that is shown on most charts or drawings, and the inner pathways are not accessible to manipulation by needling. The true extent of the Meridians cannot be shown by lines on a two-dimensional drawing. On a drawing the lines show us an imaginary line from point to point, which usually represents the approximate centerline of the sphere of influence of that Channel. According to the Chinese, each Channel is connected to all the tissues, organs and functions over which its acupuncture points have an influence or produce an effect, whether in the immediate area of the points or at a much distant area. i.e. - Examine the Heart Meridian with its nine acupuncture points running from the armpit down the inner surface of the arm to the tip of the little finger, very close to the surface. This much is shown on standard Meridian charts and most diagrams. However, the Heart Meridian naturally must be connected to the Heart, so it extends internally from the armpit point to the organ of the Heart itself. But, the Heart Meridian also has several other branches deep inside the body. One runs to the Small Intestine, and another branch connects to the head, specifically with the eye, tongue and brain