What your pulse says about your health (according to Chinese medicine)

chinese medicinewith his peculiar way of seeing and looking at the universeof touching and feeling the human body, has shown us a labyrinth where health is observed with meaning and patience, a labyrinth where the path is the answer.

There are four diagnostic methods: observation, smell and listening, questioning, and palpation. Each method has its rules and requirements in order to completely weave the canvas where the human body is drawn and expresses its physical and emotional state.

Diagnosing by pulse is the highest expression of wisdom and experience in the practice of traditional Chinese medicine. It is the professional culmination, which reaches the highest level of understanding.

According to a Chinese saying Explaining the pulse is like drinking a glass of water: whether it is hot or cold only the person who has drunk it knows. If another person asks “how is the water?” who can answer exactly?

At least the water can be tasted, but the pulse of each person is invisible, palpable but non-transferable.

Relationship between pulse and health

The pulse is a reflection so state of the chi (energy) like the brightness of the face or the good spirits of a healthy person. It is the set of the proper functioning of the heart together with the fluidity of the channels and the harmony of chi and xue (blood).

The book Ling Shu says: “The pulse is hidden in the heart. The shen (spirit, vivacity) lodges in the pulse”.

The pulse is the rhythm of life and is marked by the heart that receives the pure blood produced by the spleen/stomach after eating food. The heart leaves the blood and the chi towards the whole body.

He chi is the engine and xue is the vehicle: the blood will not circulate if the Chinese push it and the chi will not be able to get anywhere without using the blood as a vehicle.

in the formation of chi and xue Four organs are involved.

Lung. He is the master of chi, the fundamental basis of heart rate and pulse strength. Given the close relationship between chi and xuehe chi generated by the lung through breathing reaches the heart to be able to be transported throughout the body. Its quality and quantity determine the state of the pulse.Spleen/Stomach. It is the source of chi and xuethe acquired land base, where most of the chi and the xue that nourish the body. Good spleen and stomach chi is a sign of good physical and emotional condition. That is why it is considered an indicator of life expectancy.Liver. Stores blood and regulates its volume. Its main function is to keep the pathways free: blood vessels, meridians and channels. If they are free, the fluids that circulate through them will reach their destinations without obstacles.Kidney. It is the root where the yuan resides chi (original chi or hereditary chi), the motor source of organ function, and also the root of yin and yang throughout the body. The force of the pulse comes from the kidney and the pulse has to be rooted in it.

The types of pulse according to Chinese medicine

Chinese medicine considers thirty types of pulse:

Big: xiao;Little: fu:Floating: chen;Deep: shuo;Fast: whoa; Slippery: HE;rough: jin;Tense: fù;Hidden: chu;Hasty: ge;choppy: xi;​Filiform: roo;Weak: saint;Scattered or diffuse…

Some are made up of two or three different types. For example, the yin and yang pulses: the yin are the weak and hidden, and the yang, the big and strong.

How to take the pulse according to Chinese medicine

The pulse is taken near the wrist, where the radius bone ends.

The right side reflects yin and the left side yang. The index, middle and ring fingers are used pressing gently on the radial side of the wrist. And starting from the transversal line towards the heart, a careful exploration is carried out.

There are three barriers. The pulse of Lung, Spleen and Kidney (first, second and third barrier consecutively) is taken in the right hand, and in the left hand that of Heart, Liver and Kidney (also first, second and third barrier).

The three depths are fu (floating), zhong (medium) and chen (sunken or deep).

The fingers act as sensors to capture and determine where, when, how and what happens in the body.

Of the thirty types of pulse There is a growing distance between the types of pulse that are actually distinguished in current practice. today that practice is being lostas we lose the forests of the mountains.

Medicine was once considered a lifelong discipline and it was usually family transmitted or was taught disciples chosen from a very young age.

They learned housework firstuntil one day the teacher considered it appropriate to introduce something as simple as grinding a plant or serving tea in the office. They were instructed without askingthe teacher was more respected than the parents themselves, there was no school but the teacher.

The learning was day by day, drop by drop, without haste and without a time limit, a time that had another value, and the only work tools were patience and practicefrom where the refinement of good work done conscientiously arose.

Since then the teachings have been systematized and there are many more opportunities for many more people. But the hand that takes the pulse continues to feel the throb of life and disease.

Like Beethoven’s fingers gliding over the piano keys: They produced not only the sound of the notes but the feeling of the music at its best.

In the old days, doctors practiced chi kung in order to master chi or energy, and the pulse is the manifestation of chi. If the doctor has not mastered his own chi, he will not be able to distinguish the patient’s chi from his own.

What is the pulse taken for in traditional Chinese medicine?

Imbalances of yin and yang are detected in the pulse, chi and xue. You can read where the problems occur and how to fix them.

In a healthy person, the pulse presents four regular beats for each complete and calm breath. It’s like an electrocardiogram: it presents rhythm, curves, fluidity, force, peaks, length, amplitude…

In summer the pulses are stronger and more superficial due to heat and movement; on the other hand, the winter pulse of the same person tends to be deeper and slower because the energy is internalized so as not to be dispersed.

The pulse is the most complete and subtle code of our existence, and it takes knowledge, dedication and a lot of patience to figure it out.

Now we take the pulse as a complementary data. The vast majority of doctors opt for the most practical and simple, such as asking questions, or for modern technologies such as MRIs, ultrasounds, analysis…

It is the price that ancient Chinese medicine has to pay to survive in today’s hyper-technological world. Thus, instead of clinging to dogmas, we can play the same piece of music using other instruments. We will not be Beethoven but we can strive to be the best of his disciples.