Health

Acupuncture for dummies

March 9, 2012
The Five Elements

The Five Elements Theory is an analytical framework that helps the acupuncturist recognize and classify the signs and symptoms of a person.

Based on your answers, it is possible to see if one of your organs is empty or in excess. For example, many people have the Liver in excess in our society. Indeed, stress, tobacco, coffee and alcohol affect it. The Liver in fullness may result in series of discomforts such as menstrual pains, PMS, migraines, irritability… By being constantly in excess, the Liver will attack the Heart and Spleen and can cause insomnia, anxiety and digestive problems such as heartburn and gastric reflux. In practice, it is important to calm the liver but also to strengthen the Heart and Spleen.

”The Five Elements are not part of nature, rather five fundamental processes, five characteristics, five phases of the same cycle or five potential changes inherent to any phenomenon.” 2

The Five Elements are closely related to each other. An imbalance in an organ inevitable affects another organ. “The theory defines a set of interactions between the five Movements. They are the cycles of generation and control”. 3

Each element is associated with an organ, an emotion, a flavor, a season, a color…

 

ORGAN

EMOTION

SEASON

COLOR

WOOD

Liver

Anger

Spring

Green

FIRE

Heart

Joy

Summer

Red

EARTH

Spleen/Stomach

Worries

Mid-season

Yellow

METAL

Lungs

Sadness

Autumn

White

WATER

Kidney

Fear

Winter

Black

Looking for the causes of imbalance

To understand where this imbalance comes from and to prevent it from happening again, the acupuncturist looks for causes. By eliminating them, the acupuncture treatments work faster and the effects are felt for longer periods of time.

The acupuncturist can also give you advice on your lifestyle.

Internal causes: emotions

  • Joy
  • Anger
  • Excessive reflection
  • Sadness
  • Fear and fright

External causes

  • Hot/cold/humidity
  • Food
  • Tobacco, alcohol or coffee excesses
  • Sexual excesses
  • Work

References

  1. From the website the acupuncturists association of Quebec, What is acupuncture?
  2. Macioca, Giovani. Les principes fondamentaux de la médecine chinoise, Éditions Satas, Belgique, 1992.
  3. Passeport Santé website, Cinq Éléments
Edith Charbonneau
Acupuncturist

Edith Charbonneau is an acupuncturist and works specifically with pregnant women and couples with fertility disorders since 2003. Trained by John Levesque acupuncturist, she did an internship in obstetrics at LaSalle hospital. She assisted many women during childbirth, both in hospitals and birthing center. Mother of two boys, she also treats children and has a special expertise in fertility disorders. She works with fertility clinics (Procrea, Ovo, Mc Gill) to offer acupuncture treatments during insemination or in vitro fertilization. As a volunteer breastfeeding godmother for Nourri-Source, she offers support to women wishing to breastfeed. With the help of a nurse, she hosts prenatal activities on breastfeeding at the CLSC Rosemont. It is a great pleasure for her to share her knowledge with prospective and new parents. Edith Charbonneau, Acupuncturist  Member of  L’Ordre des acupuncteurs du Québec and L’Association des acupuncteurs du Québec 6955 Christophe-Colomb, bureau 104 Montréal H2S 2H7

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