The Main Energy Circulations

The Qi of the body circulates in many channels.  It is not possible to document all of them because they are so numerous and complex, that the ear, nose, hand, foot are each self-contained systems of acupuncture!  Phenomena like iridology and reflexology also demonstrate this.

It is amazing to consider that the traditional chinese physician was unaware of the nervous system as we now know it, and their postulation of the channel system must be regarded as a brilliant attempt to systematize the clinical inter-relationships of the known functions of the body!

The main channels that must be considered are:

12 Paired (Regular) channels

8 Extraordinary channels

12 Luo-Connecting channels which join each yin/yang pair of organs, the points that move energy from Yuan source point to the Luo connecting point on the partner channel.

15 Luo channels which also join the paired channels at the Luo connecting points.  From these points they interact with various parts of the body, such as Sp4 travelling up the leg to connect to the intestines and stomach.  This is why this point is useful for diarrhea.

12 Divergent channels which branch off from each of the 12 paired channels, travel through certain important tissues and eventually connect with the internal organ related to the channel from where it started, and with it's coupled organ.

12 Muscle-Tendon channels which start at the Jing-Well points of the paired channels.  These carry mainly yang energy, the influence of which explains the effect of the Jing Well points to use this Yang energy when needed in acute emergencies.  They form a complex capillary network.