Conditions A-Z
Acupuncture Clinic
Find an Acupuncturist
Herbal Remedies
Diet & Nutrition
Chi Gong &Tai Chi
Chinese Medicine Basics
Patient Testimonials
Animal Acupuncture
Store

Syndromes A-Z
AcuPoint Locator
Herbology
Practice Building
CEUs/Events
Employment
Study Acupuncture
Acupuncture Schools
Research
TCM Library
Laws & Regulations
Practitioner Links
Practitioner Store

Points Newsletter
Catalog Requests
Contact Us
About Acupuncture.Com
Privacy Policy

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Acupuncture.Com accepts article contributions. Email submissions to contact@acupuncture.com

FIND AN ACUPUNCTURIST

Subscribe

Season Points

By Nathalie Dessi

First he would do a pulse diagnosis to see if there was a problem with the meridians themselves or if he would just have to treat local points (for back pain for instance) plus some distant points. Depending on the meridian pulse (you know there are 28 different ones), he would treat the meridian if it was affected.
He would also use the season table (Fig. 1) to treat the meridians preemptively: when we change season, the properties of some points change, and also some meridians are more likely to be affected than others (like lungs and large intestine meridians in Autumn). At the beginning of autumn, for example, he would treat the TONIFYING points of the lungs and large intestine meridians, anyway (but would check before if the pulse was not too strong to be tonified).

The season points can be divided into 2 categories: Tonifying points and Dispersing points.

What my acupuncturist would do:

1. Check the season points to tonify them and cure preemptively (check if the pulse is OK first, no need to give more energy to a balanced meridian)

2. Check the pulse of all the meridians and establish a diagnosis. If a pulse was really weak, instead of only treating a point to give more yang to the whole meridian, he would also use the season point to tonify the pulse.

3. One rule is to never use the Dispersing points alone. However, if you have to use a point that is dispersing the season you are treating, you have to counterbalance that effect by simultaneously using the opposite point that is tonifying and that will not take the energy out of the meridian. Of course, in the case of a yang affection, you want to bring more yin, but never disperse the energy only; it must stay within the meridian!! You may just bring more yin or divert it with a Luo point to the coupled meridian.

4. The season changes may also depend on where you live; at the junction of some seasons, look around you to see which season you are in (between 5th season and spring, the difference is the weather around you, the animals’ behavior, etc.)

See how it is important to know the season points: 1 point can have an opposite effect depending which time of the year it is used. If I have to use St36 in summer, I also use St 43 to counterbalance the dispersing effect that could harm the meridian’s harmony.

Season Chart:

Season changes can vary depending in which part of a country you live (for instance in the South of France, Spring starts about 1 or 2 weeks before it does in the North part; it is also a matter of climate, people should be able to recognize the changes of seasons with a bit of experience and observation). The 5th Season is the period between 2 seasons, like a twilight zone, when Summer is over and Autumn has not started yet, for instance.

To sum up:

• Take the pulse: tonify the meridians preemptively if needed – Fig.1 - (once during the season should be enough)
• Chose the points to cure the disease and look in the DT table – Fig. 2 - to check if the points chosen are not dispersing (if they are, add the opposite point)
• And you have Fig. 3 to check the dates
  Good luck and don't hesitate to contact me if you require further information:nathalie.dessi@cec.eu.int

January, 2005
Volume 3, Number 1

Syndrome X, Diabetes and Chinese Medicine

10 Simple Ways to Control Your Weight

Season Points

Recent Research

Ask The Doctor

Archives

Archives 2005:   January   February   March   April

Archives 2004:
J | F | M | A | M | J | S | N | D

Archives 2003:
   J | F | M | A | M | J | A | O | N | D