What is disharmony between Ying and Wei?

[feng]

What is disharmony between Ying and Wei?

By Feng Mei LAc 09/28/2012

In TCM, Ying(nutrient) Qi move inside meridians, circle whole body fifty times daily and meet with Wei(defense) Qi, Wei Qi move outside meridians, circle whole body surface twenty five times at daytime and circle whole body internal organs twenty five times at nighttime, total fifty times daily and meet with Ying Qi too. This sentence come from <Nei Jing>: "Ying Zai Mai Zhong, Wei Zai Mai Wai, Ying Zhou Bu Xiu, Wu Shi Er Fu Da Hui". <内经>:"营在脉中，卫在脉外，营周不休，五十而复大会"。

Zi(0:00am) o'clock is the night time Ying Qi and Wei Qi meet, so, Zi is the Tai Yin meet; Wu(12:00noon) o'clock is the day time Ying Qi and Wei Qi meet, so, Wu is the Tai Yang meet. These are the two times of Ying Qi and Wei Qi meet daily. This sentense come from <Nei Jing>: "Gu Yue: Ri Zhong Er Yang Long Wei Chong Yang, Ye Ban Er Yin Long Wei Chong Yin. Gu Tai Yin Zhu Nei, Tai Yang Zhu Wai, Ge Xing Er Shi Wu Du, Fen Wei Zhou Ye".<内经>:"故曰:日中而阳陇为重阳，夜半而阴陇为重阴。故太阴主内，太阳主外，各行二十五度，分 为昼夜"。

So, disharmony between Ying and Wei, actually is the Ying Qi and Wei Qi movement not at same steps, Ying Qi is yin energy, Wei Qi is yang energy, if Ying Qi Stronger than Wei Qi, so Wei Qi is weaker than Ying Qi, the Ying Qi move faster than Wei Qi, and Wei Qi can not control the Yin Qi on surface of body at Daytime(Wu), pulse is floating, then the body Ying yin energy will like sweat come out of skin, this is Zi Han(daytime sweating); if Wei Qi stronger than Ying Qi, so Ying Qi is weaker than Wei Qi, the Ying Qi move slower than Wei Qi, and Wei Qi will push the Ying Qi out of body at nighttime(Zi), pulse is rapid and thin, then the body Ying yin energy will like sweat come out of skin, this is Dao Han(nighttime sweating); for daytime sweating treatment use herb formula "Yu Ping Feng San"; for nighttime sweating treatment use herb formula "Mu Li San".

[AAPrescott]

Dear Feng Mei; My first thought is to wonder about the assymetry of Ying (Yin) and Wei (Yang). Ying is Yin in nature, Wei is Yang in nature. The characters represent an encampment and the legion, So convey the Yin (structive) and Yang (active) properties. Yang activates Yin and Yin nourishes Yang. I thus can't quite see how Yin could move ahead of Yang. How could Blood move faster than Qi? A choppy pulse is a pulse in which Qi is 'ahead' of Blood. But the opposite is a slippery pulse, where Yin (Blood) slows and moderates the pulse excessively.

[feng]

Dear AAPrescott: Thanks, we are talking about Qi, not a blood here. Simply say the theory is: Ying Qi and Wei Qi should move in same speed to coordinate each other. If ying yin blood with ying Qi, the relationship will be different, the TCM theory is: Qi can lead blood and nutrition Jin Ye(liquid of nutrition) to move, and blood and Qi can born each other. Ying Qi is different from blood, but Ying Qi can lead Yin liquid(include blood and JinYe) to move, for example, lead to sweating. I think you mixed Ying Yin blood and Ying Qi.
Regards
Feng Mei, L.Ac.

[AAPrescott]

Dear Feng Mei; I did not mix or confuse Ying Qi and Blood. But you are making too absolute a distinction. The Su Wen makes clear that ultimately all Qi is one - just as all channels are one. Five Element practice does not go into detail on production and types of Qi. I think that this is a weakness, but it does preserve the perspective of the whole picture more. It is so easy to lose the wholistic perspective when one starts being reductionist. I have just been introduced to a new translation of the Daodejing. The authors Ames and Hall translate this as the Classic of 'the field and the focus'. I don't think that their actual translation is any improvement on what has gone before, but they do offer some insights. We so easily lose the perspective of the 'field' when we get into the foci.

[feng]

Additional, so what is Ying and Wei harmony condition? for my comprehension, the Ying Qi and Wei Qi should mixed as one united Qi. Inside meridian of the mixed Qi called Ying Qi, outside meridian of the mixed Qi call Wei Qi. Hence, the Ying Qi and Wei Qi are totally mixed together, harmony and coordinate together, Ying Qi not only nourish inside meridian condition also nourish outside meridian condition, Wei Qi not only defense outside meridian condition, also defense inside meridian condition. This mixed condition is Ying Wei harmony condition I think.
Regards
Feng Mei, L.Ac.
http://latcmwellnesscenter.com

[AAPrescott]

Sounds reasonable to me. I am not sure if you are asking a rhetorical question or there is something I am missing? If you are asking a specific question could you phrase it a different way. The main disharmony of Ying and Wei that I know if is represented by the slippery and choppy pulse.This is usually described as a disharmony of Blood and Qi. (Understanding Ying in its general sense as including Blood and Qi here as the more Yang aspect). Pregnancy with more Blood should be slippery. Lack of Blood and excess Qi (activity) and the pulse is choppy. In other words with slipperiness the pulse is slower because there is too much Yin (Damp or Blood), in choppy the pulse is rough because the activity is not moderated and smoothed and slowed by the Yin. It seems that neither can get ahead or behind each other they are bound up together. In my experience the choppy pulse is often associated with high stress and anxiety. In pregnancy is more often the deficiency of Blood (and Jing).

[feng]

Again My topic is "What is disharmony between Ying(Qi) and Wei(Qi)?" !!! there is nothing talk about the concept of blood. Here, I only talk about the concept of "Qi". Please don't misunderstand my original concept. Sorry!

[williamtell]

Again My topic is "What is disharmony between Ying(Qi) and Wei(Qi)?" !!! there is nothing talk about the concept of blood. Here, I only talk about the concept of "Qi". Please don't misunderstand my original concept. Sorry!

Here is an excerpt from "SUN TEN QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER SUMMER 2007 "Experience in TCM Treatment of Insomnia" BY Lawrence (Lung-Sheng) Hsiao, MD (China); Eric (Lung-Cheng) Hsiao, MD (China), PHD; Wen-Shuo Wu, MD (Taiwan), MSOM, MPH. Southern California University of Health Sciences, College of Acupuncture & Oriental Medicine.

begin quote
B. INSOMNIA CAUSED BY DISHARMONY BETWEEN THE YING AND WEI SYSTEM OR IMBALANCE OF YIN AND YANG

Normally, ying-qi circulate inside while wei-qi outside vessels. Ying-qi form the blood and nourish the body. Wei-qi is described as being “fierce, bold, and uninhibited”, which is contained by the vessels; therefore flows outside them. When ying and wei go in harmony, people are able to fall asleep. If a person is in a depressed mood or has been suffering from an illness for a long time, ying and wei are not in harmony; therefore, the person is not be able to fall asleep. So the basic pathogenesis of insomnia is abnormal circulation of ying-qi and wei-qi, which causes deficiency of yin inside and excess of yang outside; hence the loss of mental peace and inability to sleep at night.
This syndrome is termed in modern medicine as function autonomic nerve disorder. Characteristically, it is manifested by the following signs and syndrome: a fitful sleep, dreaming from time to time, accompanied by headache and distention of head, feeling an air flow rushing in limbs,chilliness, aversion to wind, reddish tongue, and slow pulse. The treatment principle is to regulate ying and wei and to ease the mind and spirit by using modified decoction of Os Draconis and Concho Ostreae.5

5. Chen qian etc .Recent study on TCM treating insomnia. Journal of Liaoning college of Traitional Chinese Medicine. 2005, 7(1) P.20-21. end quote

[mysticalbody@yahoo.com]

If I can jump in, Ying and Wei also represent the concept of inner vs outer, substance vs energy. Insomnia more often than not in the clinic is from the client missing or being disconnected from their inner experience or inner information/feelings etc. This weakens the Ying in the most fundamental way, alowing the energy or Wei to flow unrestrained.

[feng]

About the insomnia, the Nei Jing said: when the sun down at west, the yin energy rise up, same human body's Wei Qi begin go into 5 internal organs, first go into kidney, then heart, then lung, then liver and spleen as one circle, in whole night circle 25 times same as day time(阳尽于阴，阴受气矣。其始入于阴，常从足少阴注于肾，肾注于心，心注于肺，肺注于肝，肝注于脾， 脾复注于肾为周。是故夜行一舍...亦如阳行之二十五周，). So, at here the insomnia is not because of Ying Qi and Wei Qi disharmony, it is because the Wei Yang can not go inside Yin Zang (five internal organs) and cause insomnia. This could mean the Wei Qi at night is totally go inside body internal organs without outer condition. And there is not relate to Ying Qi on insomnia.
Regards
Feng Mei, MS, L.Ac.