Bladder Organ-Network

02/17/2022,

I continue our series on the cosmology material from the sequence of classical Chinese cosmology classes at NUNM in Portland, OR. In these blog posts we draw on the research and scholarship of Heiner Fruehauf, Ph.D. We have been going through them in the order of the Chinese clock. Next week we will cover the small intestine (a little out of sequence); this week we investigate the urinary bladder organ-network. The BL channel, with its 67 points, is by far the longest acupuncture channel.

The main function of the bladder in this system of cosmology is to initiate the storage of jing, which is a condensed form of yang, and to keep the jing down in storage and steaming upwards. In the upper body it turns into shen. This shen from jing is a bit akin to lighting the flame, having fire coming out of water. The bladder is also responsible for pre-natal qi circulation, as well circulation to the head. You can see in this way of thinking that this makes a direct link between the bladder organ-network and cultivation practices. Additionally, the surface circulation on the back creates a sort of immune function. Through this function we are able to say NO to pathogenic influences trying to invade there.

The bladder governs the time from 3-5 PM, making it the clock-opposite pair for the lung organ-network. The clock-opposite pairs yield good clinical strategies, e.g., using ahshi points in the area around LU-5 for low back BL channel pain. Another clock-opposite treatment strategy deals with deficiency conditions. Say, for instance, you have a COPD patient, and you wish to tonify the lungs. You can use BL-64 (clock-opposite source point) to good effect to accomplish this. You might use moxa or a press tack or a needle. It is amazing how well this works for all of the clock-opposite pairs.

The BL time of day finds the yang in decline as we head for evening time, when yin will start to dominate as the light of day recedes. The BL channel and the GB are unique in that they traverse both the front and back of the body, the front being more yin, and the back being more yang in nature. With BL-1 starting at the yes, we also see a deep connection to the brain and to many of the 8EV.

The archetypal animal for the BL organ-network is the monkey, our close primate relative. We connect the bladder of course to urination, and monkeys often engage in peeing and potty antics. In monastery art they are often depicted urinating. If you were to grab a monkey at BL-1 and lift straight up, you would have a good point of purchase to bring the animal upright to the posture of a human. The human is of course the only animal with this sort of erect, vertical posture. Other animals, such as the bear or an ape, can for a time assume this posture, but they are not born to maintain it. This places the human (and, in particular, the BL channel) as uniquely able to make a straight and clear connection between heaven and earth. I believe this highly significant in our understanding of the bladder organ-network.

Many of you know of my interest in Chinese Medicine dreamwork from previous blogs or from videos on the Blue Poppy YouTube channel—or perhaps you were at a conference where I taught this topic. I mention this as prelude to relating a strange experience I had that was dream-like, but in a sense not fully a dream, because there were no images, just a voice. As I started to wake up, (this was perhaps 2002 or 2003) I heard a clear voice say: “Your understanding of the BL channel is superficial—and don’t use BL-58 for upper back pain!” Wow, what a strange experience! I, of course, took the communication to heart. If my understanding was superficial, then I had to do something about it. That was the first time when I reached out to a friend at NUNM and asked her if I could copy her cosmology notes. I started my reading with the BL channel material. I have had a few other dreams of this sort in which I am given an oral transmission with no visuals. They certainly grab my attention.

Hua Tuo, who lived during the late Eastern Han Dynasty, seems to have well understood the importance of the spine, the Du Mai, and the BL channel. We can infer this from his Hua Tuo Jia Ji Points that run parallel to the spine. His acupuncture and moxa treatments were said to be quite minimalistic but to have this sort of spine-freeing focus. In Japan Ishizaka Sotetsu, many years later in the Edo Period, after studying a modern European medical book (modern for that time, that is), came to a deep appreciation for the central nervous system and the spine in particular. He developed a novel system of in and out needling of all of the BL channel points on the back, as well as all Du and hua tuo jia ji points. Yes, that is a lot of stimulation from a lot of needling. There was even an additional line, closer to the spine than the hua tuo jia ji points that were needled as well; this line is called the Ishizaka line. I have twice attended seminars in this style with Kubota Sensei in Asheville, NC. He is one of very few remaining practitioners of this Ishizaka style. It is true that after a treatment (I’ve had three) one feels a bit tired for a few days, but the spine feels freer than ever before, and that is a true delight.

The Yijing hexagram for the BL organ-network is number 12, often translated as Separation. It has three yin lines and three yang lines grouped together, a sort of reverse of the hexagram for the lungs. Here with the BL, the yang lines are above, and the three yin lines are below. This captures a state of no communication, no movement. The yang lines are above, which is the realm of the yang (Heaven), and the yin influences are all below in the yin realm (Earth). Heiner captures this in naming this hexagram “No.” In similar fashion the reverse hexagram for the lung can be translated as “Yes.”

In our TCM thinking we recognize that both lungs and bladder relate to the exterior, but in very different ways. Here we see that the lung is saying YES to the exterior, while the bladder is saying NO. The lungs bring in air from the exterior and in this way sustain us. The BL is our protection against noxious environmental influences. This is like saying NO to the exterior. If we are attacked on the street and are knocked down, we instinctively curl into a fetal position to protect our vital organs. In this position we offer our BL channel to take the brunt of the attack. Sorry for the gruesome image of a street attack, but it does serve to make an important point here.

I hope these ideas serve to flesh out your current understanding of the bladder organ-network and that your patients benefit from these new insights.

Kind regards all around,

Bob Quinn