Premium lessonThe vital substances

Blood, Essence, Shen, and Fluids

Xue, Jing, Shen, and Jin Ye: what they are, what produces them, how they become depleted, and which signs each shortage leaves.

17 min
Lesson 10 of 26
Course: Acupuntura I

How it starts

Qi is the active aspect. This lesson covers the other four substances, the ones that provide substance, permanence, and consciousness. Each is depleted by different causes and at a different speed, and that determines both the treatment and what you can promise the patient.

The rest of the lesson opens with Acupuntura I.

In this lesson you will learn

  • Tell the five vital substances apart and know what produces each one.
  • Recognize Blood Deficiency and Blood Stasis, and distinguish them from Qi Stagnation.
  • Understand Essence (Jing) as capital, and what that means for prognosis.
  • Assess the Shen (Spirit) in the first few seconds of a consultation.
  • Distinguish Jin from Ye, and understand why it matters.

What is inside

  1. 1Xue · Blood
  2. 2Jing · Essence
  3. 3Shen · Spirit
  4. 4Jin Ye · the Body Fluids

One of the 26 lessons in

Acupuntura IFoundations

“Learn the language before the vocabulary.”

8 modules
26 lessons
7 hours
Beginner

The groundwork: how Chinese medicine thinks, Yin-Yang, the Five Phases, the vital substances, the organs, the channel system, diagnosis, and safe needling practice. By the end you will be able to read a case history in the language of Chinese medicine and locate points with anatomical precision.

By the end of the course, you will know how to

  • Explain Yin-Yang and Wu Xing without falling back on empty metaphors.
  • Distinguish Qi, Blood, Essence (Jing), Shen, and Body Fluids, along with their basic pathologies.
  • Describe the functions of the twelve organs according to TCM.
  • Locate any point using proportional cun and bony landmarks.
  • Build a diagnosis using the Eight Principles.
  • Handle the needle safely and recognize De Qi.

What you will study

Module 1 · 4 lessons

Starting point

What acupuncture really is, how Chinese medicine reasons and which tools you have in your hands.

  • What acupuncture is (and what it isn't)
  • How Chinese medicine thinks
  • History and classical texts
  • Your toolkit: Atlas, 3D Map, and Ryodoraku

Module 2 · 2 lessons

Yin and Yang

The most powerful and most misused analytical tool in all of Chinese medicine.

  • Yin-Yang: the four laws
  • Yin-Yang applied to the body and the clinic

Module 3 · 2 lessons

The Five Phases

Wu Xing: correspondences, cycles and the treatment rules that follow from them.

  • Wu Xing: the five families
  • Sheng, Ke, Cheng, and Wu: the four cycles

Module 4 · 3 lessons

The vital substances

Qi, Blood, Essence, Mind and Body Fluids: the material the body works with.

  • Qi: types and functions
  • Blood, Essence, Shen, and FluidsYou are here
  • How they support one another

Module 5 · 4 lessons

The organs (Zang-Fu)

The twelve organs aren't viscera: they're functional systems. Here you learn each one.

  • Heart and Lung
  • Spleen, Liver, and Kidney
  • The six Fu organs
  • Zang-Fu relationships and the curious organs

Module 6 · 3 lessons

The channel system

The network everything flows through: architecture, timing and measurement.

  • Architecture of the Jing Luo
  • Circulation and the organ clock
  • The cun and locating points

Module 7 · 4 lessons

Causes and diagnosis

Where illness comes from and how to read it in the patient.

  • Causes of disease
  • The Eight Principles
  • Observation and tongue diagnosis
  • Pulse, inquiry, and palpation

Module 8 · 4 lessons

The needle in hand

Safe practice: technique, risks and the sister techniques.

  • Needling technique and De Qi
  • Safety, accidents, and contraindications
  • Moxibustion, cupping, and bloodletting
  • Final exam · Acupuncture I

Requirements

None. You start from zero.

How it works

Acupuncture Pathway

Save with a bundle

Acupuncture Pathway I-III

All three acupuncture courses, saving you €80, plus three years of Atlas Pro.

$4903 courses

You save $80 compared with buying the courses separately

3 years of Atlas Pro included

Valued at $237 free

Already have Atlas Pro? Nothing is overwritten: 3 years is added on top of whatever you have left.

Complete Training

All five courses, saving you €180, plus five years of Atlas Pro and the game included.

$6905 courses

You save $180 compared with buying the courses separately

5 years of Atlas Pro included

Valued at $395 free

Already have Atlas Pro? Nothing is overwritten: 5 years is added on top of whatever you have left.

Read “Blood, Essence, Shen, and Fluids” today

This lesson and the rest of the course: 26 lessons, 7 hours, quizzes and exercises. You pay once and it is yours for life, with one year of Atlas Pro as a gift (if you already have it, it adds to the time you have left).

Acupuntura I

One-time payment