The Patterns of Life
Life is a series of repeating patterns. When we take a moment and look back on our lives, there are always correlations to actions taken by an individual in a younger state and in an older state within their lifetime. These are not only learned behaviors of ourselves in our personal experiences, but to those wise enough, learned behaviors of others that we have also observed.
Even in healthcare settings, when we link the patterns of disease processes, it gives the physician a larger perspective of how an issue began, developed, and reached the state that it is in presently. In my own profession, there are many correlations that I put together, because dysfunction in the human body is just like solving a puzzle. In my own trade as a chiropractic kinesiologist, I look beyond the spine to find out what other aspects in the human body are affecting the system as a whole. Upon finding and fixing other contributing factors of disease processes in the patient, I also make sure the individual is thoroughly educated on why these processes happened in the first place. The conscious awareness the patient has now been educated on gives their body, mind, and soul a lot better of an ability to defend against the stresses of life.
Now that we've gotten our introduction out of the way, lets do a countdown from 5 to 1 regarding the patterns of life:
"5":
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), which is incorporated in Applied Kinesiology, the method of analysis I use within my chiropractic technique, we have what is called the "Five Element Theory". The Five Elements theory posits wood, fire, earth, metal, and water as the basic elements of the material world. These elements are in constant movement and change. We also relate these elements to particular meridians, which are a set of pathways in the body along which vital energy is said to flow. There are twelve such pathways associated with specific organs. These 12 meridians fit into the 5 elements in how energy flows properly in our own bodies. "Wood" refers to the Liver and the Gall Bladder, and just like wood from a tree, it's what keeps us strong, stable, and ready to move forward with vision and determination. "Fire" consists of the the heart, small intestine, 'triple heater', and 'circulation-sex'/'pericardium' meridians due to the nature of how these organs regulate heat, metabolic activity and responses to stress. "Earth" consists of the stomach and spleen meridians because they are "grounding" elements in how we connect to the core of ourselves. "Metal" relates to the lung and large intestine, and its about taking-in and letting-go of parts of time, energy, and baggage we may carry. "Chi" or "Qi" is the natural energy that flows throughout our body, the lungs start the process of Qi in our body, and the emptying of our bowels is the letting go. And finally, "Water" relates to the kidney and urinary bladder, and just as the literal water flows, nourishes, and hydrates, and is vital for life processes.
"4":
When we break down aspects of "time", we have the seasons of summer, fall, winter and spring. These can be further classified just as the 5 Element Theory talks about, because everything is reciprocal in nature. The number 4 can also be highly useful in positions of balance and counter balance. A square is perfectly equal with 4 sides all the same length. Seasons equally have about the same amount of time for each one. We are also creatures with 4 limbs that balance ourselves against gravity until we learn stand on our feet. This relates to an individual's health in the regard in the example that an individual may have a foot or hip imbalance that can equally cause an opposite side shoulder or wrist issue. This can be due to muscular tension, stress on the joints, or even positioning of daily activities. It depends on their health history.
"3":
The "Trinity" is expressed in many different religions, cultures, and philosophies. The father, the son, the holy spirit; the body, mind, and the soul; the beginning, middle, and the end, etc. In my own discipline, the Triad of Health consists of your physical/structural health, your chemical/biochemical health, and your mental/emotional health. It is never just 1 individual aspect that impacts the person's overall health expression, it's always a combination of the 3. If one part goes out of balance, the whole system suffers because they are connected parts rather than individual. This can even relate back to the 5 element theory of one particular deficient system-- there could be a physical body part causing the meridian not to flow properly, or a nerve could have pressure on it via a vertebral subluxation/misalignment; there could be a chemical defect that maybe a dietary protocol would help aide in their expression of health; or there may even be a deep-seeded emotion causing a particular aspect of their body to conditionally respond to a stimulus. Or it could be all of them!
"2":
This all relates to the idea of "balance". In science and in nature, we have the heavens and the earth; the proton and the electron; the positive ion and the negative ion; above and below, etc. Harmony is all about finding that proper alignment of counter-balancing we try to do in our everyday lives. The Yin-Yang is the perfect example of showing how there is always a little bit of darkness in the light, and always a little bit of light in the darkness. Just like our own brain, we have 2 hemispheres with different expression abilities. The left brain is more logical, problem solving and analytical; our right brain is more creative, expressive and emotional. We need both of these sides to properly make decisions, walk, perform athletic abilities, escape bad situations, and ignite ideas that change our world. When treating patients, there are always "paired meridians", so for example- the stomach pairs with the large intestine. And in my analysis of patients, I always make sure that I check the pairing of meridians based on the fact that they usually correspond to the upper and lower parts of the body. And last time I checked, we need both to be functioning properly in order to maintain a properly functioning body.
"1"
This is simple- it's you! You are individually unique in how you act and perceive the world around you. No 2 people are exactly the same, and that's something to be celebrated. We are all individual and together. We are all in our own bodies, but part of the home. Our home is part of a smaller subset of a bigger category, and these patterns keep repeating all throughout the universe inside and outside of us.
Dr. Adam McBride, BS, DC, PAK