In these times of COVOD19 we need to be aware of the delicacy of our immune systems and our inner strength. In Traditional Five Element acupuncture the Jing is a vital part of our make-up and determines our constitution. Please read on to understand Jing.
Jing is a powerful substance that forms the essence of who and what we are. It is the earliest energy of our life. Jing is the deep foundational energy reserves of the body and it is this energy that decides your ultimate vitality and the quantity and quality of your lifespan. Jing is precious and has long been recognised as treasure that needs to be nourished, protected and preserved.
Jing in Your Way of Life
Jing is like your savings account of long-term energy. It is our generator or our battery of stored energy. It is the vitality that we start a new life and to ensure good health in our older years. When we experience loss of this Jing we feel devitalised and can show signs of premature ageing.
The Kidneys are our battery pack, and the great reservoir of Jing energy is rooted in the Kidneys and is connected with longevity, vitality, sexual energy and our creative powers.
To lead a long healthy life, one must accumulate an abundance of Jing to recharge the Kidneys and to avoid its reckless dissipation. Jing governs the strength of our structural frame, hair, nails, our healing powers, our sexual functions and reproductive potential, our youthfulness and ability to handle stress, adversity, overwork, illness and the many other challenges that we face in our lives.
Often in our youth, we believe that we are invincible. We lead lifestyles that tend to compromise our health and leak our Jing. We abuse our bodies through reckless behaviours and activities that do not serve us, we study and work all day, party all night, drink and consume nutritionally depleted foods, we engage in excessive sexual activity, avoid sleep and burn the candle at both ends.
If we continue to live a lifestyle that does not promote good health for our body that it begins to wear down and burn out. We begin to feel run down, we compromise our immunity, our battery pack drains and starts to run low, our body feels weak, we exhaust our adrenals, and our creative power and vitality begins to fade. This is when dis-ease and illness often creep in.
A Jing deficiency can manifest as back pain, knee pain, signs of premature ageing – grey hair, wearing of the teeth and joints, weight gain, poor eyesight, and loss of memory. These signs can tell us that we are burning the candle at both ends.
It is ok to become tired but never to become exhausted.
We must cultivate and protect long-term health for true vitality. We must learn to live a more balanced lifestyle. If we choose to live a healthy vibrant lifestyle and cultivate our Jing essence we will most likely develop less propensity to succumb to ill health.
When a person has an abundance of Jing they will be strong, robust, resilient and have a positive outlook and attitude toward life. They will be able to handle tough labour and stressful situations without becoming drained.
Pre-natal and Post-natal Jing
Jing is regarded from two perspectives: Pre-natal Jing and Post-Natal Jing.
Pre-natal Jing is our core ancestral life-force. It is the highly concentrated energy inherited from generations past and the joint powers of our parent’s life force.
Post-natal Jing is the active energy we use after birth, the results of the nurturing we receive while growing.
Pre-natal Jing is formed during conception and is the energy that nourishes us during pregnancy when we are a foetus. It determines our basic constitution, our strength and vitality. Its quantity is limited and is considered extremely difficult to develop.
This fixed quantity of Pre-natal Jing is determined at birth.
Some people are born with more than others, and these people have a stronger constitution. They entered the world strong and healthy with minimal complications and without early health issues. Then there are others who faced a lot of ill health and disease from an early age. These people are depleted in Pre-natal Jing and most likely inherited weakened states of health from their parents, grandparents and the generations before them.
It is important that we nurture our own health and prevent our leakage of Jing so that our children are born with a strong constitution. We do not want to pass on weak genetics or an undermined state of health.
Pre-natal Jing is rare and precious and the only way to preserve it is to conserve its energy through a balanced lifestyle so it can be used more slowly and efficiently. It is not something that can be extended or added to through a healthy diet of food and exercise.
Therefore, it is extremely important that we become aware of what we can do to preserve and strengthen our essence.
After birth, the child becomes disconnected from its mother’s direct umbilical cord nourishment and begins to eat, drink and breathe independently by its own power and accumulate Post-natal Jing. This is when our lungs, spleen and stomach begin functioning to extract and refine the Qi (life force energy) from the air we breathe and the food and drink we intake.
We can rebuild and strengthen our Post-natal Jing, eating a healthy diet, and living a balanced lifestyle of moderate exercise and sex, meditation, avoiding stress and knowing our limits, not pushing ourselves to extremes.
When post-natal Jing is maintained at healthy levels it allows the pre-natal Jing to be used more slowly and efficiently which essentially slows down the ageing process.
Now is a time that we need to look at lifestyle and how you can help yourself be well. Having a healthy Jing will help you ward of infections and illness so do what you can to preserve it.
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