Kaksha
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Located in the center of the armpit, Kaksha effects movement and circulation (a function of vyana vayu) and, thus, is useful for relieving pain and congestion in the surrounding areas, such as the breast and shoulder, drains lymph, improves range of motion of the shoulder, etc. (Lad & Durve, 2008).
The corresponding acupuncture point is Jí quán – Heart 1 (Ht 1) – the first point (technically, “Entry Point”) on the Heart channel. This is where energy from the heart first rises to the surface of the body, where it is “open to” and able to be affected by outside stimulation (i.e. the Heart channel travels into the chest, down through the intestines and up into the eye. However, this part of the channel is not directly accessible to outside stimulation, e.g. acupuncture, acupressure, massage. Jí quán is the first place open to such stimulation.)
In Chinese medicine, Jí quán is mostly used to release excesses from the chest outward, from deeper along the channel pathway (e.g. in the chest), venting to the outside of the body.
Additionally, due to the heart’s role in circulation, Jí quán can increase qì and blood flow into the arm, treating arm disorders.
The Chinese medically defined Heart system is considered the emperor of the whole system. It coordinates and directs the actions of the other organs, in health, leading the body and being to competently and effectively function as a whole.
From a spiritual perspective, this role of the heart can be understood to function on a continuum from control, acting as an effective leader and guide for the being, to chaos, where proper leadership is lacking.
This role of the heart can also be seen as the human correlate to heaven, or the higher/ultimate source, on a more grand scale. Where we are in contact and flow with that deeper source, there is greater, spontaneously occurring order, and thus peace, in life. Where we feel cut off, separate from that source, we may feel lost, out of control, or without meaning or purpose.
As the Heart system is associated with the Fire phase, the guidance and direction emanating from it is one of warmth and compassion; the heart is the source of love, on the small and larger scale, and it is (only) with this genuine care for the other systems that it can lead and facilitate order (simply think of someone trying to boss you around versus them truly caring for you and offering guidance out of sincere compassion. You are much more likely to follow that latter approach, and this is what makes a truly effective leader, or emperor, as with the heart, in health.)
Where the heart system is obstructed, there is some degree of obstruction between the emperor, the inner heaven, and the conscious self. Depending on the degree and severity, chaos may reign, a great example being various arrhythmias or irregularities in the heart beat. Imagine walking around and feeling the heart skip beats and flutter; there are few experiences that convey such a deep sense of lack of control in life and of self.
As part of the Fire phase, where the Heart is blocked, its radiating of warmth outward stymied, one may also feel a sense of coldness and lack of compassion, for self, as well as others. Where we don’t have that internal sense of spiritual connection, we have no source from which to draw to share with others.
Fire may also be deficient. Where the heart is simply weak or lacking, as opposed to being obstructed, there may be a simple, generalized lack of vitality. One may not experience anger or frustration, as is so common with obstruction, but, instead, simply lack any emotion. Where there is love to fight for, but you just can’t quite get to it, a struggle may ensue, a fight to gain access. However, where that love is perceived to be simply absent, there is no struggle, no fight; there is simply emptiness.
Jí quán, translated as the “Utmost Source”, has the ability of opening the heart channel to that source of highest (utmost) inner source of warmth, love, compassion, and guidance. As the Entry Point, this is, specifically, the point where such access can be gained. When the heart opens, it is able to receive – you are able to receive that highest, most sincere compassion.
In relation to Kaksha, Jí quán, being a heart point, plays a central role in the propulsive action behind circulation, a vyana vayu action, and it shares Kaksha’s usefulness in treating local disorders due to obstruction.
Note – Much of the above Chinese medical information is not found in modern texts or curriculums, especially those originating within China. Generally, the extension of physiological processes to the emotional and spiritual (i.e. the greater context and meaning of life) realms is not found in modern mainstream Chinese medicine.
For example, the Heart’s role in circulation and its providing of warmth to tissues throughout the body is universally acknowledged in the field. However, the extension of this to the emotional realm, as in the Heart providing emotional warmth and comfort, or the spiritual realm, that warmth reflecting, on a microcosmic level, the deepest love and compassion from the source, or Heaven, is relatively non-standard.
The argument has been presented that such interpretation of the function of the Heart does not reflect the mainstream, or majority, opinion of Chinese medical practitioners over the last many hundreds of years of its existence, as has been recorded, successfully passed on, and subsequently discovered, and that such majority opinion, transmitted over centuries, is what, in fact, defines “Chinese medicine”. Any deviance from this tradition, it is argued, must be labeled as a deviation and not consistent with Chinese medicine.
It is for this reason, for transparency, that this author reveals this underlying debate within the field, and that he makes a point of stating that his understanding and practice of the medicine reflects not only his formal, and ongoing, formal Chinese medical studies, but also his personal studies into Taoism and its influence and unique contributions to the practice of medicine.
Some of what is spoken of above can be found within a modern style of Chinese medicine referred to as “Classical Five Element Acupuncture”, founded by Professor J.R. Worsley. This approach to the medicine extends the application and interpretation of Chinese medical theories much farther into the mental, emotional, and simply non-physical areas of the human experience than mainstream Chinese medicine.
Additionally, this author has found much of value in the writings of Lonny Jarrett, the only other modern practitioner, to this author’s knowledge, to understand Taoism as an extension of modern Chinese medicine, thus extending the clinical capability of the medicine into the wider, non-material, area of life, itself, and not just physical suffering.
Lastly, the writings of this author, though heavily influenced by modern, mainstream Chinese medicine, are an ever developing reflection of his personal studies and practices, and may not reflect the wider, standard medicine.
The reader will likely notice a movement within these writings from the gross physical and physiological processes to deeper, arguably less tangible and more abstract, ideas on the health, healing, and the most grand context of the human experience. This movement could be understood as beginning with the more standard, commonly practiced medicine, then expanding into those areas more unique to Taoism, and, then, to this author’s own direct, personal experience.
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Lad, V. & Durve, A. (2008). Marma Points of Ayurveda. Albuquerque, NM: The Ayurvedic Press.
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