A while back, I over did my lower back training, which led to a knee problem. Pinched nerve again. So I called up my massage doctor friend again to come fix me.
He showed up and went to work on my lower back, legs, and feet. He used extra strength Ben-Gay over my kidneys to facilitate heat. As he was leaving, I noticed that the pressure points between my thumbs and forefingers were throbbing. I thought that was strange since he didn’t touch my hands. So he sat me down again and worked on my hands and forearms for a while to relieve the pressure. He used the Ben-Gay again on that specific pressure point.
He left. About an hour and a half later I was sitting in front of my computer when I noticed a warm sensation. It got warmer, then hot. I then noticed that my kidneys felt like they were on fire and it felt like there was a direct pipeline up my back, over my shoulders, down through my arms to the pressure points between the thumb and forefinger.
This sensation was unreal. It was REALLY strong. This was no little tingling or anything. It felt like liquid fire. It wasn’t quite painful, nor was it really pleasant. It was just really hot. What surprised me most was that it felt exactly like a pipeline between the two areas of my hands and my kidneys. This meant that it was definitely the meridians that I was feeling, and these went through areas that he didn’t even touch. He didn’t work on my upper back or shoulders at all.
Anyone who doubts that meridians are real should have felt what I felt. Your doubt would have vanished. Really quickly.
The sensation lasted for well over an hour and then slowly subsided.
Since that time, I’ve wanted to experiment on my wife by rubbing her kidneys and that pressure point near the thumb with Ben-Gay, but my wife won’t let me. Haha. Smart girl.
6 responses so far ↓
1 Casey // Jul 16, 2007 at 9:03 pm
I noticed a similar effect a while back when my lower back problems were bothering me more. I’d frequently microwave a little bag of rice and sit it against my lower back and a chair to increase circulation and reduce stiffness. I noticed that if I did qigong breathing while my kidneys were being heated up this way, that not only did the du meridian feel stronger, but i could sometimes feel the warmth extending all the way back down the front. As an experiment, I tried putting it other places, like the dantian, or on top of my head. The result was the same–not only would it increase the sensation of qi in that area, it allowed me to move the heat to areas seemingly too far-removed from the site of application. I don’t do this much anymore (though I still like soaking my hands and feet in hot water), being concerned it might be a strain on the meridian system (though it may be fine?), but it’s an interesting little experiment… I’m glad we qigong fans have finally got you firmly in our tree-hugging camp.
2 Edward // Jul 16, 2007 at 9:15 pm
Interesting experience! Just out of curiosity, is there a particular meridian that goes from the point between the thumb and forefinger (I guess Hegu/Hukou?) up and around down to the kidneys?
3 Dojo Rat // Jul 16, 2007 at 11:11 pm
Interesting…
The point appears to be Large intestine 3 or 4.– Tedeschi’s book “Essential Anatomy” shows a N-UE-15 point (new upper extremity) between them. It describes it as a superficial branch of the radial nerve.
Montagues “Enclyclopedia of Dim Mak” describes Li 3 and 4 as more of a point for respritory ailments, but it does mention elimination of water, which would relate to kidneys. Niether source mentions back pain.
4 Flagon // Jul 17, 2007 at 6:45 am
According to Peter Deadman’s A manual of acupuncture, a branch of the Large Intestine Divergent channel “…descends to the thorax, breast, Lung and Large Intestine”.
5 Ed // Jul 17, 2007 at 8:49 am
Well, it would be large intestine 4 IF the point was Hegu; but I don’t know enough about Chinese medicine to be sure.
6 Formosa Neijia - Exploring Taiwan’s Martial Arts » “Belief” in qi? part 1 // Aug 7, 2007 at 9:56 am
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