Since my arrival in China, one of the many aspects of life here that I find fascinating is how people move through the city. Though I’m a New Yorker and accustomed to small and limited space, New York is of no comparison to Beijing, which has roughly double the population. I am amazed by the way in which bicycles, pedestrians and cars all negotiate and maneuver within the smallest of crevices in a seemingly choreographed dance (though sometimes terrifying!). This movement of people and their various modes of transportation are the pulse and life force of Beijing, and any city for that matter. Cities function because of the activity and transport of people and goods through the spaces provided by sidewalks, roads, bridges and tunnels. We have all observed or experienced what happens when these pathways are blocked and activity and movement come to a halt.
This concept of pathways, crevices and space has been a point of discussion regarding how we study and research acupuncture and Chinese Medicine. We know that the circulation of blood and body fluids within the body transport nutrition and remove waste from the body’s various tissues and organs. These physiological processes are dependent on the unobstructed movement of fluids (to put it very simply), and the spaces through which these fluids circulate. Frequently modern science focuses on the physical structures and organs of the body, and this approach has yielded many breakthroughs in modern medicine. However, as we in the West try to understand and research how acupuncture works, it is crucial that we appreciate and realize that the spaces and pathways between anatomical tissues and organs are just as important as the structures themselves. Skepticism and curiosity are imperative as we try to understand how acupuncture works. To fully understand and appreciate the complex biological mechanisms that keep us alive we need to view all aspects of the body and it’s anatomy. We often think that if we cannot see it, it doesn’t exist, and this becomes a great hindrance when trying to understand acupuncture meridians/channels. As we experience everyday, spaces and pathways are just as significant as the structures that define them.
The body’s many physiological processes are not unlike the complex movement and navigation of people within a city. For both, circulation through spaces/pathways/crevices is the current through which we and the cities we live in sustain and generate life.