Caring for Your Neck Helps to Protect You from the Flu
Cold & Flu season is here… and cupping can help! Did you know that keeping your neck and upper back mobile and warm can help you to fight off viruses?
The back of the neck contains three major acupuncture channels, but I will focus on two of them here.
The Taiyang Bladder channel (Taiyang means most outer, or most Yang) is our primary line of defence against external pathogens such as the cold and flu. In Chinese Medicine, pathogens are always carried by Wind (fēng 風.) Wind carries other pathogens on its back, such as Cold, Heat, Dampness and Dryness. But for today, let’s just focus on Wind-Cold.
Because of it is our first line of defence, the back of our neck is particularly susceptible to Wind-Cold (aka, the common cold.) Do you ever get that shivering or stiff feeling at the back of your neck before you start to come down with something? That’s because, upon exposure to Wind-Cold, the defensive Qi in the body (the wei qi) rushes to the exterior channel (Taiyang, upper back and back of neck) to fight the pathogen. The neck and nape becomes very congested—like a traffic jam—as the forces of good (your wei qi) and evil (the pathogen, cold or flu, literally called xié qì - evil Qi in Mandarin) fight an epic battle for control of your body.
If the virus manages to get past the Taiyang channel, it often becomes trapped in the Shaoyang channel. The Shaoyang channel is referred to as the Yang pivot. This channel is like a hinge that can spring viruses back out of the body. One of the most important points for expelling viruses (aka Wind) from the body is a point called fēngchí, or Wind Gate, located on the upper attachments of the trapezius muscles, at the base of the skull.
There are “wind points” all over the body, but most of them are concentrated around the back of the neck, nape, skull, and upper back. Fēngmén, Wind Gate is another of these right at the nape of the neck:
The Shaoyang channel also traverses the side of the neck and the upper shoulder—we always treat this area at Cupping Bar, because it is chronically tight for most people these days. When we do cupping, we focus on clearing and releasing the Shaoyang and Taiyang channels to ensure a good flow of wei qi to the area when you need it most—when you’re exposed to the cold or flu viruses all around us at this time of year.
Besides getting regular cupping to relieve tension, wearing a scarf during the colder months (yes, even indoors!) is a simple practice to help you to stay healthy while viruses are floating around.
For more hot tips about staying healthy during cold and flu season, Karin has got you covered! She just got back from an acupuncture training in New Mexico, where she also met up with her longtime Toltec teacher, Liz Forrest. She shared her best TCM advice for cold and flu season here on Liz’s Transformation Tuesday podcast:
So, in review, keeping your neck and upper back mobile and warm can help you to fight off viruses. Cupping therapy on the neck and shoulders can also help to release tech neck, drop shoulders, improve circulation to the head and face (improving hair growth and glowing up your complexion), and relieve tension headaches.
We hope to see you at our next Cupping Bar for neck and shoulder care—we offer them once a month! Come early and enjoy a cup of medicinal tea in the waiting room while you wait for your cupping session. Stay after your session for more tea and time to chat. Bring a friend, co-worker, or partner and share the experience! ☕️
