Acupuncture for Motivation

What is Motivation




Motivation which is the driving force behind human actions gives us information as to why a person is doing something. It is in fact a process rather than just a simple act of impulse that involves a consolidation of biological, emotional, social and cognitive energies that bring about the action or behaviour.




It was found that motivation can be broken down into three components, namely activation, persistence and intensity.



Activation is the decision to initiate a behavior.




Persistent is the continued effort to see through the journey towards the final goal.




Intensity is the concentration and vigor that powers the pursue of the goal and keeps the person from distractions.

Five Spirits, Five Organs and their Military Roles in TCM

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, there is a philosophy that talks about the Five Spirits (五神) that support the soul. In this philosophy it explains the five aspects of spirit or consciousness that make up the human soul. In other words, they are the five facets of the spiritual aspects of human life that have impacts on the physical, emotional and mental aspects of a human.



The Five Organs and their functions in Traditional Chinese Medicine are also classified and described according to the ancient military roles and can be combined with the Five Spirits theory to better display their positions and functions in the human body on a physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspect.



In Five Spirits, each Spirit corresponds to or is embodied by an Organ in Traditional Chinese Medicine. The Heart embodies the Spirit/Shen, the Liver embodies the Ethereal Soul/Hun, the Spleen embodies the Intellect/Yi, the Lung embodies the Po/Corporeal Soul and the Kidney embodies the Will/Zhi.



The Heart is considered to be the most important of all the Internal Organs. It is referred as the "Emperor", ruling all the Organs. The Heart embodies the Spirit/Shen which gives rise to how balance the mental activity is, how healthy the emotional life is, how clear the consciousness is, how strong the memory is, how sharp the thinking is and even how smooth the sleep is.

The Liver is referred as the body's 'General' in Traditional Chinese Medicine and it is in charge of the role of decision. The Liver embodies the Ethereal Soul/Hun and is in charge of bringing one’s inner world and dreams into awareness and fruition through the pursuit of life goals via deciding on and planning the paths and strategies needed to accomplish them.



The Spleen is referred to as the body’s ‘Energy Warehouse’ in Traditional Chinese Medicine, extracting food energy and essences out of them and distributing to other parts of the body. The Spleen houses the Intellect/Yi, otherwise known as Thought or Idea which is responsible for absorbing and remembering information, focus, study, thinking and organizing ideas.



The Lung is the body’s ‘Minister’ in Traditional Chinese Medicine and is responsible for ruling and controlling of Energy/Qi and body fluids and their dispersal to other body parts. The Lung is also responsible for control of the Channels and Blood Vessels. The Lung houses the Corporeal Soul/Po which is responsible for physical sensations, feelings, somatic expressions, parasympathetic regulation of bodily functions such as respiration, metabolism and general homeostasis.



The Kidney is the body’s ‘Life Essence Storage’ in Traditional Chinese Medicine and governs one's growth and development as well as reproduction. The Kidney houses the Will/Zhi which is the determination, the deep inner power, the endurance of the person to get things started and complete them. Will/Zhi gives purpose to life and supports the person to achieve their goals.



TCM Five Organs and Motivation



From the above we can see that the health of all our internal organs and the level of motivation are so interrelated and interdependent to one another according to Traditional Chinese Medicine theories and philosophies.



The Heart is the Emperor of the body, overseeing physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspects of a human and hence fuels all of the three components of motivation.



The Liver is needed especially for the Activation component of motivation due to its significant decision making role in the body.



The Spleen is needed for the Persistent and Intensity components of motivation due to its prominent concentration role in the body and its ability to transform food to energy is needed for the person to have the sustained energy to carry through their journeys towards the goals.



The Lung is needed also for the Persistent and Intensity components of motivation due to it taking in the air from the environment and keeping the person alive and functional at a basal level. In other words, it keeps the person alive on earth for anything to happen.



The Kidney is needed for all three components of motivation as it gives the energy to start something and see it through right to the end.



Acupuncture for Motivation



Acupuncture helps to reset all the organs in the body through bringing it back to a homeostatic state of balance.



Furthermore, acupuncture gives energy, which is always much needed for motivation to be empowered.

Read more on Acupuncture for Time Abundance.

Read more on Why Do I Feel Tired After Acupuncture here.

Furthermore the fact that sometimes people who are highly motivated can tip the balance to a state of hypervigilance, in contrast to the lack of energy. Acupuncture can also help with this by calming the body and mind down and giving clarity and courage to move forward towards the goals. 



According to science through the usage of functional MRI imaging, certain areas of the brain such as the anterior insula and striatum which are areas involved in motivation processing were highly stimulated during acupuncture treatments. The study also confirmed that acupuncture on specific acupoints can activate motivation centres in the brain which leads to increased physical motivation in participants.

Read about Acupoint Medicine Dan Zhong on self care and self love promotion.

Other Holistic Methods for Motivation



Yoga



In yoga, the third chakra which is called the Manipura or the Solar Plexus is the powerhouse of self-determination and motivation. It consists of the abdomen, the digestive system, lower and middle back. Balancing the third chakra can help us stoke the fire within to work towards our dreams.

The third chakra is in correspondence with the Spleen and Stomach in Traditional Chinese Medicine which we mentioned above is especially needed for focus, concentration and the simple fueling of the human body by transformation of food to energy to keep him or her going.



According to Science in a research article from Penn Medicine News entitled “Gut Microbes can boost the motivation to exercise”, the connection between the health of the digestive system and mental motivation is much highlighted, reiterating the fact that the state of the internal organs in our body is highly correlated to human actions and behaviours.



Meditation


The benefits of meditation are similar to that of acupuncture in which the body gets to have the time and space for reset, rebalance, rejuvenation and healing to occur, bringing up the motivational energy in the body and the clarity in the mind to see through the set goals.

Fengshui

Certain areas of the space that one is working in can hold entrepreneurial energy that boosts the motivation and compulsion to attain the goals. One should position themselves more in this area to enhance his or her own energy by riding on the spatial energy.

Related article: Jia Wood Daymaster Element

Read more about Acupuncture for Trust, Acupuncture for Compassion, Acupuncture for Trust here.

TCM(Traditional Chin Med), TCM Wellness, TCM and Science, Basics of TCM, TCM AestheticsXiang Jun LimDr (TCM) Xiang Juntcm, acupuncture, traditional chinese medicine, western medicine, spiritual, motivation, mental strength