5-Element Theory lives in Insight Acupressure
building a treatment plan
Five-Element Theory of classic Chinese Medicine is a model of how our bodies work. Physiology of western medicine describes the body with a mechanical model. Five Element Theory is more like painting with watercolors. Blue and yellow yield green, but the ratios of each determine which green, and the saturation of the paper influences where the pigment travels.
The 5 elements are: Water, Wood, Fire, Earth, and Metal. One way of portraying these element is as pentacle within a circle. Each point of the pentacle anchors an element and the circle denotes a clockwise relationship between neighboring elements.
The clockwise relationships are understood to be one of regulating up, as a Mother would provide for a child. Water feeds Wood, like a plant benefits from rain. Wood feeds Fire, in the way another log keeps a campfire burning. Fire feeds Earth, in the way ash from Fire returns material to the soil. Earth feeds Metal, in a similar dynamic that metals are formed in the Earth. Metal feeds Water, as the decomposition of metal releases minerals to the atmosphere that then precipitates as rain.
There are also relationships moving across the pentacle model that are relationships of regulating down, also called grandmother-child relationships. Plants take nutrients from the soil, and tree roots can break cement sidewalks. Fire melts metal and consumes air. Earth can be dammed to hold water. Metal blades chop wood. Water extinguishes fire.
There are yin and yang aspects assigned to each element, which are paired with the 12 meridians named in Chinese medicine, and each meridian is a flow of qi.
The way to understand the flow qi in a client’s body is through the lens of the 5 elements. In a clinical setting a picture is painted by taking pulse readings and by observing the voice, coloration, and other attributes, as well as the client’s stated issue.
The resulting assessment is not set around preordained benchmarks. The assessment is more like a watercolor painting, where the colors interact with one another and the interaction depends upon the paper, upon the saturation of the pigment, and other factors. The 5 elements become the paint brush to select the meridian, decide upon up or down regulating, and the points along the meridian to be engaged.
A client can be treated for ailments of the body, mind, or spirit within the same modality. This is another thing that sets Chinese medicine apart from Western medicine, which addresses the same ailments, albeit from different health professions.
Acupressure therapists aim to support the qi of a targeted meridian with our fingers and hands. More than this, Acupressure invites shifts towards wellness in body, mind, and spirit.
© 2025 Lisa Patrell
Life Coaching + Somatics & energetics.