Dr. Charles A. Moss’ new guide to alternative therapies, Power of the Five Elements: The Chinese Medicine Path to Healthy Aging and Stress Resistance, provides numerous methods of coping with stress using the Five Adaptation Types that correspond to the characteristics of each Chinese element—wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. The Chinese Medicine Path incorporates aspects of Chinese medicine, personality psychology, and Taoist thought to formulate a comprehensive list of emotional and physical techniques for each Adaptation Type.
In an effort to learn more about Moss’ Five Adaptation Types, I determined my own type using his three-part questionnaire, which draws upon questions regarding physical and emotional responses to stress to reveal the element that bests corresponds to one’s own personality attributes. My questionnaire results led me to the chapter on the Wood Adaptation Type, which is associated with a clear vision of one’s future, as well as a desire to control that future. After describing the personality attributes, Moss gets to the core of the Chinese Medicine Path in his explanation of the physiological connection between element type and behavioral characteristics. For the Wood Type, the power source is located within the liver, gall bladder, and visual system. These three structures share a common energy basis, which Moss describes as the Taoist spiritual quality, or the hun. This spiritual locus provides us with the ability to dream, project into the future, and clarify our goals.
Moss also shares a collection of adaptation methods that work the most effectively for this particular element type. This collection includes some words to live by, as well as more concrete, physical techniques, such as acupressure. Because the Wood Type’s power source lives in the gall bladder, acupressure treatment should focus on the Wood Type’s yang point, which is located on the gall bladder. Treatment on this acupressure point will enhance adaptation by providing clarity and vision.
This technique is one of many that Dr. Moss recommends for my Adaptation Type. He tailors the lists of adaptation methods for each different element type. Moss’ guide provides a useful introduction to the Chinese Medicine Path, thoroughly explaining the ways in which Taoist philosophy can contribute to a greater understanding of one’s own emotional and physiological stress responses. This multidisciplinary approach allows for a theoretical knowledge of adaptation methods that can be easily put into practice.
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