Body Basics Part 8: Jing, Your Body Blueprint

Continuing the Body Basics series brings us to the concept of “Jing.”

I talk a lot in clinic about your “constitution.”  This is the baseline set of traits you came in with, the stuff you don’t have a lot of control over — think like your hair color, your bone structure, the health of your parents when you were conceived, and even those early personality traits that clearly differentiate one infant from another.  

Jing is like the blueprint for your life. It’s the framework for how the bigger Life force is going to express itself as it moves through your particular Life container.  It includes what we might think of as “genes,” but it’s more than that. It speaks to the level of health and vitality you naturally enjoy, and how that will likely change as you move through periods of growth, maturation, and eventual decline.

Certain aspects and amounts of Jing are fixed for you upon entry, but you can also support or squander your Jing along the way with the choices you make.  This isn’t a judgement, it’s a fact of Nature — and it’s a huge part of the diet and lifestyle recommendations that are so fundamental to Chinese medicine (and to living a long, happy and healthy life).

An example that often comes up in clinic is around caffeine. I love a good cup of coffee in the morning and for many people a single cup isn’t a problem.  But if you regularly use caffeine to generate energy that wouldn’t otherwise be available to you, you are taxing your Jing; you are borrowing energy from your future to fuel your present.

When we’re interested in looking after our health or reaching a particular health or fertility goal, it’s helpful to understand a little about our Jing, its innate gifts and limitations, how our choices or life circumstances may have impacted it to date, and how we can support it moving forward.  No shame, just an honest assessment.  We will never get where we want to go unless we’re honest about where we’re at.

Want some help understanding more about your Jing? We’re here for you!
Your initial consultation is always free — come meet us in person and learn more.