Jing is one of the most important concepts in Chinese medicine, where it’s traditionally said to be involved in every phase of life, from prenatal development right through to old age. But what exactly is Jing? And how can you look after and conserve yours?
In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), Jing or essence is a substance that you inherit from your parents at the moment of your conception. It subsequently fuels your growth and development as the pregnancy progresses and continues to do so throughout your infancy, childhood and adolescence. Even after you stop growing and maturing, your Jing is the driver of your transition and transformation throughout your early adulthood, middle age and ultimately your senior years.
In short, Jing dictates your constitution and vitality as you move through each of life’s stages. Because it occurs in different forms and is referred to by several names (including ‘essence’ and ‘kidney essence’), Jing can be confusing to wrap your head around at first if you’re not familiar with the ins and outs of Chinese medicine. The key thing to be aware of is that it’s a precious and valuable substance that should be guarded and protected in order to maintain your health and wellbeing, now and in the future.
Why Jing is like a bank account
You might like to think of Jing as being similar to a sum of money that your parents put into a bank account for you when you were conceived. It’s a bucket of energy that’s intended to last you for your whole life – but its quantity varies, and some people get larger amounts of Jing from their parents than others. While it’s okay to access some of that inherited energy from time to time, its balance would decline quickly if you constantly did that without topping it up.
The smarter thing to do is to add to the balance by making your own deposits, and only draw down on the original deposit when you absolutely have to. In the case of Jing, you top up your inherited balance by acquiring additional Jing from substances in the food, and drink you consume and the air that you breathe. That acquired Jing can then be used to nourish the organs, and any of it you don’t need immediately is stored in the kidneys so it’s available later - you might like to think of it as your rainy day savings account. Think of the quality of the food, the soil, its root, its freshness and whatever it is also infusing your cells with the same.
Nevertheless, over the course of your life, you’ll repeatedly need to draw on your bank of inherited Jing, so as you get older its balance declines.
What does Jing do?
Jing’s major physiological roles in TCM include:
Growth and development: Jing stimulates all aspects of growth and development and the physical transformation that occurs at each life stage
Reproductive capacity and sexual function: Jing governs all aspects of sexual function and reproductive capacity (including puberty, fertility and women’s transition into menopause)
Healthy aging: Maintaining optimal levels of Jing leads to healthy aging in TCM
Facilitating blood production and therefore bone health and brain function: In TCM, it’s traditionally believed that the Jing is infused into the bones, and there stimulates both bone growth and the development of the bone marrow, brain and spinal cord
Maintaining strong defences against illness: When Jing is abundant, overall vitality will be too, including that of Defensive Qi, the form of Qi (life force energy) that maintains resistance against illness
In addition, in TCM there are many inter-relationships between the functions of Jing and those of the kidneys (where Jing is stored), the liver (where blood is stored) and the blood.
What happens when Jing starts to run out?
Your level of Jing naturally starts to decline from mid-life onwards, and in TCM lack of Jing is considered responsible for many of the signs of ageing, especially those associated with the physiological functions listed above.
The resulting signs and symptoms may include:
Stiffness (reduced elasticity) in the bones, joints and tendons, sometimes with weakness and mild aches and pains in the lower back and knees
Greying hair and hair loss
Reduced immune defences
Occasional memory problems, forgetfulness or dizziness
Hearing difficulties
Reduced sexual vitality and function
Menopausal symptoms like hot flushes
Increased susceptibility to minor infections, like common colds and flu
Preserving Jing
From the perspective of TCM, conserving your Jing for as long as possible will enable you to enjoy good health in your old age. Your focus should be on leading a healthy, balanced lifestyle that incorporates habits that support your Jing and minimizes those that deplete it. Here’s a quick summary to get you started:
Eat a nutritious, balanced diet. Remember, you top up your Jing with nutritive substances from the food and drink you consume
Get plenty of fresh air for the same reason
Exercise regularly – because if your body isn’t active, your Jing won’t be either. Forms of exercise considered especially beneficial for the preservation of Jing include tai chi and qigong and specific types of yoga
Maintain a healthy balance between work and rest. Being overworked, overly busy or stressed is considered highly detrimental to Jing in TCM, and on the other hand, having enough quality sleep helps to preserve it
Men, be mindful of your sexual activity too. While sex is considered healthy and enjoyable in TCM, some of your Jing is transferred to your sexual partner during intercourse via the body fluids, so it may become depleted if you’re highly sexually active
Women, pregnancy and menstruation is another avenue where we can become depleted. In pregnancy it is best to take very good care during, which I wil elaborate in a different article, most basically it is eating well to not deplete your bones, minerals, nutrients density etc and making sure you are giving enough to you and your baby during. And to wait two years between each child to replenish your body if you plan the next birth. If you are are menstruating, you are losing blood and an egg, the egg holds vitality and life force, there are techniques to infuse your body with this energy. Also, the loss of blood every month needs replenishment.
