When making a Chinese energetic evaluation the Disharmony frameworks are often ranged as Full/Empty. Usually the Empty Situations are recognized for the lack of characteristics usually recurring in the healthy subject: for example, lack of strenght, of voice, feebleness etc. With the terms Energetic Fullness we can mean different situations, such as:

• The energy of an energetic system prevails over the others.
• The energy of an energetic system is limited to an area (compression), so also not being in excess in general, it insists on a restricted body area
• An obstruction of the Energetic Channels can cause a local Energetic Fullness, like a landslide interrupting the free flowing of a river, causing its overflow.
• The invasion of an external pathogenetic factor, adding its energy up to the fhisiological one.
  
  
  Factors that can affect the effectiveness of the invigorating/reducing techniques:

Nature (kind) of the manoeuvres
Strength
Time, speedness

Sense
Direction of the manoeuvres
Kind of treatment (sequence)
Choosing the Points

Other techniques

Nature (kind) of the manoeuvres
Some manoeuvres are mainly reducing, others invigorating; e.g., Fen Fa is a technique that aims at “taking away” the energy, from inside to outside. So, it is very important to understand the effect of the manoeuvres on the person’s energy.

Strength
Soft and relaxing manoeuvres invigorate; vigorous manoeuvres reduce the energy. But the first and most important parameter to consider to decide the strength to use is the patient's phisical constitution.

Time, speedness
It is quite difficult to set the effects ofthe speedness of execution of the manoeuvres in terms of tonification and reduction, Some techniques, such as Gun Fa, are always executed at a constant speedness; very often speedness is combined with the intensity of strength, so the results depends upon other factors. Within these limits, we can summarize saying that in case of deficit we tone up with slow movements, while in case of fullness we reduce with quick manoeures. A brief treatment invigorates, a long one reduces.

Sense
A clockwise massage tones up; an anticlockwise massage reduces.

Direction of the manoeuvres
To massage according to the direction of the energetic circulation of the Channel has an invigorating effect; if the massage go es the opposite way of the energy flowing in the Channel, it reduces the energy itself. E.g., in case of high fever due to fullness we use Tui Fa on Du Mai from top to bottom to reduce the fever; if the high fever is caused by emptiness we follow the other direction (from bottom to top).

Kind of treatment (sequence)
Trunk, head and hearth are the center, limbs are the periphery. To work going towards the hearth means to invigorate; also treating the limbs first and then the trunk means to invigorate.…to be continued in the Tui Na Videocourse. Click here!

Choosing the Points
Some Points placed along the Energetic Channels are mainly used to have a tonifying action, others to reduce.

Other techniques
Combination of some points (already examined) to ease the body self-regulation.

We generally do not use a lot of reducing manoeuvres as they can cause problems to the energetic structure of the person, in particular the elderly or the particularly weak subjects. In presence of an invasion of external climatic factors we use reducing manoeuvres to expel the patogenous elements, but also manoeuvres able to tonify the whole of the person's energy. …to be continued in the Tui Na Videocourse. Click here!