Gui Zhi (Cinnamon Twig)

1) Gui Zhi (Cinnamon Twig)

Properties:  warm, acrid, sweet

Channels Entered:  Lung Bladder

Actions and indications:

Promotes sweating and Releases the exterior, Warms the channels and Unblocks the vessels, and Unblocks yang and Transforms qi - the exterior pattern of wind-cold, painful obstruction, blood cold, water-damp collecting, pating and cough due to phlegm, and inhibited urination

Contraindications: warm-heat phathogen disease, yin deficiency with heat signs, pregnant woman, and blood pattern.

Combinations:

to promote sweating : Gui Zhi and Ma Huang

to check sweating : Gui Zhi and Shao Yao

to harmonize construction and defense: Gui Zhi and Bai Shao Yao

every pain in the upper is due to wind : Gui Zhi, Jie Geng, Qiang Huo, and Wei Ling Xian

in abdominal pain shao yao becomes sovereign, for aversion to cold add Gui Zhi, for aversion to heat add Huang qin.

Explanations of the classic of Materia Medica (本草经解):

qi is warm, flavor is pungent and none poisonous, governs ascent qi, cough with dyspnea, bound qi, throat impediment, vomiting, disinhibits the joints, supplements the center, boosts qi. Taking it for long time frees spirit, makes the body light, and prevents one from aging.

Gui Zhi’s qi is warm, it is supplied with harmonious wood qi of heaven-spring, enters the foot reverting yin liver channel. Its flavor is pungent and none poisonous, it is supplied with moist metal flavor of earth-west, enters the hand greater yin lung channel. The qi and flavor ascend, [this herb belongs to] yang.

The lung is metal organ, exposing the body to cold and drinking cold drink damage the lung, the damaged lung cannot make qi descend, this causes and cough and dyspnea with qi ascent; Gui Zhi’s warm charater warms the lung, when the lung is warm, qi descends and cough with dyspnea relieves.

In bound qi, throat impediment, and vomiting, impediment means block, qi binding in the throat causes block, vomiting occurs; Gui Zhi’s pungent with warm dissipates binds and moves qi, then binds are dissipated, block gets free, vomiting disappears, and one can inhale; Pungent can moisten, then the sinews and vessels get harmonious and the joints get uninhibited.

The middle is connected with the spleen, pungent with warm frees and outthrusts liver qi, then the spleen channel gets boosting. In supplementing the middle and boosting qi, the lung governs qi, when the lung is warm, true qi flows and frees.

‘Taking it for long time frees spirit, makes the body light, and prevents one from aging’; taking it for long time warms the heart and assists yang, then yang qi stretches, spirit gets light, when yang is exuberant, the body gets light and is not aged.