Yin and yang (or polar opposites)Beyond my body my veins are invisible.
ANTONIO PORCHIA Voices
Acupuncture, acupressure, Chinese herbs, qigong, tai chi, tui na massage—as a healing practitioner, you may be well versed in the use of some of these methods and tools or are perhaps eager to begin learning about them. As cornerstones of traditional Chinese medicine, one of the oldest forms of medicine, all of these treatment modalities and practices have something in common: each is a meridian-based therapy that assists in the delivery of chi, the subtle energy required for life.
No matter what type of subtle energy modality you specialize in, knowledge of the meridians—what they are, what they do, and how to work with them—will add to the depth and effectiveness of your work. In other words, you don’t have to be an acupuncturist to benefit from understanding the meridians and the principles that underlie them.
MERIDIAN THERAPY: A WHOLE-BEING APPROACH
Meridians are the channels of energy that provide structure for the body as an energetic system. They are the channels that provide nourishment to the subtle energy body in the form of chi, one of the Chinese terms for life energy. Sometimes they are described as energy highways that interconnect the physical universe outside of us with the living tissue inside of us.
Over five thousand years ago, the discovery of these subtle energy channels by the Chinese gave rise to a complex and highly evolved medical system, based less on anatomy than on holism, the perception that a person is a whole being, not a collection of parts. The basic tenet of meridian therapy is that you must treat the root cause of a presenting problem—body, mind, spirit, and emotions—rather than only the symptoms. The ancient Chinese pictured a person as a circle rather than an assemblage of units. But this circle does not encompass only the individual. Each person—each living organism—is connected to, and therefore interconnected by, a universal matrix of energy. What is “in here” is essentially connected to everything “out there.”
Traditional meridian therapy draws upon the five-phase theory (sometimes called the five-elements theory)—a complex and cumulative explanation of meridian-based therapies. In contrast to the ideas behind allopathic medicine, the five-phase theory describes the relationship between all things, rather than outlining independent factors. In addition to expressing that everything reduces to five basic elements, it asserts four major ideas:
Yin and yang (or polar opposites)
The internal and external sources of disease
The cyclical order of life (revealed in the cycles of the seasons)
The existence of channels of energy that distribute the chi—the meridians
In essence, the five-phase theory explains the self as an energy being. Having outgrown the perception of being an esoteric healing system or simple folk medicine, traditional Chinese medicine and meridian-based systems are now becoming integrated into Western healthcare systems. Extensive research has verified that the meridians are transporters of chemical, electrical, and etheric energies. Just as the meridians are energetic in nature, so are they physical in nature and in influence. Just as we are physical, so are we energetic.
In that sense, the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) approach to healing exemplifies subtle energy medicine. It is based upon an understanding that illness is an energetic disturbance or imbalance and that healing is a process of restoring energetic balance. While fully acknowledging the most obvious physical symptoms, it also looks past them to discover the disharmony in the subtle channels that may precede illness.
In addition to the comprehensive body of information pertaining to the channels and five-phase theory contained in The Subtle Body encyclopedia, there is no shortage of in-depth information pertaining to this brilliant system of healing. The rest of this chapter is designed to be a quick-reference guide; the basic information it contains is based on my experience as someone who has extensively studied and researched these topics and as a practitioner who integrates the principles into my own work. I’ve taken care to include exercises and techniques that are powerful yet easy to administer, such as the use of certain acupressure points, qigong techniques, and the Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT). I’ve abstained from sharing processes that need to be delivered by a licensed acupuncturist, such as needling, or the use of needles in acupoints, and cupping, or the use of special cups to clear chi blockages. Information such as the “Three Treasures” included in this chapter is referenced in relation to healing work as well. Whether you are looking up what bodily functions the Bladder meridian governs, which organs are most impacted by worry and sadness, which disharmonies are related to the Liver meridian, or what time of day the Heart meridian is most active (11 a.m. to 1 p.m., by the way), this chapter will be a highly useful reference. I have found that even if a subtle energy practitioner does not employ meridian-based therapies for self or other healing, it is imperative to understand the basic concepts, including the science verifying the existence of the meridians. Being lucid in these ideas can help you make use of all available alternative therapies yourself and understand the types of meridian therapies a client might be using.
THE MAJOR MERIDIANS AND VESSELS
There are twelve major meridians and several secondary ones, which are sometimes referred to as vessels. Here we will focus on the twelve major meridians and the two most important vessels.
There are several different abbreviation systems that represent the meridians in “shorthand.” This is one commonly used system:
| Lung (LU) | Kidney (KI) |
| Large Intestine (LI) | Pericardium (PC) |
| Stomach (ST) | Triple Warmer or Burner (TB) |
| Spleen (SP) | Gallbladder (GB) |
| Heart (HE) | Liver (LR) |
| Small Intestine (SI) | Conception Vessel (CV) or Ren Mai |
| Bladder (BL) | Governor Vessel (GV) or Du Mai |
Each of the major meridians governs certain functions of the body. Disharmony, or the disruption of the flow of energy through a particular meridian, results in particular symptoms.
Lung meridian. The Lung meridian regulates chi throughout the body, as well as regulating breathing and many water channels, such as the Kidney and Bladder meridians, which control the distribution of fluids in the body. Symptoms of disharmony include distension of or a full sensation in the chest, asthma, allergies, coughing, panting, belching, restlessness, cold limbs and hot palms, shortness of breath, skin issues, and overall fatigue.
Large Intestine meridian. The Large Intestine meridian rules elimination and communicates with the lungs to regulate the transportation functions of the body. For instance, it carries waste out of the body and absorbs water before the waste leaves. Problems with this meridian often underlie diseases that affect the head, face, and throat. Disharmony is indicated by toothaches; runny noses and nosebleeds; swelling of the neck; yellow eyes; dry mouth and excessive thirst; a sore throat; pain in the shoulders, arms, and index fingers; as well as intestinal cramping, diarrhea, constipation, and dysentery.
Stomach meridian. The Stomach meridian works closely with the Spleen meridian to energetically support the body’s digestion and absorption functions. Together, the two meridians are called the acquired foundation, in that they lay the foundation of digestive health for the body. The Stomach meridian assures that the chi, which can be energetically packaged as nutrients, thoughts, or emotions, descends or is passed into the internal system of the body so it can be utilized. If it ascends instead of descends, the result can include nausea and vomiting. Diseases involving the Stomach meridian typically produce gastric disturbances, toothaches, and mental issues (such as obsessively “going over” the same issues), as well as problems that appear on or near the path of the meridian (such as on the front of the shin for the Stomach meridian and other localities) as shown in figures 3.1 and 3.2. Irregularities in this meridian can appear as stomachaches, mouth sores, digestive disturbances, fluid in the abdomen, hunger, nausea, vomiting, thirst, mouth distortion, edema, neck swelling, a sore throat, shuddering, yawning, and a gray forehead. Mental dysfunctions include antisocial and phobic behavior.
Spleen meridian. The spleen is a vital immune organ and essential for transforming food into chi and blood. It does this by changing the essence of food, which is subtle as well as physical, and also working with the Stomach meridian to eventually incorporate the nutrients and chi of food into the blood. It is also considered to house thoughts and to govern the quality of thought available to the mind. Symptoms of disharmony include a distended abdomen, loss of appetite, hepatitis, bleeding disorders, menstrual disorders, loose stools, diarrhea, flatulence, anorexia, stiffness, swollen or stiff knees or thighs, and pain at the root of the tongue.
Heart meridian. The heart governs the blood and the pulse, as well as the mind and spirit. As might be expected, problems with the Heart meridian usually result in heart problems. Disharmony is indicated by a dry throat, heart pain and palpitations, and thirst. Other symptoms include pain in the chest or along the inner side of the forearm, heat in the palms, yellow eyes, insomnia, and pain or cold along the meridian pathway.
Small Intestine meridian. The Small Intestine meridian separates the pure from the impure, including pure and impure foods, fluids, thoughts, and beliefs. Problems in the Small Intestine meridian usually create diseases of the neck, ears, eyes, throat, head, and small intestine, as well as certain mental illnesses. Symptoms of disharmony can include fevers; sore throats; a swollen chin or lower cheek; a stiff neck; a fixed head stance; hearing problems or deafness; yellow eyes; severe pain of the shoulder, lower jaw, upper arm, elbow, and forearm; and intestinal disorders, including irritable bowel syndrome.
Bladder meridian. The Bladder meridian is in charge of storing and eliminating fluid waste. It receives chi from the Kidney meridian and uses it to transform fluids for elimination. Dysfunction of the Bladder meridian leads to bladder problems and symptoms such as urinary disorders and incontinence. It can also lead to problems in the head, including headaches, protruding eyeballs, a runny nose, nasal congestion, neck tension, yellow eyes, tearing, and nosebleeds. Lower-body issues include pain along the spine, buttocks, and calf muscles, lumbar pain, unbendable hip joints, groin issues, and tight muscles around the knee and in the calves.
Kidney meridian. According to classical sources, kidneys “grasp the chi.” They are the residence of yin and yang. They also rule the bones, teeth, and adrenal glands. Lack of energetic and physical nourishment results in problems such as swelling, diarrhea, and constipation. Other symptoms of disharmony in the Kidney meridian include backaches, ear problems, anorexia, restlessness, insomnia, weak vision, lack of energy, constant fear, dry tongue and hot mouth, spinal and thigh pain, immovable lower limbs, cold, drowsiness, and painful and hot soles of the feet.
Pericardium meridian. The pericardium is a bag that contains the heart, protecting it from foreign invasions, so it’s fitting that the Pericardium meridian works closely with the Heart meridian. This meridian governs the blood and the mind (along with the Heart meridian), thus affecting blood and circulation, as well as personal relationships. Disharmony in the Pericardium meridian is caused by disharmony within heart and blood functions. The most common problems are chest, heart, and breast problems, and symptoms can include chest discomfort, tachycardia or other arrhythmias, swelling in the armpit, a red face, spasms of the elbow and arm, and mania. Note: The heart stores shen, spiritual energy or mental energy affecting the soul. Many mental or emotional problems relate to an imbalance in shen, so the Pericardium is an important meridian for any symptoms related to mental illness. The Pericardium protects the heart from disturbances, including overwhelming emotions, which can lead to physical and mental imbalances. Specific shen points, listed in classical TCM and acupuncture manuals, can be used to protect the heart from the excessive emotions that can flow in from the other meridians. (For more on shen, see “The Three Treasures” later in this chapter. See also “Acupressure to Create Calm: A Shen Pericardium Point” in this chapter.)
Triple Warmer (Burner) meridian. The Triple Warmer is not represented by a physical organ. Rather, it is important because of its job, which is to circulate liquid energy throughout the organs. The Triple Warmer distributes a special chi called source chi, which is produced by the kidneys. It governs the relationship between all the various organs, allocating chi between them. As its name implies, the Triple Warmer comprises three parts:
The Upper Warmer or Burner, which distributes chi from the diaphragm upward and is most commonly associated with lungs and heart (respiration);
The Middle Warmer or Burner, which delivers chi to bodily areas between the diaphragm and navel and is associated with stomach, spleen, liver, and gallbladder (digestion and assimilation);
The Lower Warmer or Burner, which transports chi below the navel and is associated with reproduction and elimination.
Problems with the Triple Warmer typically manifest as water retention, a stiff neck, and ailments with the ears, eyes, chest, and throat. Symptoms include those related to water imbalance, such as swelling, urinary incontinence and difficulties, and tinnitus (ringing in the ear).
Gallbladder meridian. The Gallbladder meridian runs the gallbladder, which makes and stores bile. On an energetic basis, this meridian governs decision-making. It is closely connected to the liver; therefore, disharmony with the Gallbladder meridian can be shown as liver issues, including bitterness in the mouth, jaundice, and nausea. Other symptoms include frequent sighing, headaches, pain in the jaw and outer corner of the eyes, swelling in the glands, mental illness, indecisiveness, fever, and pain along the meridian.
Liver meridian. To some Chinese practitioners, the liver is considered the “second heart” of the body. This meridian assures the flow of emotions, chi, and blood; controls the body’s immune response, as well as its sinews (tendons, ligaments, and skeletal muscles); absorbs what is indigestible; and is associated with the eyes. Liver meridian issues most frequently appear as problems in the liver and genital systems. Symptoms can include dizziness, high blood pressure, hernias, a distended lower abdomen in women, nausea, watery stools with undigested food, allergies, incontinence, muscle spasms, the retention of urine, eye problems, and moodiness or anger.
Conception vessel (Ren Mai). The Conception vessel distributes chi to the major organs and maintains the proper balance of chi and blood within the body. The Conception vessel runs down the front of the body, starting just below the eyes. It circles around the mouth to the chest and abdomen before landing at the perineum. Problems with this vessel include uneasiness, hernias, and abdominal issues.
Governor vessel (Du Mai). Like the Conception vessel, the Governor vessel transports chi to the major organs and balances the chi and blood in the body. The Governor vessel starts at the perineum and travels to the coccyx before making its way to the back of the head. Flowing over the head, it then travels down the front of the face to stop at the canines in the upper jaw. Disharmony in this vessel can cause symptoms such as stiffness and scoliosis.
Figures 3.1 and 3.2 show the paths of all fourteen meridians through the body. For maps of the individual meridians and their major acupoints, see pages 187 to 201 of The Subtle Body.
ACUPOINTS
The acupoints are the entryways to the meridians. They are also called acupuncture points and meridian points. Four to five hundred acupoints have been identified in the human body. (The numbers vary according to the healing system being used.) Each of the points has a particular effect on the different channels and organs in the body. These points are described and pictured in numerous books on traditional Chinese medicine (though their names and purposes differ slightly from system to system). Please see chapter 12, “Hands-On Healing,” for a description of the primary ten acupoints and key exercises and techniques that use them for healing and rebalancing.
HOW DO MERIDIANS AND ACUPOINTS FUNCTION?
Meridians are pathways for many different types of physical and subtle energies. While invisible to the naked eye, they are circuits of positive and negative energies, as well as bodily fluids. The energies within the circuits can be measured by various methods. Used in acupuncture, the acupoints display unique and scientifically viable electrical characteristics that distinguish them from the surrounding skin. Electromagnetic in nature, these acupoints can be found by hand, through testing with microelectrical voltage meters, and through the use of applied kinesiology, or muscle testing, which tests the body’s reactions to substances, situations, and ideas.
Scientific research supports five different but interrelated theories about how meridians and acupoints work to promote healing.
Biomechanical theory. The biomechanical explanation centers on research that seeks to validate the existence of the meridians. Studies that involve tracking the meridian system with radioactive tracers and identifying the location of acupoints on the motor nerves show that the meridians are part of the body’s mechanical framework and interact with the anatomical system.
Bioelectromagnetic theory. Based upon the premise that the human body is an electrical-magnetic phenomenon, this theory focuses on the fact that the body is composed of electrical currents. Polarized electrically generated fields exist in and around the body, including around each of our cells, and are associated with a network of circuits that continually send minute amounts of direct current through the body. The cells responsible for this conduction, called perineural cells, are located around nerve fibers. The resulting current is highly influenced by external electromagnetic fields. Within this context, acupuncture points act like amplifiers of the current and the meridians, the conduction vessels for the electricity, or the chi. Working the acupoints smooths the flow of the bioelectricity in beneficial ways. A great deal of research explains how this physiological reality makes acupoint stimulation effective.
Standing wave theory. In 1986, two researchers, Fritz-Albert Popp and Changlin Zhang, teamed up to create a model called the standing wave superposition hypothesis. In short, they portrayed the overall meridian system as a holographic image of the body represented in the ears and the feet. This theory also sought to explain the interconnectivity of the acupoints through a process called superposing, in which two or more similar waves combine to find a third and more complex one. When these two waves are in rhythm, the resulting wave is more powerful and beneficial than when they are arrhythmic. According to the Zhang-Popp theory, the waves from acupuncture points and the meridians create these beneficial waves and improve our health.
Connective tissue theory. This theory is based on the existence of cytoskeletal structures in every cell in the body. These structures, in effect, form connective tissue. Nuclear magnetic resonance has shown that our muscles are organized in liquid-crystalline-like structures that change drastically when exposed to electromagnetic fields. This alteration occurs because connective tissue carries static electric charges and is influenced by pH, salt concentration, and the dielectric constant of the solvent composing the liquid crystal, such as the lipids of cellular membranes, DNA, and proteins, especially cytoskeletal proteins, such as those found in connective tissue. Many scientists now believe that the meridians lie within this liquid network, or that the meridians simply stimulate the network’s responsiveness. In other words, this liquid network carries the electromagnetic responses elicited from acupuncture.
Ductal theory. Research by Professor Kim Bong Han suggests that the meridians are a series of ducts, or tubes, that carry chi. He discovered that the meridians are formed after the initial merging of the sperm and ova. They then develop and spread throughout the developing body in utero.
Secondary electrical system theory. An ever-increasing number of scientists are proposing that the meridian system is part of a secondary electrical system—one that might include, but is also different from, the established circulatory and central nervous systems.
Western science already acknowledges how electricity—and therefore information—flows through the neurons that comprise the central nervous system (the spine and the brain). Through his research, respected Swedish radiologist Björn Nordenström has discovered that electricity also “feeds” a second, separate but interrelated electrical system. This secondary system works between our connective tissue and the cardiovascular system. The main idea is that electricity is created by the flow of blood within the arteries and the veins, turning our blood vessels into cables surrounded by electromagnetic fields. When cells are damaged, the flow of current to or from an injured area changes, creating electrical effects that stimulate repair. Basically, these fields form a “closed loop,” or continuously circulating system of energy and electricity that interacts with our connective tissue.
ACUPRESSURE TO CREATE CALM: A Shen Pericardium Point
SHEN IS MENTAL or spirit energy; there are shen points on every meridian. The sixth point of the Pericardium meridian, PC 6 or Nei Guan, is a perfect point to press to create calm when you feel disruptive emotions. This point calms the heart, settles the shen or emotions, and relieves pain. It alleviates stomach aches, nausea, vomiting, motion sickness, palpitations, chest constrictions, insomnia, irritability, hypertension, and mental disorders, as well as pain in the elbow and the arm.
To locate PC 6, put your index, middle, and ring fingers together on one hand. Now lay these fingers on the wrist on the inside of your opposite arm; position your ring finger directly over the crease between your hand and wrist, and your index finger will naturally be positioned across the two most prominent tendons in your wrist. PC 6 lies right between these tendons, right near your index finger. The point might feel tender.
Use the tip of your thumb to massage this point while supporting your wrist and lower arm with the fingers of the same hand. Move your thumb in a tiny circular motion for two to three minutes.
Nordenström’s model suggests that the electrical forces flowing in this secondary system are comparable to chi and that the negative and positive poles of the electrical energy are equivalent to yin and yang. The channels of the flow are quite possibly the meridians.
FIVE-PHASE THEORY
As mentioned, traditional Chinese medicine is based on the five-phase or five-element theory (wu-hsing). The essence of the five-phase theory is the flow of vital life-force energy. Chi flows through the meridians in perfect balance, unless disturbed by internal or external forces that disrupt the elemental units of life.
Five-phase theory can be summarized by the following five statements:
There are five elements in nature: earth, metal, water, wood, and fire.
Each element is represented by a certain color.
The human body is made of these natural, elemental materials.
These elements move through the human body and its organs in a seasonal cycle.
Proper treatment of the body involves working with the correct element and its cyclical timing.
The five elements represent energies that succeed each other in a continuous five-phase cycle. The Chinese did not emphasize the elements themselves, but the movement between them. Together these movements make up chi, the vital force.
Each element is associated with a particular bodily system as well as an internal organ. Each organ is either yin or yang. The organs and elements generate each other in a particular pattern.
| wood | feeds | fire |
| fire | creates | earth |
| earth | bears | metal |
| metal | collects | water |
| water | nourishes | wood |
Elements also govern or destroy each other. These degenerative actions are often called overcoming interactions, as they involve one element being overcome or changed by another.
| wood | parts | earth |
| earth | takes in | water |
| water | quenches | fire |
| fire | melts | metal |
| metal | chops | wood |
Understanding this cycle is the key to creating balance within the system. A practitioner diagnoses which elements might need to be generated or decreased and whether the balance of yin and yang is disrupted, and then figures treatment accordingly.
See chapter 14 on the power of qigong and tai chi, most versions of which incorporate the ideas behind the five-phase theory, and chapter 19 on the five-phase theory and food.
THE THREE TREASURES
The Three Treasures, sometimes called the Three Jewels, are keystones in traditional Chinese medicine. From the Taoist perspective, these Three Treasures are like three faces of the same essential substance, the force of life. The Three Treasures are:
Jing, the basic or nutritive physical essence as represented in sperm, among other substances
Chi, the life force connected with air, vapor, breath, and spirit Shen, the spiritual essence linked with the soul and supernaturalism
Most often, jing is related to body energy, chi to mind energy, and shen to spiritual energy, or the type of mental energy affecting soul issues. These three energies cycle: jing serves as the foundation for life and procreation; chi animates the body’s performance; and shen mirrors the state of the soul. One of the many ways that Taoists propose to blend these essential energies is to use physical chi to nourish our jing, or sexual or inherited energy. We then employ jing to enhance our chi, raising it to a higher or more refined level. At this point, we use this refined or more mental chi to build up our shen, our spiritual self. We now reunite our shen with the Tao or the All.
Several techniques in this book, including the exercise in this chapter, “Acupressure to Create Calm: A Shen Pericardium Point,” involve working with shen. Chi is addressed in several exercises, and both chi and shen are addressed in other sections, including “Food and Emotions in Traditional Chinese Medicine: The Five-Phase Approach to Soothing Heart and Mind” in chapter 19. When doing healing work, I often link the presenting problem or issue with one of the Three Treasures, then adapt my work to the appropriate depth. Here’s my own cheat sheet to issues matching each of these energies.
Jing issues. Family patterns, inherited and genetic issues, raw sexual problems, growth, development, fertility issues. This is the densest of the three energies. Examine causal issues related to heritage; past-life reasons one might exhibit an inborn characteristic; and DNA-related concerns. For healing, also support the natural aging and maturation processes, as well as lifestyle habits, such as proper diet and sleep.
Chi issues. The focus if we are affected by issues related to movement and activity, our ability to truly “live life.” Every phenomenon in the universe is a manifestation of chi, so look to tracking the path of the chi if energy is blocked, stagnant, or stuck. Will need to follow the flow of energy in the body to search for blocks, find pathological factors entering or leaving the body, evaluate the production and transformation of bodily fluids, and evaluate your ability to retain nutrients and warmth, whether from physical substances or even emotional sources.
Shen issues. These are by far the subtlest Treasure-related issues and beg us to examine our assumptive beliefs about our relationship with self and Spirit. Shen issues often manifest as anxiety, depression, or restlessness. Shen can be strengthened by examining psychological problems, by meditation, and by spiritual forms of exercise, such as qigong.
THE SEVEN EMOTIONS AND THE ORGANS
Traditional Chinese medicine practitioners understand that emotions affect physiology. Therefore, they typically assess and treat the emotions, especially in relation to the meridians that they impact. In Chinese medicine, strong emotions are considered the major internal cause of disease. While emotions are normal responses to our external environment, when they are uncontrolled or repressed, they damage our organs and organ systems and open the door to disease by causing yin-yang imbalances, disturbing the flow of the blood and chi, and blocking the meridians, especially those related to a specific type of emotion. In the West, we separate thought from feeling, but in the East, the two are not divided. Emotions are actually thoughts combined with feelings. The thoughts steer our feelings, and the feelings themselves create the chemical, attitudinal, and even electrical environment that impacts specific organs and meridians.
Excessive joy consumes Heart meridian energy, leading to deficient Heart energy. It also relaxes the heart, so the heart cannot function effectively. The result can be feelings of agitation, insomnia, palpitations, overexcitement, and mania.
Excessive anger consumes Liver meridian energy, leading to deficient Liver energy. It also rises to the head, creating headaches, high blood pressure, and potentially strokes. It also results in feelings of rage, resentment, and frustration.
Excessive grief and sorrow (sadness) burn up Lung meridian energy, leading to deficient Lung energy, and also cause abdominal pain and swelling. Common symptoms include crying, tightness in the chest, and lung problems.
Excessive thought or worry, also called pensiveness, consumes Spleen meridian energy, leading to deficient Spleen energy, and causes congestion in the spleen. Resulting symptoms include excessive mental stimulation, to the point of fatigue and lethargy.
Fright scatters the chi and disturbs the energy of the Gallbladder meridian. Fright, rather than fear, is caused by things that are startling in present time. It causes indecisiveness, confusion, and lack of courage, and can eventually cause damage to Kidney meridian energy if the frightening situation becomes chronic, such as in the case of long-term abuse.
Long-term fear consumes Kidney meridian energy, leading to deficient Kidney energy. Fear also forces Kidney energy downward, causing lower-body problems and kidney conditions. Shock creates chaos in the kidneys, impairing their efficiency. You might be aware that you are living in fear, and that awareness can eventually create depression or restlessness.
Note: In most Traditional Chinese medicine systems, grief and sorrow are considered separate emotions, both affecting the lungs. When added to the feelings of joy, fright, anger, thought or worry, and fear, the result is seven emotions. In other systems, worry and thought (pensiveness) are considered separate emotions.
Refer to chapter 17, “Healing with the Ancients,” for a meditative exercise to heal the emotions and organs. The following is a process that can be used to resume balance on all levels when you’ve pinpointed a strong emotional response.
Step 1: Label the overwhelming emotion. Refer to the list of meridian-based emotions. Which of the basic emotions seems to be consuming you? If you’re confused, breathe into the part of your body experiencing the greatest tension. Under this tension lies the overpowering emotion.
Step 2: Track this emotion to a meridian. Look up the functions of this meridian to see how the emotional disturbance is affecting you physically, mentally, emotionally, and even spiritually.
Step 3: Identify the lie creating this tension. What are you subconsciously telling yourself that is creating an emotional disturbance? Close your eyes and ask to perceive or see an image that explains an event in the past that might still be affecting you. Based on this experience, what belief do you hold as true? How does this belief seem to protect you from further trauma? Can you find the lie or untruth in this belief?
Step 4. Substitute a truth for the lie. You have been stuck in a reactive mode, which has led to emotional imbalance. What belief would restore balance to your life? Can you frame a higher truth by creating a positive affirmation? Form this affirmation by starting the sentence with an “I” and selecting an active verb, such as, “I am now acknowledging that I am loved” or “I am decisive in selecting people who are kind to me.”
THE BODY CLOCK AND CHI CYCLES
In traditional Chinese medicine, the body clock provides important feedback for diagnosing and treating chi imbalances. And if you know when a particular organ is at its most or least active state, you can support it through a myriad of techniques, including traditional treatments, proper foods, exercises, breathing, emotional focus, and practices such as qigong, which features organ-specific movements.
Chi moves through each meridian for two hours during a twenty-four-hour day, so for two hours of the day, each meridian achieves its optimum performance.
Each meridian is also considered either yin or yang. Yin meridians move the chi up the body, and yang meridians, down the body. The yin meridians are inhibitory, static, and calming, while the yang meridians are excitatory, dynamic, and activating. When combined, these energies create a unified energy, the one that originated in the universe and continues to flow through it—and us, through our meridians.
The meridians partner as yin/yang pairs in two different ways. In both cases, the complementary meridians are often both treated as they support each other synergistically. The first treatment approach is through organ relationships. For instance, the lung (yin) and large intestines (yang) are paired meridians, as are the stomach (yang) and spleen (yin). You will notice that these meridians are right next to each other on the body clock (shown below) and share an element in common. Symptoms appear during peak, or active hours, if a meridian is processing excessive energy. Symptoms of deficient energy are obvious during the outgoing or sedate wave of chi. Practitioners strengthen the chi of a meridian just after it peaks and reduce an overabundance of chi right before the peak period. The peak, most active times for the meridians are outlined on the list below. Their sedate times are exactly twelve hours later.
For example, the Spleen meridian, which is yin, is at its most active between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m.; the Triple Warmer, which is yang, is at its most active between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. Thus, the body clock is broken into two-hour cycles:
| Lungs | 3 a.m. to 5 a.m. | Yin | Metal |
| Large Intestine | 5 a.m. to 7 a.m. | Yang | Metal |
| Stomach | 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. | Yang | Earth |
| Spleen | 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. | Yin | Earth |
| Heart | 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. | Yin | Fire |
| Small Intestine | 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. | Yang | Fire |
| Bladder | 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. | Yang | Water |
| Kidney | 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. | Yin | Water |
| Pericardium | 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. | Yin | Fire |
| Triple Warmer (Burner) | 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. | Yang | Fire |
| Gallbladder | 11 p.m. to 1 a.m. | Yang | Wood |
| Liver | 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. | Yin | Wood |
Yet another way to make use of the body clock is to work with the polar opposites, the second main approach to yin/yang partnering. While one meridian is at its peak for two hours, the one opposite it by 12 hours is at its lowest ebb. These paired meridians link with different elements as well as the opposite yin/yang differentiation. In general, if a meridian is “off,” its polar opposite will also require assistance. Typically one will be over-energized and the other will be under-energized.
There are several ways to make use of the body clock. The first is to live in alignment with the flow of our chi. For instance, the Kidney meridian, a source of life energy, is active between 5 and 7 p.m., making this an ideal time to exercise and take advantage of the available energy. We might want to eat breakfast between 7 and 9 a.m., when our Stomach meridian is able to promote digestion. However, it might serve you to arise between 5 and 7 a.m., when the Large Intestine is most powerful; at that time of day, we can release the toxins from yesterday through an early morning bowel movement and be cleansed for a new day. Why not get ready for bed when the Pericardium is going to help us unwind, between 7 and 9 p.m.?
It’s also helpful to use the body clock to track symptoms, especially chronic problems, to the originating meridian and to treat that meridian, as well as its polar opposite. Do you wake up every night at 3 a.m.? Your Lung meridian might be triggering unresolved issues of grief, which would be beneficial to address in the daytime hours. Since the lungs are responsive to deep breathing, you can also assist yourself with mindful meditation at this wee hour of the morning. Another common awakening time is between 1 and 3 a.m. Many insomniacs lie sleepless during these hours, which is governed by the Liver meridian. We can assist ourselves by focusing on our frustrations and anger, but also taking herbs and eating foods that bolster our Liver meridian’s health.
I recommend that you continually refer to the body clock, no matter which exercises you are performing in the practice manual, to get a better idea of which meridians might be most effective to work with.
