Transcend The Chronic Pain And Anxiety Associated With Autoimmune Conditions With This Powerful Practice.
The Meridian Flow combines a powerful combination of yoga and medical qigong, which is part of Chinese medicine's 5 elemental paradigm. According to traditional Chinese medicine, each season’s energy (or chi) feeds the next season. Now we are transitioning from autumn into winter. The element of autumn is metal, and it feeds the element of winter, which is water.
The metal element of autumn, representing the minerals in the earth, corresponds to the energy of the lungs and large intestine. The water element in winter corresponds to the energy of the kidneys and bladder.
The meridians are energy pathways that feed the organs and have a direct effect on their function. Strengthening the muscles around the meridians creates blood and chi flow, which promotes strong, healthy organ function.
Our chi is linked to our emotions, as emotions are energy. Each organ's energy has a frequency that pertains to an emotion.
When the energy of the organs is maladapted, we suffer emotionally.
This is important to understand because when the lungs are energetically depleted, we suffer from excess grief and sadness. When the heart chi is depleted, we suffer from anxiety and loneliness. But when they’re efficient, the lungs produce strong discipline and emotional endurance. When the heart's energy is running efficiently, it creates a very peaceful, joyful, inner atmosphere. When we strengthen the arms, we’re creating ample chi flow in the lungs and heart meridians.
Consider downward dog, this pose primarily strengthens the arms, which the lung meridians flow through. It also opens up the backs of the legs, where the bladder meridians run. Downward dog is one of the best poses to activate the lung and kidney meridians that are running the strongest in autumn and winter. As we strengthen and stretch the arms that the lung and large intestine meridians run through, we’re creating a dynamic blood and chi flow that feed the water element of the kidneys and bladder.
Focussing the mind on guiding chi through the meridian flow is an ancient qigong technique known as Yi Qi Li. Guiding energy with our consciousness profoundly affects our energy flow to the organs. This also soothes and centers the mind which is a relief from chronic anxiety.
Now that winter is nearly here, we need to tend to our kidney energy reserves and fill them like energy tanks. The lungs receive the energy or chi, and the kidneys store it. I think of the kidneys as the root cellar that store the reserves for the winter.
When our kidney chi is efficiently running and full, we have willpower and strong endurance. This helps us make it through the long, dark, cold winters. When our kidney energy is depleted, we can feel fearful and insecure and have poor memory, hair loss, depression, and anxiety. We start to age faster.
To heal these ailments, we work with the energy of the lungs to fill the kidneys. We do this in our meditations, breath work, and physical practices. Our breath work, known as pranayama, creates the fuel, so the kidneys can maintain a strong energy flow that will not only allow us to endure the winter but enjoy it.
When our energy is running efficiently and smoothly we feel a calm yet energized disposition, we’re not easily upset. We can go with the flow of life‘s ups and downs and keep moving forward with an inspired bright mind, and an agile, strong body, regardless of age. But as we age, our kidney chi declines, and we need to maintain practices that keep it full and vibrant.
Working the legs is important in the winter, as the kidney meridian runs up the inner leg, and the bladder meridian runs down the back of the leg, so we work to strengthen and stretch them.
The Five Elements
The water element corresponds to the kidney chi, which is related to our bone marrow, ears, brain, and endocrine system. These are all connected to kidney Chi. When the kidney Chi is strong and efficient, our brain is sharper, and the bones are not so brittle. According to medical qigong, our weight-bearing poses to strengthen the bones, which prevents osteoporosis.
Water element:
~Inhale up the kidney meridian
~Exhale down the bladder meridian
In the spring, the wood element corresponds to the energy of the liver and gallbladder. When the energy of the liver is stagnant or maladapted we suffer from anger and frustration. When there’s an even balanced flow we are inspired, motivated, and maintain a calm and generous inner disposition. Our poses and sequences focus on stimulating the connective tissue that the liver/gallbladder meridians travel through. This is a form of acupressure that has a direct effect on the function of the organs.
Wood element:
~Inhale up the liver meridian
~Exhale down the gallbladder meridian
In the early summer, the fire element relates to the heart, and the small intestine’s energy is front and center. These meridians run through the arms, so we strengthen and stretch them to stimulate the chi flow. When the heart’s chi is stagnant (think of weak arms sitting at the computer for hours) this results in anxiety and feeling lonely, which often leads to depression. When the heart chi is balanced with strong and flexible arms this cultivates a peaceful inner atmosphere. Smooth heart chi allows us to feel joy. Manifesting inspiration from the spring is the ultimate expression of the fire element.
Fire element:
In the late summer, the earth element season, the energy of the stomach and spleen are the focus. The spleen's energy corresponds to feeling grounded and strong, like a generous earth mama with a sharp intellect. But when the chi is slow, stuck, or maladapted we suffer from excessive worry, doubt, and overthinking. The spleen meridian travels up the inner legs to the armpits. The stomach meridian runs down the front body and the front of the legs. Holding standing poses a bit longer in the earth season is how we strengthen the spleen and stomach chi which provides that grounded, strong, balanced energy that can laugh easily and go with the flow.
Earth element:
~Inhale up the spleen meridian
~Exhale down the stomach meridian
As each season's energy feeds the next season, powerful earth energy will create strong metal energy. Ample earth chi will provide us with a centered, grounded, calm disposition. When autumn energy is letting go, like leaves falling to the earth, rather than being taken over by sadness and grief, we will have the support of the earth to let go and clear out the turbid energy through our breathwork. The lungs receive the chi and feed it to the kidneys to store it. This has an amazing effect on how we relate to the darker colder seasons, so we’re not just enduring the winter, but actually enjoying it and thriving!
The Metal Element from the earth creates strong integrity and emotional endurance. When we feed metal into water, in the video below, we breathe the metal and water meridians to tonify the kidney chi, which will provide us with endurance, will power, and wisdom.
As we’re heading towards winter we are offering a very special deal that we only offer once a year:
~Save $500 on our 3 levels of the Meridian flow training~
~ The Meridian Flow program is for those who may be newer to yoga and suffer from chronic pain, chronic anxiety, and autoimmune issues. This type of program has been recommended by rheumatologists for their patients who want a natural approach to healing their issues. We are ultimately responsible for our own healing, and this program puts you in the driver's seat to take control, so you’re no longer a victim but an example of how to heal yourself. You’ll be practicing with others in similar situations that want to take an empowered approach to relieve chronic ailments and feel free in your body and mind. Book a call with Maggie here to see if this program is right for you.
~ The Master's Path program is for seasoned yogis and yoga teachers who want to uplevel their practice and offerings. Learning this seasonal practice of the Meridian Flow, seasonal qigong sets, and Kundalini kriyas is the best way to keep our own practice and teachings fresh and seasonally appropriate. You’ll continue your learning with a support group of other yogis who meet seasonally and inspire each other. Learning new things is one of the best ways to keep the mind bright and youthful.
*save $500 until 12/16, use promo code 500off
~ The 300-hour teacher training is the same program as the Master's Path but added teaching support with our Teachers Inner Circle to learn how to deliver this practice with grace and confidence and fulfill the requirements from the Yoga Alliance to obtain the 500-hour certification.
*save $500 until 12/16, use promo code 500off
Namaste,
Maggie