Monday, March 21, 2011

Triple Warmer vs Spleen

These are hairy times. As we get more connected to each other through the internet and social media we feel the stresses of our friends experiencing upheavals in other countries. These get added to all the other stresses you are juggling and you may feel it as a constant disturbance in the Force. We feel this as an autonomic nervous system imbalance. If chronic, that is the source of many of our health issues.

We can also look at it as a disruption in the relationship of the Spleen and Triple Warmer functions. Here is a simplified version:

Spleen meridian governs spleen and pancreas. Oversees blood supply, metabolism, and homeostasis. Not just at physical level, but also how we "metabolize" life experience, where we set our homeostasis in times of stress. Spleen is t'ai chi-like in that it maintains effective defense of the organism by fostering good health and promoting balance.

Triple warmer takes over when danger is perceived (immune response) and is like martial law. It conscripts energy from the other meridians (except heart), starting with the spleen. This immediately weakens the body, pulling energy from metabolism, homeostasis, nourishment, and blood supply. Continued stress sets up a dysfunctional pattern which further adds stress to the system.

Calming the TW and tonifying the SP help to restore proper functioning.

Most humans alive in the 21st century have a messed up TW/SP relationship, even if it doesn't appear as obvious illness. The homeostasis is usually set at an unhealthy level and that affects every system in the body. It may manifest as poor digestion, trouble sleeping, irritability, trouble letting go of emotional upsets or other shocks to the system, obesity, etc. Suppressed spleen function may not be seen in the organ itself.

So, in addition to whatever else you are doing you want to calm the TW and tonify the SP.

Here's an exercise to sedate the TW. Very powerful. I learned it from Donna Eden, author of Energy Medicine.. (I'll write about tonifying spleen in another post.)

1. Begin with your fingertips pressing into the center of your forehead. Inhale through the nose. As you exhale through the mouth, drag your fingertips across your forehead to your temples.
2. Inhale through the nose and press into the temples. Exhale through the mouth and drag your fingers around the ears, down the neck to the shoulders.
3. Inhale and press into the shoulders. Exhale and drag fingertips down the chest to the heart.
4. Inhale with hands over the heart. Exhale.
5. Repeat.

Here's another helpful one. In this video Donna Eden demonstrates holding neurovascualar points to increase blood flow to the forebrain as a way to handle stress:

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