Holistic wellness
by Eloise Lonobile

PROFESSIONAL MASSAGES in PISA
& COMPLEMENTARY TECHNIQUES IN TCM

it

Fear is our strength:
the Kidney Meridian and Awareness

Fear is our strength: the Kidney Meridian and Awareness

Considerate la vostra semenza:
fatti non foste a viver come bruti,
ma per seguir virtute e conoscenza
- Dante, Inferno, canto XXVI, vv.118-120

In order to talk about our fears, the first important thing is to be able to take a step back in our life and try to understand if we have fears, what they are and, if there are, identify where they are. In fact, we often don't even realize we have them. We continually implement strategies to avoid seeing them, because life has taught us to use defenses for survival. Each of our emotions, such as anger, uncontrolled euphoria, anxiety, brooding, sadness, actually derives from our internal blocks, the ones from which we must somehow defend ourselves. These are where our deepest fears are found, those linked to the subconscious.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine the concept of the subconscious is related to a very important organ, the Kidney. The Kidney Meridian takes us back to our most ancient past. It is the seat of the Previous Sky (the genome that is transmitted to us at the moment of birth, our genetic heritage), the bearer of what in TCM is considered our primordial energy, the Yuang Qi: an energy that is given to us as baggage at birth and which cannot be recharged in any way, but only preserved as best as possible with the help of the other energies at our disposal - the defensive one (Wei Qi), the mental one (Shen Qi), the nutritional one (Ying Qi) - and that when it runs out it leads to the exhaustion of our own life. This is why healthy lifestyle habits are fundamental and must be based on three foundations: good physical health, nutrition and mental serenity.

Together with that of the Urinary Bladder, the Kidney Meridian manages the flow of water in our body and the elimination of toxins through urine. The Kidney takes care of the good health of the Bones and produces the Marrow, which runs along the entire spinal column until it reaches the head and is therefore connected to all the other organs. This is why, according to the Taoists, every disease actually derives from an original problem in the Kidney and strengthening the Kidney means strengthening the whole body.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, Water is therefore the element linked to the subconscious. It is no coincidence that the color of this element is the very dark blue, almost black, of the deep waters of the sea. There is a depth to the Kidney water that is not easy to fathom.

But if we think about it, water is also the main element of which our body is made, and with it the blood, the marrow, the lymph. This is why we cannot separate the subconscious and our deepest emotions from the physical manifestations of our body. In fact, our body is connected to our psyche much more deeply than we can rationally think. The body has no verbal language to express itself, but it continually sends us signals and continually, in its own way, "speaks" to us. Learning to listen to it and accept its signals is the first step towards awareness. Physical blocks, muscular blocks, fluid stasis, illnesses are all signs that we have not listened to him enough or with sufficient awareness.

For instance:

• Muscle blocks such as temporary paralysis;
• Fibromyalgia-type muscle hypersensitivity;
• Insomnia;
• Eating or digestive disorders;
• Tumors.

Awareness is therefore the key word.
What does awareness mean? It means knowing who we are. There are many techniques today that help us understand who we are and, consequently, where our blocks are. Everyone must follow their own path, it is different for everyone. What is important is to choose a path, and focus on it, based on what resonates most with us. Only afterwards do the strategies for learning to overcome the blocks arrive. Because our biggest blocks are actually our greatest strength.

In this journey through our awareness, the Kidney Meridian is our best ally, the one that when well makes us courageous and gives us the will to pursue our path. On the contrary, fears, phobias, scares, more or less conscious, are the things that cause damage to this channel and therefore to our vital energy. When our Kidney is weak, we are assailed by fears.

The Kidney Meridian is also intimately linked to the Heart Meridian. One deals with water, the other with Fire and therefore they balance each other. A healthy Kidney in harmony with a healthy Heart ensures a serene and open, stable and peaceful spirit.

The person typically linked to the Kidney Meridian is a person who has a deep connection with the Water Element (the so-called "Water Constitution" ). In the trigram that represents it, Water is made up of two horizontal broken lines that contain a continuous horizontal line:

___    ___
________
___    ___

This trigram shows great external flexibility, but at the same time great internal strength, exactly like Water which molds itself to the shape of the environment depending on where it is found, but contains within itself a very powerful primordial force. The person with a Water Constitution can work hard for a very long time. He is a kind, rational person, with great sensitivity and a bright vision of the world. But he needs to learn to listen to himself, not to forget what his priorities are, not to forget himself in order to mold himself to the needs of others.

To help the Kidney, it is useful:

• keep your back agile and flexible;
• keep the lower back warm;
• drink enough warm water during the day;
• often massage the entire back, the kidney area and the entire meridian channel.

In terms of finger pressure, which should also be done on a daily basis, the following points are particularly important:

• KI-1 (“gushing fountain”), at the base of the foot, where we lean: it anchors us to the Earth and helps absorb its yin energy; calms the mind;
• KI-2, on the medial edge of the foot: helps eliminate the feeling of constant alarm that we sometimes feel in fearful situations;
• KI-3/6, around the medial malleolus: in addition to providing support to the lumbar area, they act on the stabilization of emotions and fear;
• KI-11/16, half a cent away from the medial line of the abdomen, from the pelvic area up to the height of the navel: points profoundly linked to our Front Sky and our most ancestral fears, linked to the subconscious, to our psychic blocks.
• EX-HN3, between the eyebrows: calms the Mind;
• HT7, on the internal medial crease of the wrists: calms the Heart and Mind.

Fonte immagine: https://lieske.com/channels/5e-kidney.htm