Focus on the heart!

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has a more nuanced view of the function of the heart than biomedicine, but they both agree that the heart propels the blood through the vessels.  In biomedicine, the heart is little more than a pump.  

In Chinese medicine, however, the Heart is the ruler, the emperor, the sovereign of all organs and represents the consciousness of one’s being. This perspective of the Heart is just so big and beautiful! And honestly, so much more accurate. (It’s also why I make it a proper noun.)

❥The Heart is the root of life and it is responsible for intelligence, wisdom and spiritual transformation through its capacity to house the Shen.

❥The word Shen is translated to mean spirit.  If the Heart is diseased, the Heart-spirit may be disquieted creating anxiety, susceptibility to fear-based thinking, palpitations, and insomnia.

💡This is a really important concept to consider in a time when generalized anxiety is rampant.  Anxiety is one of the most common conditions I treat with acupuncture. 

Anxiety is not necessarily a problem manifesting from the brain, as conventional medicine would have us believe. 

👉🏽Consider how anxiety could in fact be the manifestation of a Heart imbalance. 

This way of thinking does NOT stand in opposition of what we know to be biochemically true; in a state of generalized or acute anxiety, there is a dysfunction of the neurotransmitters of the brain, and activation of the amygdala in a fear-state triggers a cascade of biochemical events.  Symptoms of which can include, accelerated heart rate, changes in perception, vexation, muscle tension, and changes in perspiration. (As a side note, perspiration is a fluid of the Heart in TCM, so we see another sign pointing to Heart dysfunction.) 

What all of this suggests to me, is that those symptoms manifest because the source of the problem is a damaged Heart.

If our Hearts are strong, perhaps our minds would be too. If the Heart fulfills its functions normally, and blood and qi are abundant, the spirit-mind is lucid, making an individual alert and responsive to the environment.  If the Heart is damaged, the spirit is disturbed, thus creating panic response. 

Shen/Spirit is the clarity of the consciousness and strength of mental faculties.  The Shen allows the individual to be conscious of his or her self and allows for the cohesion of various parts of our psyche and emotions. It is because of Shen that we can feel and assess the emotions; Shen is responsible for our perceptions and senses (taste, touch, sight, smell, hearing).

It is responsible for thinking, memory, intelligence, wisdom, ideas, and cognition; it also allows us insight and intuition. 

Shen provides the capacity to relate to others and the potential to form relationships. Shen allows for initiative, creativity, meaning, purpose, art and values…though it is not necessarily the outcomes of these things.

Given the enormity of all the functions that Spirit/Shen is responsible for, it’s incredibly important we protect our Hearts.

It’s important we nurture ourselves, find joy and connection in our lives, temper the types of information and interactions that disturb our Hearts and psyche.

We must be the guardians and protectors of our own mind if we want our spirits, and by extension our lives, to flourish. This month, pay close attention to your Heart and mind and find ways to settle into your being. 

🔥Fire is the element associated with the Heart. Use fire to connect your Heart, mind and spirit in a focused way: light a candle and say a prayer. Use it as a way to focus your attention with meditation.

Other ways to support the Heart is through mantra, chanting, breath work or acupuncture.

Find ways to creatively express what weighs heavy on your Heart, in order to let it go. Use whatever you have access to, be it art, music, dance, journaling…...etc.

Most importantly, use your intuition to guide you on your journey to creating balance in your Heart and mind.