Lessons from Lockdown – A Chinese medicine perspective
I began planning this blog when Covid-19 was on the other side of the world and many of us thought it was only another kind of seasonal flu. Now, we are coping with a new reality and a new vocabulary of pandemic; social distance; self-isolation and lockdown. Many of us are working from home and we are limiting ourselves to leaving our homes once a day. I have closed my shiatsu practice for now and I am only seeing counselling clients online, but I am pleased to say that my Brighton Qigong class at About Balance continues via Zoom and you can book for the class here.
We are faced with a dilemma where our natural energy is at odds with the requirements of the time: As we move from winter to spring and our energy shifts up a gear, we are obliged to stay indoors and keep away from others. In this blog, I reflect on this phenomenon from the perspective of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) which sees the body as a microcosm of our environment.
In TCM, the world is composed of natural phenomena referred to as the Five Elements: Water, Fire, Wood, Metal and Earth. This is similar to the four elements of Ancient Greek philosophy which Aristotle identified as the primary forms of Earth, Air, Fire and Water. The theory of the Five Elements constitute the one of the foundations of Traditional Chinese medicine.
The theory of the Five Elements involves the study of each element in nature and translating how these phenomena are expressed in the body. In addition to its essential quality, each element has a range of correspondences including organs in the body (each element governs two organs, one yin and one yang); emotions; psychological patterns; colours; seasons of the year; directions of movement and bodily functions. As I write, it is the first day of April and we are moving from Winter to Spring. How do we interpret this time of year from the perspective of the Five Elements?
Two seasons in one body
Winter is the season of the Water element and is associated with the organs of Kidney and Bladder and their respective Qi channels. The movement of Water is to flow downwards, like streams flowing from mountains, down to rivers and into the sea. This is reflected in the functions of the Kidney and Bladder which filter impurities and store them for convenient elimination downwards out of the body. The Qi channels of Bladder and Kidney are located on the back and the backs of the legs and any restriction or blockage in these channels can cause back pain or knee problems.
The Spring is the season associated with the Wood element which governs the Liver and Gall Bladder. The purpose of the Liver is to store blood, ensure the smooth flow of Qi through the body and house the Ethereal Soul (Hun). The Hun provides the mind with inspiration, creativity and a sense of purpose in life. The Liver also helps our capacity to recover energy and fortify the body’s resistance to exterior pathogenic factors. So, we need to look after our Liver Qi during the winter as it combats the effects of cold, damp and wind.
The Gall Bladder stores bile to assist the Stomach and Spleen in digesting and transforming our food. Food is one of our primary sources of Qi, or life energy. This process also functions at a psychological level: if we cannot ‘digest’ information, we cannot plan and make decisions. This is why Traditional Chinese medicine believes that the quality of our Gall Bladder Qi governs our ability to make decisions and Liver Qi enables us to plan our lives.
The movement of Wood is to expand outwards in all directions: It is a powerful, creative force that can drive a shoot up through tarmac. If our Wood energy is blocked, we feel frustrated and angry, the emotion associated with Wood. We can often see this in that sense of awakening we experience with the arrival of Spring. during Winter, we conserve our energy to combat the wet and the cold. In Spring, we feel our senses expand, our energy renewed. Our Wood Qi might manifest in an urge to spring clean the house and make new plans for the year ahead.
It is something to consider this year that, just as Spring arrives and our Wood energy begins to move, we are obliged to remain at home practising ‘social distance’. I feel frustrated that my plans for this year (including a meditation retreat in Wales and a Shin Tai course in Nottingham) have been put on hold for now. How do we reconcile our instinct to get out into the world and make the most of our time with the restrictions that we are obliged to impose on ourselves?
I think the answer may be to adapt our creative energies to the quality of the time; to make the most of this internal exile and reflect on what really feeds and inspires us. Sir Isaac Newton, when forced to self-isolate during an outbreak of plague in Cambridge, retired to his family home and, in one year, developed the theory of gravity; invented Calculus and discovered the components of white light (incidentally giving Pink Floyd one of their best album covers). Sometimes the greatest limitation provides the greatest inspiration.
References:
1. The Foundations of Chinese Medicine; Maciocia, G.; Churchil Livingston, 2005
2. The Web that has no Weaver; Kaptchuk, E.J.; Congton and Weed, 1983