Body Mind Intelligence
Touch and the Intelligence of the Heart
Everybody loves to get touched, but it’s more than a luxury. Touching is a basic need for survival and health, so to get touched is healing in itself. We need to be aware in each touch that something very basic is happening just through the gesture – something very subtle, something we often don’t recognize, but something that is of immense importance.
We can touch people in a very “knowledgeable” way, but what is needed is depth. As Osho Rajneesh says: “Understanding is intelligence moving in depth... Knowledge is intelligence moving wider, it is quantitative.” ∗ We can measure knowledge, but we can’t measure understanding, or the depth of touch, because it’s a quality. Knowledge comes from the mind, knowing comes from the heart. And yet this knowing is often a space of absolute not knowing, of being present and being able to stay with it.
∗Osho, Tao: The Three Treasures, Rajneesh Foundation, Poona, 411001, India, 1975, Page 126
This reminds me of two personal experiences. The first was a Acupressure session in which I suddenly got an incredible pain on the left side. I had been getting a strong headache three to four times a year, but until now I had no experience like this. It was becoming unbearable. It felt like my head was exploding. Neither the therapist or I knew what to do and how to deal with it, but we both stayed with the experience. I was just screaming something like, “what is it? what is it?” and then I felt what I had never felt before – the fear of death – and I remembered the car accident I had when I was ten years old. I had been unconscious and for two weeks in the hospital. As I remembered this experience, my body was trembling and I was soaking wet. I passed through the fear, and the pain eased suddenly. I have not had these headaches since.
The second experience was very beautiful and innocent, it came out of the same space of deep, refreshing relaxation. Right after the relaxation, I was supposed to write down whatever came. Though hesitating, I took the pen in the right hand. Then I had to change it from the right to the left and I started to write: “Giving birth and receiving... from the other side. Easiness...no effort... Giving back my left hand... it's so easy." Then the following poem came, as a witness of my own amazement and amusement.
"What a mystery,
It goes and if flows.
No way to stop.
I go to the shop,
I buy myself toys and I play with the other boys.”
Too often in our rational scientific society these child-like, yin, feminine qualities of the heart were rejected, judged, neglected or simply laughed at.
“The ego becomes decorative with the great knowledge, scriptures, systems of thought, but they don’t make you innocent, they don’t bring you the child like quality of openness of trust, of love, of playfulness”...,“ We are being taught to become knowledgeable. We are not taught to be innocent, we are not taught how to feel the wonder of existence. We are told the names of the flowers, but we are not taught how to dance around the flowers... We are not taught how to commune with the trees, how to be in tune with existence.”
Osho, The Book of the Books, Rajneesh Foundation, Poona, 411001, India, 1975 Page pages 273-274
Buddha said the ultimate law of life is that the moment you disappear you will find yourself. This means connecting with the intelligence of the heart and not with our egos and minds. The more we nourish our egos and our minds with desires and ambition, the bigger they become. Becoming aware of this process can bring us back to being natural, to being part of nature. Some people say we are just in the birth channel to human consciousness and there is still a long way to go until we recognize that we are not singing our song separately, but are being in harmony with this planet, with existence.
When we touch another person in a way that reaches them, it means we are open with the accepting presence of our hearts. Our presence helps the other to be more present and to look through or even let go of the walls of mistrust and fear. Even while Acupressure works with the inner energetic circuits of a person, on another level, it is the presence of the practitioner or therapist, and how s/he is in touch with his/her self which stimulates the self-healing powers of the other. At the same time, if you feel the inner spaciousness of the other person, it helps you to connect or reconnect with this space inside yourself, this space of Shen, the inner spirit. “Shen is the ruler of the psychic domain and it is characterized by the passion for life.” ∗
∗The Joy of Feeling: Bodymind Acupressure, by Iona Marsaa Teeguarden, Japan Publications, Inc., Tokyo and New York, page 64.
Losing touch with Shen can lead to over-excitation, most often accompanied by an excess energy in the heart. In this state, people search for strong sensations and look for excitement in order to fill up the inner emptiness. In acupressure theory, this is seen as a hyperactivity of Fire. If we constantly look for exterior things to feel happy or accomplished, we can deplete ourselves and eventually suffer from burn-out and depression. Fire then becomes hypoactive, and there is a lack of physical or psychological warmth. In this case, to balance the bodymind, we pay particular attention to the Fire meridians – the Heart, Pericardium, Triple Warmer and Small Intestine.∗ [See accompanying release example for over-excitation p.14]
∗ However a general assessment is necessary, with special attention on the Kidneys, since Water is the controlling element of Fire; the Liver and Gall Bladder, since Wood is the generating force; and the Spleen, since Earth is the element which is nourished by the Fire.
The warmth of intimate relationships is influenced by the Fire meridians – the Heart and Pericardium. It is part of our human nature to be warm and to have the capacity to give warmth to others. When the ‘ fire as gone out’, then we often experience sexual coldness and feel physically cold, particularly in our extremities. When we choose openness and warmth and can let go of the cultural conditionings we have about sexuality, then man and woman can meet and play.∗
∗Compare: Dianne M. Connelley, Ph.D., Traditional Acupunture: The Law of the Five Elements, 1979, Center for Traditional Acupuncture Inc, Columbia, Maryland, 21044, page 35.
The release of the fire meridians brings us back to our true intelligence and to the feelings of aliveness, joy and innocence.
Growth comes from feeling and trusting our inner self, or Shen – the ruler of the psychic domain. Since Shen resides in the Heart, working with the Heart and the other Fire meridians helps bring back into spiritual, mental, emotional and physical alignment. Working with the Pericardium and Triple Warmer Meridians is particularly important in this regard, because the Pericardium guards the Heart and its partner, the Triple Warmer, guards the other nine meridians.
Shoulders – and our ability to respond to life
Though several meridians travel through the shoulder segment, I think the Gall Bladder Meridian is of particular importance to the excessive responsibility we often take upon the shoulders. The Gall Bladder Meridian is part of the Wood element (the psychic domain of Hun). It has to do with our capacity to respond appropriately to the events life is bringing to us. "A deficiency of Hun energy can manifest as a feeling of powerlessness; an excess can manifest in aggressive feelings. In either case, there is some difficulty with response-ability." ∗ The balance is self-assertion, which includes taking your space and standing your ground. Shoulder tensions can result from conflicts about self-assertion and self-expression, or from excessive self-control.
∗The Joy of Feeling: Bodymind Acupressure, by Iona Marsaa Teeguarden, Japan Publications, Inc., Tokyo and New York, page 73.
Tension in the shoulder area also arises when we try to stop the movement of life. When we do so, we lose our ability to respond to life's changes. This has much to do with conditionings and patterns of defence we learned in childhood, and with related tensions in the shoulder and neck area along the Large Intestine Meridian. As Wilhelm Reich says, “...inhibited pleasures is transformed to rage and inhibited rage is transformed into muscle spasms.” * The life-force towards pleasure, towards the yes, is disconnected and replaced by the no-no attitude, which is reflected in muscular armoring. Reich says that “the elusive residue of the armor” is "psychic contactlessness.” Wilhelm Reich: Character Analysis, 1945, 1990 The Noonday Press, New York, pages 389, 311.
Different positions of the shoulder show different psychological functions (as described by Dychwald and others). Forward bent shoulders have to do with the fear of being hurt or vulnerable. Raised shoulders show fear, the repression of fear, and the related anger. Round and bowed shoulder show that somebody is overburdened with the demands of life, or taking on more responsibility than s/he can handle. Narrow and underdeveloped shoulders may reflect a dependent personality, or difficulty in handling the pressures and changes of life. Raised and arched shoulders often are also rigid, indicating inability to release fear. Retracted and pulled back shoulders have to do with holding back emotions, and restraining the movement of striking out towards the world, so as not to lose one’s temper.
When a person is angered, s/he experiences a strong wave of energy. The yang emotion of anger is associated with the Liver Meridian, and its ascending energy brings this strong wave of energy up to the shoulders, neck and upper arms, where it concentrates particularly in Gall Bladder points #20, 21 and 22. Part of the anger reaction is a rush of adrenaline, so that the cardiac and respiratory rhythms accelerate and the voluntary muscles receive more energy due to glycogen liberated by the liver. There is also a strong felt need to express the anger by words and action. When anger is repressed, energy will be concentrated and trapped in the upper arms, shoulders and neck.
This reminds me of a woman who felt that “life is a war.” In a JSD session, the moment she started to assert herself, she started to “strike out” against the world with her arms and shoulders. This movement released the blocked anger energy and helped her immensely. She felt more calm and “at peace with the world.” She began to know what it means to take one’s space. Even weeks later, she pointed out how important it was for her to allow the movement, the voice and the emotion to come.
The two other meridians which are very important for the shoulder region are the Small Intestines and Triple Warmer. As previously discussed, their traditional functions are assimilation and transformation of energy. Both have a strong psychological relationship to the outer world. The Triple Warmer has to do with social relations, and the Small Intestine with assimilation of psychological events – that is, the capacity to take things in and experience or digest them, making use of them to learn more about ourselves and our world. Since both these meridans are directly related to Shen, their release in the shoulder-arm area normally brings a deep relaxation for body and mind.
From a more traditional view in Chinese medicine, most shoulder problems belong to the “blockage” group of diseases. When people are tired or exhausted, external evils like wind, cold and dampness can enter easily in the body. When they attack the shoulders, these excesses obstruct the circulation of the Qi and Blood in the channels, disrupting related muscle functions. As we have discussed, blockages of energy also occur from internal sources, such as strong emotion, which can stop the Qi from circulating. The following is one treatment for blockage of Qi resulting in painful shoulders. It is particularly useful for contraction and pain at the anterior part of the shoulder, as well as peri-arthritis of the scapula-humeralis and bursitis.
In Chinese medicine, the word PEI is used to indicate all diseases characterized by pain or – in other words – by energetic obstructions. In Oriental medicine, a blocked shoulder (not regarding the origin, external or internal) is an emptiness of yang and an excess of yin. It is emptiness of yang because perverted energies (external evils like humidity and cold) can only penetrate when yang is deficient. Because yang is too weak to make the yin circulate, the yin gets more and more condensed and immobile, until at the extreme the cold and humidity in the shoulder area finally threatens to completely immobilize the shoulder.
Letting come, letting go
In our lives we physically hold lots of things. A worker in a factory holds certain tools; a gardener holds a hoe; a tennis player holds a tennis racket. That's all okay as long as we don’t strain our muscles and we know when to let go. The Lung and Large Intestine Meridians, which represent the Metal element, have the very basic function of taking in the life giving forces, holding them, and letting go of what is not needed any more.
On some occasions, life asks or demands that we hold on longer than we would like to. But often we hold on out of ambition or pride. We exercise or work longer to have a new car, a better sound system, a faster this, a greater that. The Lung and Large Intestine Meridians (in the psychic land of P’O) have also to do with taking in, and with possessing things. “Unfortunately this natural behaviour is distorted and has expanded the realm of desires beyond our self felt needs.” ∗
∗The Joy of Feeling: Bodymind Acupressure, by Iona Marsaa Teeguarden, Japan Publications, Inc., Tokyo and New York, page 60.
When we neglect the messages of our body, we tend to develop physical problems. For a simple example, our muscles get tight. When we hold on too long, we may start feeling pain in the arms and shoulders, and the muscles may get swollen and hot. In extreme situations, we may get tendintis and bursitis. [See accompanying release example for elbow problems.] Lung and Large Intestine points on the arms may be very painful. Traditional associations of imbalance in these meridians also includes: cold limbs and hot palms, difficult breathing and chest congestion, excessive sweating, upper backaches, sore throat and tiredness.
Other situations in life demand another kind of holding on – for example, holding on to a job, a project, an idea or certain ideals. We can hold on too long to certain ideals and desires too long, just like we can hold on to certain tools for to long a stretch of time. We can hold on to a “tennis racket” too long, until we get a “tennis elbow.” ∗
We can hold on to a certain lifestyle or ideal until we are in debt, living in unforgiving separation, or suffering physically, like from tendonitis.
The real question is what keeps us “holding on” like this? To find the answer we have to look deeper into what our personality or ego is. Our personality, with all its conditioning and desires, is part of the collective consciousness and unconsciousness, which we “breathe” in through our parents, teachers, television, religion, etc. This varies depending on the different social and cultural climates in which we have grown up. Our personality is just the outer shell, but not that which we truly are. Part of becoming conscious is to realize exactly this. The balanced state of P’o, -of the Metal element- is openness and non-attachment. This begins with accepting the earthy quality of reality, including accepting our conditionings, attitudes and defenses as they are. It is an art not to reject them, but to face them and feel them. This acceptance brings self-respect, acknowledgment and empathy. It opens the door to that self which we truly are.
The problem is that our personal and collective ideals of how we should be are often in deep contrast to what our inner reality is. Let’s take a few examples.
We should be “happy” and “nice.” So when we feel sad or angry, we repress it. We should be “independent,” strong” and “cool,” so we hide our neediness, vulnerability and dependency. We often hide our strong sexual feelings, too, because as kids we learned they are “dirty” or animalistic. Our spontaneity and creativity might also have collided at home with the walls of our parents’ living room, or at school with the drill of memorizing facts – so as to become controlled and usable members of the working force. The new age generation has its own brooding climate for conditioning, with ideals like being “open,” “meditative,” “understanding” or “unconditional.” So we learn to hide being worried, closed or just “pissed.” We suppress feelings like jealousy or bitterness, with the ideals of “acceptance,” “compassion” or "being loving."
If we hold on to the ideals and we don’t allow reality as it is, then we might feel “stuck,” “paralyzed,” “numb,” “spaced out,” “tired,” “dead” or “anxious.” Or we might simply become sick. Because of the emotional repression, we become judgmental and sarcastic, blaming and condemning others as well as ourselves. We fight inside and outside. Through rationalizing we might feel “above it,” but in reality the black holes of our psyche are widening - leaving our inner child, with its feelings and longings, starving. I think that one of the biggest illusions we can have is to think that we are already open-minded, conscious and accepting.
Yet, acceptance is the key. This doesn’t mean “taking on stoical attitudes or emotional restraint,” but rather accepting our ego and our desires, ideals and attachments. “In other words it begins with traveling through – not skirting around – the aspect of the psyche called P’o.” An accepting awareness is the first practical step in the alchemy of transformation.
∗The Joy of Feeling: Bodymind Acupressure, by Iona Marsaa Teeguarden, Japan Publications, Inc., Tokyo and New York, page 69.
Listening to body functions and responses helps us make a real energy shift toward openness. Sometimes we simply need to stop, sit down, feel in our bellies, feel the restrictions in our chest, take the space to breathe, trust spontaneous body movements, and finding different ways to let the “lid off” and expose the hurt feelings, so we can forgive ourselves and others. Through accepting and allowing hurt feelings – like the grief, sorrow and anxiety which relate to P'o – we can feel “reborn” and open again. This energetic movement liberates Shen and brings us in contact with our real needs, so that we can be who we truly are. The mysterious powers of P’o bring back the preciousness of light – the light of consciousness, which is also the lightness of our body and being. As we know, light is the antidote to darkness. It is also the antidote to fear. The Taoists say: “If the breathing is light, the heart is light...The heart cannot be influenced directly. Therefore the breath energy is used as a handle...” ∗
∗Richard William translation, The Secret of the Golden Flower, 1931, 1962; Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., N.Y., pg. 41.
The defense mechanisms usually involve unconscious restriction of breath, as well as the tightening of related muscles along the Lung and Large Intestine Meridians in the hands, arms, shoulders, neck, chest and belly. Just by touching these areas, we often get a pretty good impression of the energetical, physical and psychological state of a person. The following general treatment for arm problems and lung and large intestine meridian could be specifically adapted depending on the individual state and need of a person.