What are meridians?
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (#TCM), there are 12 major paired meridians, that correspond with organs in the body. They are paired as yin/yang (you can think of this more like a front/back or up/down). Yin is feminine, dark and cool and yang is masculine, sun and light.
They are energy “superhighways” that run superficially along the body that transport energy (chi/qi) from point A to point B with several little points or “rest stops” along the way. This is where energy can get suck. Think of a garden hose, when it gets kinked, water can’t flow through and once you unkink, it flows. The same is true for the energy/lifeforce in the body. Whether through acupuncture, acupressure, cupping, yoga or a combination of all of the above. It is through this energy that we can perform all functions related to sustaining life like, breathing (kinda important), digesting food and how we look and feel.
Blockages, or stagnation, around these points, can be the result of stress, anxiety, injury or trauma, bad habits (diet or lack of exercise), and can be traced to the root of all health/health issues (mental and physical). If shit gets stuck, various imbalances will result. These imbalances can show up physically and emotionally. This stagnation is essentially the constipation of energy. Yoga, acupressure, acupuncture, cupping, meditation and good diet are the laxatives, if you will.
Each meridian pair is related to an element, time of day, season of the year and emotion/feeling.
Understanding this allows us to know ourselves (some good old fashioned self awareness) as well as treating imbalances, pinpoint deficiencies or overactive meridian function.
Meridian Pairs
Lung (Yin)/Large Intestine (Yang)
Spleen (Yin)/Stomach (Yang)
Heart (Yin)/Small Intestine (Yang)
Kidney (Yin)/Bladder (Yang)
Pericardium (Yin)/Triple Heater (Yang)
Liver (Yin)/Gallbladder (Yang)
