RECENTLY, I was offered the opportunity to write about gratitude, my personal view, but also through this lens we see through here, Chinese medicine. You can find this piece in the most recent issue of Austin Lifestyle, or citylifestyle.com online, the November issue.
How do you experience gratitude? I look forward to hearing from you,
Brooke
In Chinese medicine, there is an inseparable link between body and mind - each organ is host to its own emotions and how we experience them, with spiritual and mental proclivities - the Liver and anger or irritability, the Kidneys and fear, the Lungs and grief, the Heart, joy, and so on. When harmonized, we are able to experience emotions, transmute them, and regain balance. This doesn’t mean we’ll not be sad, have grief, or get angry, the key is to have emotions move through. This is reflected in a key mantra from Chinese medicine - where there is flow, there is no dis-ease. If emotions become stuck, we have stagnation in associated organ systems and experience the ensuing effects on our health and wellbeing.
We are often guided to try focusing on gratitude to shift our perspective, fill a gap where perhaps we felt lack, or safety where we felt fear. Or as noted above, to recreate flow, become unstuck, release dis-ease. We often take pen to paper for this exercise, or take a walk in nature, and studies note we feel better with this regular practice.
In alignment with with Chinese medicine philsophies, my friend and mentor Rick Carson, author of Taming Your Gremlin®, notes gratitude is not an attitude (he is not a fan of platitudes, they don’t always work), rather we should seek the experience of gratitude, how it feels at a cellular level, in the center of your chest, your heart chakra. This requires opening your heart and realizing what is available to you.
One of the ‘Vital Substances’ in Chinese Medicine is called ‘Shen’. Shen represents our deepest self-awareness, lives in the Heart, and is reflected in the vibrance in the eyes. When we experience gratitude, we are deeply appreciating that we are here, that we have this body, this life, to experience the sunset, the breeze, the grass under our feet, the smell of flowers or the comfort of a pet or loved one.
I love that Chinese medicine as a practice has so many tools to help those feeling stuck, unable to shift their emotions, where feeling grateful might feel out of reach. We can transform stagnation through movement practices like Tai Chi or Qi Gong, custom herbal remedies, guided stretching for meridians, esoteric acupuncture patterns, and more. We assist in returning harmony to the affected organ systems, so you can find the space to breathe deeply and fully experience moments of gratitude.
Be well,
Brooke
COVER: AUSTIN LIFESTYLE
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