In the classics of Chinese medicine,
We learn that the lung is the regulation of the entire network.
Its automatic,
Instinctive rhythm is the fundamental movement of life.
Lungs,
Being in the upper part of the body,
Next to the heart,
Tend to connect us much more with heaven than earth.
The healthier our lung qi,
The easier it is to feel inspired by life,
To access those diamonds that live within us,
And to align to our sense of meaning or even our purpose in our lives.
We have all heard of breathwork traditions and breathing techniques for calming the spirit and bringing clarity to our lives.
Breathwork is one other way to strengthen our lung qi,
And in turn,
Our lung qi heals us at all levels,
Body,
Mind and spirit.
At a physical level,
The lungs protect us from pathogens and help ward off coughs and colds.
On a mental level,
The lung channel can also provide protection from attack.
The lung helps us to regulate order and discipline in life,
And maintain a peaceful and calm dwelling place for our spirit to live.
The lungs,
One part of the metal element within us,
Are sometimes likened to an awning,
Umbrella or canopy,
Offering protection over our whole system.
The fourth chakra houses the lungs,
And of course its element is air.
If you have a piece of amber,
Known as the breathing stone,
Or lapis lazuli,
The crystal for immunity,
These are wonderfully healing and protective vibrations to place onto your fourth chakra now.
So,
Find a quiet place,
Sit or lie down,
Uncross your legs and allow your spine to go soft.
And let's begin with some cleansing breaths.
We're going to breathe in for 4,
Hold for 4,
Exhale for 4,
And hold out for 4.
Breathe in for 4,
2,
3,
4,
Hold for 4,
2,
3,
4,
Breathe out for 4,
2,
3,
4,
Hold out for 4,
2,
3,
4,
Breathe in for 4,
2,
3,
4,
Hold for 4,
2,
3,
4,
Exhale for 4,
2,
3,
4,
Hold out for 4,
2,
3,
4.
Relax your eyes behind your eyelids,
Soften your jaw,
Allow your tongue to go loose in the bottom of the palate,
And imagine stepping into an energy shower.
From the crown of your head,
Allow energy to pour down from the cosmos,
Father sky,
The masculine,
And to wash down over your face,
And to pour down into your lungs.
Notice the texture of the energy,
The colour,
Perhaps its smell,
Or even the sound as it pulls into your lung spaces.
Remember that the lungs extend backwards,
Sideways,
Downwards,
As well as outwards.
As it pours in and settles into your lungs,
2 balls of energy and light gather,
1 in each lung,
And begin to rotate like a sphere or a figure of 8.
This gets stronger and stronger,
And as it rotates,
You feel your lungs soften.
Visualise now,
A white tiger.
She is your tiger,
Living in your lungs.
Associated with the direction of the west,
And the season of the fall.
She is regarded as the prized chief of all earthbound animals.
She likes to be positioned up high with the power to protect you,
With teeth,
Claws,
And a roar if necessary.
She is your survival instincts,
Your power,
Vitality,
Radiance,
And self-worth,
That you are feeding with your energy and every breath.
Allow the balls of energy to grow in your lung spaces,
Feeding your tiger.
Cleansing rotations.
The lung channel begins deep within the stomach,
And ascends to both lungs.
The top of the lungs can be thought of like 2 mountains,
On either side of a valley,
With clouds on their peak,
And the lung meridian like a mountain pathway,
Winds its way down on each side of the inner arm,
For your tiger to walk on.
The pathway offers stopping points for prayers,
Meditations,
And rest,
All the way down to the tip of the thumb.
Starting at the top of the channel,
With lung 1,
And then 2,
Allow the balls of energy in your lungs to travel to where your arm joins your collar bones,
A little hollow right below the bones on both sides.
These are the entry points for the lung meridian,
And often considered a pair.
A middle palace,
And a cloud gate at the top of the mountains.
These starting points help you achieve a sense of balance,
To avoid clinging to things and to be present in life.
Be present right now,
And feel these two points cleanse and warm from the ball of energy rolling over them.
Coming down the inside of your arm now,
And resting level with your nipple.
Lung 3,
Heavenly palace,
And just below that is lung 4.
Lung 3 is a window to the sky.
These types of points help you to revitalise your life,
Help you feel cleansed,
Let go of your fears,
And strengthen your spirit.
Here we can inspire and elevate the spirit,
And reconnect to a richer quality of life.
Travelling down just below lung 3,
Is lung 4,
Valiant white.
This point is excellent for someone to find their inner strength and courage.
To embody your tiger here,
And strengthen the resolve of your metal element.
Particularly if you are going through tough changes,
Or life situations right now.
Travelling down to the inner crease of the elbow now,
Is lung 5,
Outside marsh.
A marsh being a fertile,
Watery place.
Here you can nourish those feelings of being bogged down,
Or overflowing with grief and loss,
Swamping your spirit.
Bathe here for a minute.
Restore calm to your lung chi.
Travelling down now,
Halfway down to the inner forearm,
As if you were holding out an empty tray in front of you,
Is lung 6,
The greatest hole.
Here you are opening up to the offerings of a new outlook,
Or a new way of looking at things.
Directly connecting you to heavenly chi,
Chi from the cosmos and the heavens.
Travelling down now,
To just above the wrist crease,
And above the thumb,
Is lung 7,
Narrow defile.
It is an extremely important point.
Here is where we release everything we have held in,
And incompletely expressed.
Sometimes grief and loss can shorten our breath.
Reaching out to inhale all that is good,
And exhaling to let go of anything that doesn't serve us anymore.
Here is an excellent place to rest,
To take that long,
Deep,
Inhale and exhale.
Just above the wrist crease now,
And below lung 7,
Is lung 8,
Meridian gutter.
Our metal harari and jing river point.
Just like a river,
They say chi flows with a strong current at this point.
If you feel any blocks or stagnation slowing over this point,
Here we flush the gully to continue to engender a fresh inspired outlook on life.
Continuing down to the wrist now,
Lung 9,
Very great abyss.
A source point,
Connecting directly to source chi.
Here we connect directly with the earth,
Mother earth.
The rhythmic rotation of life,
The resonance and stability of mother earth,
Steadying us as we transit through this life.
Then we travel down to lung 10,
Fish region,
To centre of the pad of the thumb on the hand,
And is an extremely powerful point.
An alchemy of fire and metal together on the palm of your hand.
Here fire warms the brittleness or rigidity of metal,
Helping spirit to regain the glisten,
And grace of your lung,
Activating expansion and motivation in you.
Travelling down now to the tip of the thumb,
The last point,
Lung 11,
Little merchant.
This is a wood point where we grow roots down,
Just like trees,
Anchoring and calming us down to earth,
As the lung connects us upwards to the heavens.
Perfect symbiosis and dynamic tension of life as a human being.
Inner calm and strength are essential to the good functioning of the lung.
Here we allow our white tiger to rest and tune into your senses.
Take a minute to notice one smell around you.
Notice one sensation or thing touching your physical body.
Notice one sound you can hear.
Perhaps one taste you might be able to taste.
And lastly with your mind's eye,
Perhaps one thing you can see.
Now smile through your lungs along the full channel we've just walked,
And have a lovely day.
