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THE FIVE ELEMENTS
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The Five Elements together form a cycle of changing energies. We all have all of the Elements within us, but their mix is unique for everyone. When we are in balance and health, the Elements flow freely and we have access to all of their gifts. But when there is imbalance and ill health, we can notice blocks in our bodies, our minds and our emotions that are the result of this lack of free flow.
We can bring ourselves back to balance and harmony with Five Element Acupressure. The practitioner recognises which Elements are out of balance and holds points along the meridians of these Elements to release energy blocks that are causing the imbalances.
There are things that you can do too. Specific changes in diet and lifestyle can really support the practitioner's work. At a deeper level, understanding the emotions, ideas, beliefs and attitudes that contribute to these imbalances begins to release their hold on us and open us up to more freedom in our lives.
In understanding these five energies, we can have no greater role model than Mother Nature herself. The seasons of the year are the most obvious manifestation of the Elements, and all other associations of the Elements can be drawn from the seasons.
As you read these sections on each of the Elements, you may recognise the places you are free and the places you feel stuck. The suggestions that follow each Element are meant to offer guidance to support bringing that Element back to balance.
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WATER
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The season of Winter is that of the Water Element. It's the time of year when Nature withdraws within, when seeds are stored for the following year, waiting patiently for the time when growth will begin again. As humans, if our Water Element is in balance, we will feel comfortable with the colder weather, seeing the opportunity to spend more time indoors, doing less, reflecting, gathering our own resources. It's a time to sleep a little more, eat a little more, and do a little less in our lives. Among the gifts of Water are the ability to listen deeply, to have the wisdom of inner knowing, to conserve resources and gather power, to rest, and to trust..
When our Water is out of balance we become unsure, anxious, fearful, not able to trust in ourselves or the world around us. In our bodies, the organs of the bladder and the kidneys don't function properly and we can suffer from low back pain. Our ears and our hearing may suffer. We might struggle with the cold weather and feel drained, weary in our bones. We lose our will.
In treating the Water Element, the practitioner holds points along the Water meridians of Bladder and Kidney in order to support those meridians that are our reservoirs of energy. They are like the lakes and rivers that store and carry our precious Qi.
As participants in our own health, we can support our Water by getting plenty of sleep and rest, especially in the winter, keeping warm, being sexually moderate. Foods that support Water include beans, fruits and vegetables that are blue or black in colour, small amounts of salty food like seaweed, tamari. Breathing exercises that bring the breath to the belly are great for warming the lower back and abdomen and thus supporting Bladder and Kidney meridians. Massaging the muscles of the lower back also helps to invigorate them.
The emotion of Water is fear. We can look at our relationship to fear and how it affects us. We may consider, Are we over-fearful or are we daredevils? Why is that? What is it that gets in the way of us having trust in the unfolding flow of our lives? Pondering such questions can lead us to understand how our the natural flow of our Water is impeded.
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WOOD
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The season of Spring is that of the Wood Element. It's a time when Nature puts on a rapid growth spurt, shooting upwards, vigorous and unstoppable. The seeds that have been in hibernation all winter suddenly burst forth with the warmer weather and longer days. If our Wood Element is in balance, we can emulate Nature and we feel the rising sap within ourselves, giving us fuel to start new projects, to strike out in new directions, to implement our visions. A balanced Wood allows us to be clear and direct in our thoughts and actions. We can be assertive in our interactions with others. We move easily in the world as we express our unique selves. Wood supports our will to become who we truly are. The gifts of Wood include having appropriate boundaries, seeing clearly and acting decisively, being firm but flexible, having a goal but also having a plan B. Wood gifts us with wise judgement, the ability to plan and strategise, to have vision and to put that vision into action.
When our Wood is out of balance, we become easily irritated, frustrated and angry; or we might collapse in the face of obstacles. We have trouble seeing the way forward, have a hard time making decisions and taking action. Our organs of liver and gall bladder can suffer and our eyes or sight can give trouble. The tendons and ligaments of the body can be stiff or weak, and our flexibility suffers both in our body and our attitudes. We can become disoriented and hopeless, even depressed. Our functioning in the world gets stuck.
In treating the Wood Element, the practitioner holds points along the meridians of Gall Bladder and Liver which are those associated with Wood. These meridians help us to have vision, to make plans and to act with wise judgement to carry out those plans.
We can support our Wood by getting to bed by 11 pm, the time at which the Wood meridians like to be horizontal. Since the tendons and ligaments are the province of Wood, it is supportive to stretch or do yoga before launching into activity. Body twists are very helpful in opening the qi in the Gall Bladder channel. This is especially true in Spring when the energy of the season invites us to be active. Spring is a good time to cleanse the liver with herbs such as coriander, dandelion and milk thistle. Foods that support the Wood are those with a sour taste, like lemons and vinegars; and those that are green in colour, especially dark leafy greens. Avoid alcohol, drugs and excess fats.
The emotion of Wood is anger. We can look at how we relate to anger and assertiveness. Can we express ourselves freely and take our space, or do we suppress our upward rising energies? Can we speak our minds or do we internalise our frustrations? Are we nice in order to keep the peace while becoming internally resentful? Understanding how we are with the range of emotions from irritability all the way through to rage, can show us how we constrict the natural expression of our Wood.
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FIRE
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The season of Summer is when Fire comes into its Element! At this time of year, the growth in Nature has reached its crescendo. This is the time of greatest expansion, the height of heights when Nature is giving everything it's got. If our Fire is in balance, we will respond with Joy to this expansiveness. Our hearts are full and open and we contact other humans with warmth and love. The boundaries of our heartfulness are entirely appropriate as we open to love but know when to protect our hearts. The gifts of Fire include love and compassion, enthusiasm and a sense of fun, socialbility, intimacy and passion; also discrimination, the ability to sort out what is good for us and what is not.
When our Fire is out of balance, we can close our hearts, become cold and shut off; or we might have no boundaries as we gush our heart out inappropriately. We might feel joyless, humourless, heartless; or at the other extreme, become easily overexcited, even hysterical. Our organs of heart and small intestine may suffer as well as our blood circulation or our sexuality. Speech and tongue may be impaired. Our ability to digest food, and to sort out on a mental or emotional level can be affected. The way we relate in personal relationships, the way we love, is out of balance.
In treating the Fire Element, the practitioner holds points along any of the four Fire meridians: Heart, Small Intestine, Heart Protector and Triple Warmer. All of these meridians are concerned with how we relate to the world.
We can support our Fire by making sure we have some fun in our lives! Things such as being playful, joking, laughing, hop-skip-jumping, simply being ourselves in a spontaneous way. Spending time with babies helps put us in touch with these qualities. Summer offers many opportunities to be out and about socialising and it's important we have some of this in our lives. Foods that support Fire are those of a bitter taste such as eggplant, celery tops, bitter greens; and foods that are red in colour like tomatoes, capsicums and beetroot.
The emotion of Fire is joy. What is meant here is not the quiet joy of a tranquil mind, but joy that is too much, too strong and which can verge on hyper-excitement or even hysteria. On the other hand, when joy is absent, there can be a state of flat blandness or even depression. Each of these extremes can indicate Fire out of balance. We might ask ourselves, can we be in a state of quiet joy that is not dependent on conditions? Do we throw ourselves into friendships and relationships that take us out of our heart? Or do we withdraw into ourselves to protect our heart? Questions like this can help us understand the health of our Fire.
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EARTH
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Earth has its home in the Late Summer, the harvest time of the year when the golden light is upon Nature, which, to quote Keats, has filled "all fruit with ripeness to the core." Mother Earth is at her fullest, most round, most pregnant. Nature is dripping with the fruits of her labours. If our Earth is in balance, we are open to receiving the bounty of the world as well as to giving it out. There is no impediment to this giving and receiving which are two sides of the same hand. We can nurture and be nurtured, understand and be understood. We are thoughtful, sympathetic, empathetic, grounded and centred in ourselves, acting and relating to others from that place.
When our Earth is out of balance, we begin to lose our ground and our centre. We spin round and round, repeating worn out patterns that don't serve us, our thoughts spinning round and round in our heads. There is an imbalance in our giving and receiving. We may become very needy or we may deny our own needs in favour of the needs of others. We feel unsupported in the world, unstable. Our organs of stomach, spleen and pancreas may be out of order. Digestive problems are common, sluggishness, fatigue, oedema and overeating may occur. We may worry obsessively about our problems or about those close to us, or we may cut ourselves off from sympathy altogether and become uncaring. Our intention becomes clouded.
In treating the Earth Element, the practitioner holds points along the meridians of Stomach and Spleen/Pancreas which are the channels of Earth. They support our capacity to give and receive appropriately, to take care of others when necessary while taking care of ourselves.
We can support our Earth by making sure we have a balance between taking care of self and other. In nurturing ourselves, we can consider what it is that we really need. Rather than having that rich dessert or that new dress, what is that we need that nurtures our soul? We can support our Earth by making sure we are grounded and centred in ourselves, doing things that ground us in our bodies, especially our pelvis and legs. Take a walk, dance, dig in the garden. Singing is a very Earth oriented activity. Foods that support Earth are those with a sweet flavour including fruits (not sugar!) and sweet flavoured vegetables; and those yellow or orange in colour such as pumpkins, carrots.
The emotion of Earth is sympathy or worry. Worry can show up as obsessive mental rumination, thoughts going round and round while sympathy out of balance produces over-concern for others. We might ask ourselves: What do I need? What do I want? Can I ask for these things of others? How easy is it for me to receive and to give? Is there balance between my giving and receiving? The way we answer these questions can give insight into the health of our Earth.
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METAL
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When Autumn makes its quiet entrance, the Metal Element begins to shine forth. It's the time of year when Nature is letting go. The leaves are dropping, the temperatures are dropping, the ends of the year are being tidied up in preparation for Winter hibernation. If Metal is in balance in us, its gifts are truly precious: the ability to let come what may and to let go of what is not serving us; the capacity to accept without attachment, to see value in ourselves and others, to respect and acknowledge, to revere. The Sanskrit greeting Namaste, which can be translated as "I respect that divinity within you that is also within me," is a phrase that embodies these qualities of Metal.
When our Metal is out of balance these qualities begin to be lost to us, and we cannot let come and let go. We hang on to objects, ideas and emotions that do not serve us. We may become obsessed and compulsive. We may be stuck in grief, unable to move on after the loss of someone or something dear to us. Our lungs and large intestine begin to suffer . Busy with our nose to the grindstone, we may have lost contact with Spirit, or on the other hand, we may have our head in the clouds and be unable to function in our body. We lose our balance between Heaven and Earth.
In treating the Metal Element, the practitioner holds points along the meridians of Lung and Large Intestine. These are the meridians of letting come and letting go, of allowing and accepting.
We can support our Metal by breathing exercises that promote relaxed breathing. About 30% of our Qi comes from the air that we breathe, so it's important to optimise this intake process. Having a healthy colon is very important to allow waste and toxins to be effectively removed. Eating some raw foods, minimising mucous producing foods, exercising the abdominal muscles are supportive. Also clearing our lives of things that are no longer serving us, including objects, ideas, behaviours and relationships. Foods that support Metal are white in colour such as cauliflower, potato; and pungent in flavour such as spices and aromatic herbs.
The emotion of Metal is grief or sorrow. When we lose a loved one, a precious object, a cherished ideal, it is natural to grieve and to feel the loss or absence. But when we are unable to let go and move on, the grief tightens and hardens us. We might look at those things in our lives that we once had but are now gone and that we are longing for to return. When we think about these things, what effects do we notice in our minds and bodies? The responses will help gauge the health of our Metal.
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