Yesterday, February 4th, marked the beginning of autumn in the southern hemisphere. “What?” I hear you protest, “yesterday was practically the hottest day of summer!” Indeed, it was 39 degrees celsius in Adelaide. So how do we explain the difference between the start of the season and its apparent arrival?
The calendar of the seasons is a mathematical division of the year where the four seasons/Elements straddle the two solstices and the two equinoxes, with the fifth Earth season divided into four and sandwiched between them. Why does autumn start so early when it is still so hot? Well, the first energy of the new season comes early, before it is manifest in nature. It is like a wave forming in the ocean, a swell that slowly builds before it seen as a breaking wave.
If we look at the way the length of daylight changes, we can get a sense of this early manifestation of the season. On the summer solstice, December 22, the daylight was 14 hours and 30 minutes (data for Adelaide). Yesterday, February 4th, it was 13 hours and 44 minutes. It took 6 weeks for the day to shorten by 46 minutes. If we look forward 6 weeks to the autumn equinox on March 21st, the daylight will be 12 hours and 5 minutes. In that time the daylight will shrink by 99 minutes. From the beginning of autumn on February 4th, there is a gathering acceleration, similar to the building of the wave. This acceleration continues to the beginning of winter on May 6, when it slows on its way to winter solstice on June 21st. And so the years go, ever contracting and expanding. It is as if the Earth is breathing. Slow contraction at first, then more rapid, then slower, before slowly expanding, then more quickly, then slower again. The start of each season is the point where this this momentum changes.
As I think of this pattern in nature, I can feel the rhythm of it in my body and soul. How many years have you lived? That is how many “breaths” you have taken with the annual rhythm of our planet around the sun. I find this kind of cosmic meditation allows me to see my life in the context of something far greater and grander. It reminds me that my small ego-self is set within the infinity of True Nature. As when a camera zooms out from a scene, revealing more and more, and the original point of focus becomes smaller and smaller, so too a zooming out from our ego-self shows it to shrink in size and significance.
With this wider view and understanding, we can go back to the seasonal rhythm of day-to-day life, holding each precious moment within the framework of the vastness of the universe and the infinity of our True Nature.
For readers in the northern hemisphere, simply reverse the seasons from summer to winter, autumn to spring etc.
Focus on the breath is a cornerstone of meditation practices, martial arts, Tai Qi and Qigong. This points to the importance of good breathing practices in maintaining body-mind health. Indeed, air is a vital component in the production of Qi in the body.
An impediment to taking a full breath can arise when there is constriction in the diaphragm. This is the large muscle that separates the chest cavity from the abdomen, and which is the primary muscle of respiration.
Body-centred therapists recognise the role that diaphragmatic constriction plays in patterns of emotional holding. The pioneer of somatic therapy, Wilhelm Reich, regarded the diaphragm as one of the eight segments of potential body-armouring.
In my clinic I often work with the diaphragm. Some people have difficulty taking a full breath, or their breathing ‘catches’, or they hold their breath for a short time between breaths, and the breathing is not smooth. Many of these constrictions in the breathing process are associated with emotional holding. Therefore, when working at the emotional level, it is important to free constrictions in the diaphragm.
One of the most important acupoints for this work is Bladder 17 Geshu Diaphragm Shu. This point is the hui-meeting point of Blood and is said to treat any conditions of the blood; this is the main function of this point given in acupuncture manuals. My focus here is on its function implied by the name, Diaphragm Shu. The word shu means to transport, suggesting that the point transports Qi to the diaphragm, relaxing while at the same time invigorating the muscle.
I find that there is a strong correlation between tightness, congestion or stagnation at this point, and tightness at the Liver and Gall Bladder shu points which lie below (inferior to) it. The emotions associated with these Wood organs are anger and frustration which are often held in and stored in the body. Constricting the breath, usually unconsciously, is one way of controlling these and other emotions, and the diaphragm plays its part in this control.
When working on someone else, I have them lying face up (supine) on a table. I reach underneath the back with cupped fingers, to hold Bladder 17 with the tip of my curled middle finger, left side first, then right. This allows my other hand to hold other points which will help to release this main focal point. I have three favourite points that I use, all for different reasons.
(1) The first of these is not an acupoint but lies on the Conception Vessel (Ren) between CV 14 and 15. Call it 14.5 if you like. It is the tip of the xiphoid process, a piece of cartilage that extends from the lower part of the sternum and to which the diaphragm and other muscles attach. Holding the tip of the xiphoid together with Bladder 17 is a great way to release the diaphragm and allow breathing to become freer and easier.
(2) If this doesn’t work as well as I would like, I go to the next point combination, holding Bladder 17 with Bladder 40 behind the knee. Bladder 40 is a point famous for releasing any of the back-shu points, drawing congested Qi down the inner Bladder line in the back and down the backs of the legs.
(3) The final combination in the toolbox is Bladder 17 with Stomach 40. This method draws on the principles of microsystems, where a body part represents a larger area of the body. In this case the lower leg represents the length of the spine in the torso. BL 17 is half-way along this length, mirrored by ST 40 which is halfway along the lower leg. This might sound strange, but it does work, and sometimes this point will be the one that releases BL 17 the best.
When to use this protocol
Use when someone tells you that they are having difficulty getting a full breath or when you observe that there is a catch in the breathing or a holding of the breath. If there is back pain around the bottom of the shoulder blade, this work can relax the back musculature. Use also if emotions are arising and the person struggles to express or release them. Also consider if there is suppression of anger. Frequent sighing may indicate diaphragmatic constriction. There can also be an indication on the pulse. This “diaphragm pulse” is diagnosed when it feels as if the skin in protruding between your fingers at the junction of the distal and middle pulse positions.
There are of course other ways of working with the breathing. These include Lung points (especially LU 1) and the muscles of the neck, particularly the scalene and sternocleidomastoid muscles which are involved in lifting the ribcage during inhalation. If tight, these should be addressed in conjunction with diaphragm work. In fact, in cases of deep emotional holding, releasing the upper segments of armouring should precede this work.
Working on yourself
It is very difficult to hold these points directly on yourself. Instead, lie back on a pair of tennis balls tied together in a sock. Place the balls on either side of the spine at the level of the bottom (inferior angle) of the shoulder blade. If this is too much pressure, lie on a softer surface, or use a rolled-up towel across this area. This allows you to hold the tip of the xiphoid process in combination. While you won’t be able to reach the other points in the legs, you can use your mind to hold them with intention.
This work forms part of the workshop “Working with Emotions in Five Element Acupressure” which is part of the Five Element Acupressure training program. Details here.
BL 17 is located two fingers width (1.5 cun) lateral to the junction of the 7th and 8th thoracic vertebrae, approximately level with the inferior angle of the scapulaTip of the xiphoid process, the cartilage that attaches to the bottom of the sternumBL 40 in the centre of the knee creaseST 40 is half way between the base of the patella (kneecap) and the prominence of the outer ankle bone, and 2 fingers width (1.5 cun) lateral to the crest of the tibia bone
