The Zen of Healing

As we are on the cusp of Late Summer (Earth) into Autumn (Metal), there are some really important aspects of Earth to touch on. And this is the notion of “receiving” as it relates to our Stomach meridian. On a physiological level, the Stomach receives our food, churns it up, and turns it into something raw, nutritive, and usable for the body. Of course, there are many disorders that people suffer from when not digesting well on this level – including bloating, gas, pain, acid reflux, nausea, etc.

We are constantly talking through our Stomach Official, saying things like, “I’m ready to receive” OR “I’m full”, “I’m fed up and can’t take in anymore”, “I can’t break it down”, “I can’t digest it”, “That makes me sick to my stomach”, “I’ll need to chew on that”, “You expect me to swallow that?!”. What are we saying or experiencing on a deeper level then?

This concept of receiving our nourishment extends beyond the physiological. How do we see this mentally, emotionally, spiritually? This is our ability to properly receive, break down, and digest the information we receive on a daily basis, and then send it through. How we digest news, experiences, and events – ex: getting married, having a baby, September 11th. It also gives us the ability to be satisfied or satiated – by what we eat, our achievements, our progress, what we learn from reading a blog post! Mentally, there is huge component… our tendency to overthink, ruminate, or chew chew chew on our thoughts without any real movement. This can lead to not just the physiological symptoms mentioned above, but also things like insomnia, headaches, anxiety, depression, fatigue, etc.

What can we do to support the way we digest the world around us? Well, for starters… eat breakfast! We always heard growing up that its the most important meal of the day, the Chinese would agree, but now we have a reason why! As mentioned before, there is a two-hour window of time that the Qi flowing through a particular meridian is at its peak. The Stomach meridian is from 7-9am. Offering it a substantial, nourishing meal during this time is the best way to not only fuel our bodies, but also support all of the other aspects of the Earth Element that have been mentioned. Its literally building our foundation for how we “receive” the rest of our day.

Have your first meal of the day in quiet (no email, no tv, no cell phone…), with mindful attention, with gratitude, with the intention of embracing the sheer abundance we can attract into our lives when we are truly open to receive…