We are living through unprecedented times and it’s easy to get caught up in the news and social media surrounding COVID-19 and feel anxiety, fear, and worry. Staying grounded and calming the stress response can help us get through this with grace. Here are a few exercises to try:
-If you only do one group of exercises, make it the Daily Energy Routine. This routine helps all of our energies by making space in the body for energy to move and flow, crossing over our energies for optimal health, and helping to ground us.
-Grounding is important for our emotional and physical well-being. Try Taking Down the Flame
– It is easy to get caught up in other’s energies right now. If you are sensitive and feel those energies creep in try the “Blow Out” to release those energies or strengthen your aura by Swimming the Aura.
Donna Eden has offered the following exercises to help build your immune system and calm anxiety surrounding COVID-19:
The energy pathways in our body that are called
Meridians are responsible for keeping all our body’s major organ systems
balanced. When they are in balance, we can achieve greater physical and
emotional health. Each Meridian is associated with an organ in the body, and
this month’s “spotlight” is on Liver. Our Liver is responsible for hundreds of
functions every day and keeping it healthy and balanced can go a long way to
improving our overall health and well-being.
The Liver Meridian (LV) is associated with the largest physical organ in our body and has the most known functions out of any other organ. Sometimes called the “General” or “Chief of Staff” in Traditional Chinese Medicine, it is most active when we sleep (from 1 am to 3 am) and is involved with digestion, metabolism, filtration, detoxification, immune function, eye health, ligaments and tendons, and hormone health. Emotionally, an imbalance in the LV Meridian can result in an inability to relax, frustration, irritability, and anger against ourselves, as well as feelings of guilt. However, a balanced LV Meridian can result in kindness toward ourselves, a belief in our inner strength, inspiration, and creativity.
Tracing the pathway of a meridian can help to balance it. LV Meridian runs up both sides of the body and begins at the inside of the big toes. It comes up the inside of the legs, over the hips to the sides of the ribcage and ends under the breast area in line with the nipples (see diagram). You can trace it with your hands as many times as you like, but to give LV an even bigger boost, you can ‘flush’ it by tracing the meridian backwards one time, and then forward three times (see video on my website for more information).
The Source Point for any Meridian not only helps to balance the Meridian itself, but also sends energy directly to its associated organ. The point called Liver 3 is LV Meridian’s Source point. It is located on the top of the foot where the big toe bone meets the second toe bone. You can press and massage this point on both feet for as long as you like. Do this at least once a day to help balance LV Meridian.
Holding points on the head that are called the LV Neurovasculars (NV) can help to balance hormone function as well as the emotional aspects of LV. These points are located at the hairline. You can simply place your hand sideways over your hairline area and use a light pressure, or I like to place the palm of my hand over the middle of my forehead and rest my fingers over the top of my head. This can help balance a few energy systems, including the LV system. Another way to unblock stuck energy in the LV Meridian is to deeply press or massage the LV Neurolymphatic Points (NL). These are located under the breast area on the right side of the body. Use a deep pressure and if they are sore, it just means you needed to work with them.
They were discovered
two thousand years ago and are essential to our well-being and health. What are
they? The Meridians, and they will be the subject of my monthly columns this
year as I hope to help you dive a little deeper into Traditional Chinese
Medicine (TCM) and Eden Energy Medicine (EEM).
Meridians are energy pathways in the body and are almost like our energy “bloodstream” linking different areas together. There are fourteen of them, with twelve connected segments, and I am going to pick one of the twelve segments each month to explain in detail what it helps in our body and how to balance it for optimal health.
We will start with what
TCM calls the “Powerhouse” of the body: Kidney Meridian. Our Kidney
Meridian, just like the Kidney organs themselves oversees filtration and
detoxification of our body fluids, including the blood, lymph, and cerebral-spinal
fluid. It helps to support many aspects of our body including the bones, teeth,
adrenal glands, bladder, hormone health, and helps to regulate the growth and
development of the reproductive system.
Emotionally, when the Kidney Meridian is imbalanced, we can experience fearfulness and shame. On the other hand, a balanced Kidney Meridian helps us step forward with courage, determination, and confidence. The Kidney (K) Meridian starts at the bottom of our feet and goes up the body to our collarbone. Kidney Meridian runs up both sides of the body and by tracing it, you can help to balance it. Start by placing your hands under the ball of each foot at K1 (see diagram). Then bring your fingers up the inside of each foot, circling behind the inside of each ankle bone, and up the inside of the legs and the front of the body. Finally end at the K27 points at the indentations about an inch off the corners of your collarbone.
Another way to use this meridian tracing to help “flush” your Kidney Meridian is to trace the Kidney Meridian backwards one time and forward three times. This essentially pulls out any imbalanced energy and puts new energy back into it.
Working with points along a Meridian is another way to help “juice” and balance it, and you can do this by pressing or buzzing any points along the Meridian line. The K1 (beginning point) and K27 (ending points) are good ones to work with. In fact, tapping on the K27 point is part of a Daily Energy Routine that if done regularly, can make a big difference in the health of your energy system. Another good point to work with is K3 as it can help balance the Kidney organ itself.
The sensory organs that Kidney is associated with are the ears, and simply massaging and pulling out your ears helps to balance the Meridian.
One way to calm the emotional aspect of Kidney is to hold the Neurovascular Points associated with Kidney Meridian. Hold one hand across your forehead, and the other on the back of your head directly behind your eyes. Breathe deeply and hold for as long as it feels good.
As we continue our yearlong journey through the
Meridian System (energy pathways in the body), this month brings us to Bladder
Meridian (BL). Bladder is Kidney Meridian’s (see FP Jan 2020) partner in the
Water Element, according to the Five Elements model in Traditional Chinese
Medicine (TCM). Both Meridians filter and help to eliminate fluid from our body
and keeping BL happy and balanced, can help Kidney Meridian stay balanced, as
well as improve many other aspects of our health.
The Bladder Meridian is the longest and most complex Meridian in the body and governs the nervous system. It runs from the inner corner of the eyes, over the head, down both sides of the spine, and ends at the little toe. When the Bladder Meridian is imbalanced, we can experience physical systems such as a stiffness in our neck and shoulders, headaches, back pains, urinary issues, a lack of energy and even pain in the eyes.
Emotionally, an imbalance of Bladder energy can cause us to feel that our problems are unsolvable. We can also have an inability to express emotions, feel fearful and suspicious, as well as resist change because of a feeling of inflexibility. On the other hand, a balanced BL will help us feel courageous, trusting, and hopeful. When BL is balanced, we feel calmer and more peaceful and look forward to a future filled with endless possibilities. Through the TCM lens, Bladder is the storehouse of our emotions, and is most active from 3pm to 5 pm. If you feel a little slump during that time period, working with BL might help.
The Source Point of any Meridian can directly send energy to the organ that it is associated with, as well as balance the Meridian itself. The Source Point for BL is BL-64 and according to TCM, it has a relationship with Heart Meridian and can be good for heart palpitations, chest pain, irritability, headaches, and back pain. Simply massage, tap or just hold the point called BL 64 (see picture) on both sides of the foot.
Another point to work with is the beginning point of BL. This point can help eye problems, migraines, insomnia, and nasal congestion, and it can also help balance the Meridian as a whole. The BL1 points are located at the top of the inside of the eye sockets. I like to gently hold these points with my middle fingers, but you can hold them in whatever way is most comfortable.
BL 11 is a point that Donna Eden calls “The Magic Point” because it can help to balance so many other energies in the body and can also influence bone health. These points are located at the bottom of the neck on either side of the spine. As with the other points, massaging, tapping, or simply holding the points will all help bring them into balance. Tracing Meridian pathways is another way to balance them, but because of BL’s complexity, it is too lengthy to explain in these few words. If you would like to view a video of tracing BL, as well as a way to balance the Water element by tracing both Kidney and Bladder Meridians together, click the link below.
‘Tis the season for celebrations, parties, and fellowship with family and friends, but as we deck the halls, sometimes stress and overall busy-ness can take over our lives leaving us feeling run down and vulnerable to sickness. Luckily, Eden Energy Medicine has some tools and exercises to help you build your immunity and find a sense of peace this season.
Calming
the TW Neurovascular Points can help to calm our stress response and help us maintain
balance and wellness during this busy season. Place your thumb, first and
middle fingers in a cluster together (called a 3-finger notch). Put those
fingers at the “V” at the bottom of your throat above your collarbone (you can
use a flat hand if that is more comfortable). Then, place the other hand on the
side of your face with your fingers flat at your temples. Take some deep
breaths and then switch sides.
Another way to take a pause on any anxiety that rears its ugly head is by tapping on the TW “Gamut” Point. Place one hand over your heart area and tap on the back of your hand between your ring finger and little finger. Breathe deeply as you do this and tap for 10 taps, pause, take a deep breath and then tap about 30 more times. Repeat on the other side.
Performing the Spleen Radiant Circuit Activation exercise can help to boost an energy pathway that oversees our metabolism and supports our immune system. Place a three-finger notch (see above) at the center of your chest and with the other hand, place a three-finger notch on the side of your body toward the bottom of the ribcage, about four inches from the armpit. Hold these points and take deep breaths for as long as it feels good.
Freeing the Diaphragm is an exercise that oxygenates the blood and can help build our immune system. Place your left hand under the center of your rib cage with your right hand on top of it and pull your elbows in close to your body. Breathe in deeply while pushing your hands against your body and your belly out. Hold your breath for as long as you can and then release and relax. Repeat this process about two to three more times. Then on an in-breath, reach your right hand around to the left side of your body at your waist and on an out breath pull your fingers to the front of your body to your naval with pressure. Repeat a few more times and then switch sides. Finally, starting with your hands at your hips, smooth the energy down your legs and off your feet.
Tapping on points that strengthen your Thymus and Spleen can help to metabolize anything that threatens your health, build your immunity, and help protect you during stressful times. Simply tap on the points with your fingers or your knuckles. The Thymus point is located at the center of your chest, and the Spleen points are on both sides of your body on the side of your ribcage at the same spot as the Spleen Radiant Circuit Activation point. Doing The Daily Energy Routine on a regular basis is also an important step to building your energetic strength and boosting your resilience when things don’t go your way (see the video on my front page).
Though we should practice gratitude all year
long, November seems to be the month that it becomes a true focus as we give
thanks for all that is in our lives. Practicing gratitude can be a profound and
life changing experience and adding a few Eden Energy Medicine techniques to
your daily practice can help to boost the joy that you feel in your life. It
might even help make the month of Thanksgiving even more thankful.
Heaven
Rushing In helps us to tap into the bigger picture of the moment.
Place your hands on your thighs and take a few deep breaths to ground yourself.
Then on an inhale, raise your hands to your sides and over your head, touching
your hands above it. On an exhale, bring them down to a prayer position in
front of your chest. On the next deep breath, open them wide to the sky above
your head and stay there as long as you need to. When you are ready, bring your
hands to your heart and breathe a few times feeling a loving, thankful energy
in your heart area and throughout your entire body.
The Nine Hearts exercise can help to tap into our natural state of joy, and therefore enhance our gratitude potential. Start by tracing three hearts around your face starting at your forehead. Next, trace three hearts starting at the middle of your chest and down to your pubic bone. Lastly, trace three big hearts over your head and down to your thighs or even to your feet. Be sure to breathe and not get too hung up on the specifics of this exercise.
Connecting Heaven and Earth makes space in the body for energy to move, and can help to activate our Radiant Circuits to bring us more joy and gratitude. Rub your hands together vigorously and shake them off. Place them on your thighs with your fingers spread and take a deep breath. On the next inhale, circle your arms out and bring them to a prayer position in front of your heart and exhale. On the next inhale, stretch one hand up and one down, stretching as far apart as you can, and hold your breath. Come back to prayer position on the exhale and repeat on the other side. Do this twice on each side and after the last stretch, bend down as far as you can, letting your arms hang in front of you. Take two deep breaths, and then swing back and forth making sideways figure eights all the way up your body
The 2nd & 4th Chakra Hook-up helps to center us and “come home” to ourselves. This exercise connects two chakras (energy centers that play a role in all of the system in our body) and brings balance to the body. Place a flat hand over your heart area and the other hand flat across the area beneath your belly button. Do this while taking some deep breaths and feel gratitude as you practice this exercise. I wish you a month filled with gratitude, peace, and joy!
Our body’s energy can be affected by our
surroundings, activities, and the people in our lives. Think about how you may
feel after watching a nightly newscast, and how different your energy feels
when you are in nature, or with friends and family that you love to be around.
Throughout our day, our energy can be high and upbeat, but also hit some lows
depending on what we are doing, and who or what we are around. Some of us may
be more sensitive than others, but none of us are immune to how our environment
affects us.
Strengthening our Aura,
or Biofield is one way to pattern the body’s energies so that we can remain
strong when our surroundings may not be optimal. The Aura is the field of
energy that surrounds our bodies. It
acts like a spacesuit keeping the energy we don’t need away, and like an
antenna, channels harmonious energy to us. When it is balanced, it protects and
nourishes the other energy systems in the body. Clearing and strengthening the
aura helps our physical body and affects how we experience our environment. It
is critical for our survival.
The following are just a few of many Eden Energy Medicine (EEM) exercises that you can use to strengthen your Aura. I urge you to pick one, make it part of your daily routine, and see if you don’t feel a little better or a little less sensitive to the energy around you.
Swimming the Aura is one technique that can strengthen our Biofield, and if you really pay attention, sometimes you can feel the energy around you when doing this. Rub your hands together vigorously for a few moments and then with your palms facing out, create a swimming motion in whichever way you choose. You can bring one hand forward and the other behind you. You can reach both hands out to the sides or up and down. Continue doing this in all directions around your body, as well as toward the head and feet. The trick is to do this slow and imagine that the energy you created when you rubbed your hands together is flowing through your palms and into the space around you.
Figure Eights are a hallmark of EEM. They are good to do over any part of your body that does not feel well, and they also strengthen our aura and surrounding energy field. Simply move your hands in a large figure eight pattern around your body. There is no wrong way to do this, simply trace eights in a way that feels right to you.
The Celtic Weave exercise helps to “fluff” your energies so they can protect you in a better way. It is a powerful technique that reinforces the figure eight crossover patterns in the aura and helps to connect all of your energies together. Stand tall with your hands on your thighs. After a deep breath in through your nose, and out through your mouth, rub your hands together vigorously for a few moments. Then bring your palms to either side of your ears, bring your elbows together and swing your hands out to the side. Do this same motion again, but this time bend a bit forward so that you are near your waist. On the third ‘swing out’ perform the technique at your ankle area. Then scoop up the energy you just saturated your aura with and pour it over your body.
Believe it or not, for many students, early August now means back to school time. Sometimes this transition can be hard on kids, but never fear, Eden Energy Medicine (EEM) can come to the rescue to calm fears and anxiety, as well as help kids focus in the classroom. The following exercises can be completed at home or modified for school, and can also help adults in an office setting or anytime you need a little balancing throughout the day.
When we get or feel out of the
loop and unfocused, oftentimes it’s because our energies are not crossing over.
Think of how the left hemisphere of the brain governs the right side of the
body, and vice-versa. Doing exercises and techniques that encourage that
crossover pattern even more can help us maintain focus and better coordination,
as well as give us more energy overall. One
way to do this is with the Crossover
Shoulder Pull and Cross Crawl. Start with a shoulder pull by placing your
right hand on your left shoulder. With a little pressure, push in and drag your
hand across your body to the opposite hip. After repeating on both sides a few
times, move to an exaggerated walk as you cross over each hand to the opposite
knee. Continue this cross-over march a few more times to cement the pattern.
As a sixth-grade teacher, I realize that it would be mortifying for many
students to get up in the middle of class to do this (though I sometimes have
my students do it as a class). Luckily, there are some other ways to cross our
energies when we are stuck at a desk. The eight pattern is a great way to
crossover, and though you don’t want to draw them all over your paper, you can
draw a few sideways eights or just trace over that pattern a few times. You can
even trace that pattern with your fingers on your desk or imagine it in your
mind. Simply crossing your legs and/ or hands is also another way to get that
crossover pattern going.
When your head feels clouded and you need to think more clearly, the Crown Pull can help. Place your thumbs on your temples and your fingertips in the middle of your forehead. With pressure, stretch your forehead by moving your fingers to your temples. Repeat at your hairline and move over your head until you reach the base of your neck. Pull across it and place your fingers behind your shoulders. Squeeze your fingers over them to the front, and with a deep breath, pull your hands off. You can also pull out your ears by simply moving up and down the outside of your ear and squeezing lightly as you pull. To make this something easy to do in the classroom, just scratch your head from front to back. I do this often throughout my day at school and it does wonders for clearing out my thinking.
What if it’s test time, and you need to calm down and focus? Placing your hands on the points right above your eyes (the Main NV Reflex Points) can help. To do this inconspicuously, simply prop your elbow on your desk and lean your head in your hands stretching your hand across your forehead and resting on those points. I wish I had room to add more to this column, because when it comes to school, every little bit can help make the school day a less anxious place. Please check out the videos on this website for more exercises.
Summer has made its full force known, and if we follow the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) way of looking at the seasons through the Five Elements, we are in the Fire Element time of the year. The Five Elements, according to TCM, offers us a lens in which to view ourselves and the world around us. Many integrative modalities such as Acupuncture, Qigong, Feng Shui, and Eden Energy Medicine (EEM) use this Five Element Wheel to help balance our energetic systems in order to achieve good health and wellness.
An imbalance in the Fire Element can result in the feeling that you have run out of steam. It can even lead to feelings of being out of control and panic. However, when this element is in balance, we feel a passion for life, inspiration, playfulness, and joy. One way to balance the Fire of summer is through a few simple techniques taken from EEM.
The Triple Warmer Smoothie is a great exercise to do anytime, but even more so during “Fire time”. Rest your face in your hands with your palms at your chin and fingers at your temples. Take two breaths, and then, as you breathe in deeply lift your fingers a few inches above the ears. On an exhale, circle behind your ears and press down the sides of your neck to your shoulders. As you hang your hands on your shoulders, press in and take two more breaths. Finally, drag your hands down to cover your heart and take a deep breath.
Another way to help calm the feeling of being out of control is to hold the Neurovascular Reflex Points (NV) associated with the Fire element. Hold the points above your eyebrows, called the Main NVs, along with the area on the back of your head directly behind your eyebrows. Breath into this a few times as you hold these two areas with a light touch. You can also do another type of hold by placing one hand on those same Main NV points on your forehead, while placing the other hand flat above your naval. Hold this for a few minutes while breathing deeply.
Taking Down the Flame also helps to balance the Fire Element, calms emotions, helps to create a sense of well-being, and can help to lower blood pressure if it is done regularly. Take a deep breath in and out with your hands on your thighs. On the next inhale, raise your hands on either side of your body and connect them above your head so that your fingers and thumbs meet, and on an exhale bring them down to your head, touching your thumbs to the top of your head. Inhale and on an exhale, bring your thumbs to the middle of your forehead. Inhale and on the exhale, bring your thumbs to your heart area. Inhale and on the next exhale, bring your thumbs to your naval and flatten your hands. Inhale, and on the next exhale, bring them to their original position on your thighs. Finally, on the next exhale, move your hands down your legs, and off your toes. Then trace your hands up the inside of your legs, and finish with your hands over your heart. If you really want to add even more balance to this exercise, you can exhale each time with the “Haaaaaa” sound.
There is nothing worse than the feeling of nausea, especially if it occurs in the form of motion sickness that keeps you from enjoying all that summer has to offer. I used to be famously seasick if I just looked at a boat, but with the help of Eden Energy Medicine (EEM) and other natural techniques, I was able to more than tolerate a trip on the ocean last summer without turning green. The following exercises can help to calm any form of nausea, no matter the cause.
The first thing I did was to make sure my energies were crossing, and I was grounded. Doing the Daily Energy Routine (DER) at least once a day balanced my energies, but two exercises from that routine that I focused on doing the most were the Hook-up and Cross Crawl.
For the Hook-up, place one finger in your
bellybutton and the other in the middle of your forehead. Press in and up and
hold it until you feel more grounded and together. You can also use a flat hand
if this position feels funny to you.
The Cross-Crawl starts with a shoulder pull by placing your right hand on your left shoulder. With a little pressure, push in and drag your hand across your body to the opposite hip. Repeat on both sides a few times, and then move to an exaggerated walk as you cross over each hand to the opposite knee. If your left knee is up, your right hand should cross.
Another part of the DER that helps with grounding is the Stomach Thump, which is simply tapping on your cheekbones with your fingertips. To ground even more and help to alleviate nausea, instead of tapping, place your thumbs right below your cheekbones and press in and up with deep pressure. While doing this, you can place your fingers at points right above your eyebrows with a light pressure to help with any dizziness or headaches you might feel.
A famous acupressure point for dizziness and nausea is Pericardium 6. It is located on the inside of your wrist, about three finger widths down from the wrist crease. You can apply a firm pressure on this point (but not to the point of pain) or tap on it. Work it on both sides of the body.
Stomach 36 is another acupoint that can help. It is about four finger widths down from the bottom of your knee on the outside area of your shin bone. Work this point the same way you worked the previous one on both sides of the body.
To help the dizziness often associated with motion sickness, I traced a figure eight pattern around my eyes. I like to do this using my fingertips and slowly trace around one eye, then across the nose and over to the other eye and around it. Repeat a few times.
These exercises can help to balance the energies of the body before a trip and can also be done during any episodes of nausea. There are other points and protocols to help with nausea, but I found the above the most helpful for me. See if they work for you!
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