A TCM Checkup - the wood element
March 20th 2007 23:11
Traditional Chinese Medicine views our health as a balance of “elements” There are five of these: water, wood, fire, earth, metal. Having enough of each element and having it working well with the other elements is one way of looking at our health.
Let’s look at the wood element. If we are supple and flow with life, if we can bend without breaking then our wood element is healthy.
This means our sinews (not our muscles) which give us our flexibility, and in women their monthly flow. It also covers our vision both literally and metaphorically.
Any problems in these areas is a problem with our wood element. The wood element tends to get out of control by being hyper. Those who are visionaries and are so caught up in their vision that they have trouble calming down have a disordered wood element. Rhythmic activity can be a good antidote, something as simple as walking. Other things that are calming will help keep our wood element in order.
When the wood element is healthy we act easily – with a sense of flow, even if it is with all our effort. And doing this we will find that we have a great awareness of what we are doing (if we don’t get hyper and driven). We will find that there is an attentiveness in our doing. This is the fire element. Wood feeds fire.
Keeping our wood element healthy means dealing with the details of life. All the stuff that needs to get done to implement our vision. This is the metal element (metal cuts wood). All those details which will cut us off at the knees if we don’t pay attention to them. To set about implementing our vision means dealing with all these things. And when we can deal with them flowingly we won’t get hyper; we’ll have a flow to our life where we deal with what we need to deal with flowingly.
So this is our wood element. Our flowingly dealing with the details of our life and so having awareness in all that we do.
Let’s look at the wood element. If we are supple and flow with life, if we can bend without breaking then our wood element is healthy.
This means our sinews (not our muscles) which give us our flexibility, and in women their monthly flow. It also covers our vision both literally and metaphorically.
Any problems in these areas is a problem with our wood element. The wood element tends to get out of control by being hyper. Those who are visionaries and are so caught up in their vision that they have trouble calming down have a disordered wood element. Rhythmic activity can be a good antidote, something as simple as walking. Other things that are calming will help keep our wood element in order.
When the wood element is healthy we act easily – with a sense of flow, even if it is with all our effort. And doing this we will find that we have a great awareness of what we are doing (if we don’t get hyper and driven). We will find that there is an attentiveness in our doing. This is the fire element. Wood feeds fire.
Keeping our wood element healthy means dealing with the details of life. All the stuff that needs to get done to implement our vision. This is the metal element (metal cuts wood). All those details which will cut us off at the knees if we don’t pay attention to them. To set about implementing our vision means dealing with all these things. And when we can deal with them flowingly we won’t get hyper; we’ll have a flow to our life where we deal with what we need to deal with flowingly.
So this is our wood element. Our flowingly dealing with the details of our life and so having awareness in all that we do.
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