October 28, 2024 - Heart Channel, Yin & Sleep
This month, we move to the Heart Channel. The Heart, in East Asian medicine governs the blood and houses the Shen (spirit).
When we talk about each organ in East Asian medicine, we are talking about more than the actual organ itself, but as in energy or Qi of that organ system. The Heart has the following functions:
Governs the blood
Controls blood vessels
Manifests in the complexion
Houses the mind (Shen)
Connects to joy
Opens into the tongue
Controls sweat
The Heart is a Yin organ and if the Heart Yin or Blood is deficient, this is when we will see various conditions, such as poor circulation, pale or red complexion, poor memory, anxiety, insomnia, palpitations to name a few.
The Heart channel originates at the heart and moves out along the medial aspect of the arm (both sides) to the palm between the ring finger and pinky, ending at the tip of the pinky finger.
As with all of the organ systems, the Heart works closely with other organs to maintain balance and health. The organ systems it relies upon are the Kidney, Lungs, Liver and Spleen.
The most commonly used point on the Heart channel is Ht 7, Shenmen (Spirit Gate); it is located in the wrist crease. It is mainly used for calming the mind, and is great for anxiety, insomnia, poor memory and palpitations.
Yin, Yang and Sleep
The following is from one of my recent posts on Instagram/FB. I wanted to share here as well in case you aren't a social media person… and good for you, if you aren't!
Not getting enough sleep can feel like torture. In East Asian medicine nighttime is Yin time and daytime is prime Yang time. In each of us, we have Yin and Yang and at night, if we aren't able to fall asleep or stay asleep, there is an imbalance of these two forces.
In a healthy sleep pattern yin is sufficient to overcome the yang of the day to allow the mind & body to rest and restore. If either yin is deficient or yang is excess, the yin cannot overtake the yang which then causes sleep issues.
In treatment, we are looking for where or how your sleep issues manifest, in other words, the pattern.
It can look like one or a combination of any of these patterns:
Difficulty falling asleep due to mind racing or the body can't relax
Waking up in the middle of the night due to disturbing dreams or thoughts
Poor sleep or partial sleep, waking continuously or sporadically
Waking very early and unable to get back to sleep
All of these patterns inform us for treatment because they speak to whether you have a yin (or blood) deficiency and/or if you have a yang excess.
Insomnia is a western societal epidemic, because we have become a yang society with screens, devices on constantly, working too much, worrying about personal, professional, and worldly issues. We take very little time to put our phones on DND, slow down, use our creative minds, meditate, give ourselves space for doing nothing. The balance has been lost. We're in our heads, even when we are sleeping.
The first goal in treatment is to determine the pattern and the diagnosis - in simple terms getting your Yin and Yang back in balance - where sleep can replenish your Yin each night. In addition to treatment, it is very important to also add Yin activities into your daily life. An easy way to incorporate Yin into your life is to unplug in your typical routine, walking, running, driving, cleaning, whatever you already do, do it without music or a podcast or listen to meditation music instead. And maybe easier said than done but it will become easier when you notice your body relaxing and you start enjoying how it makes you feel.
Side note: I used to always listen to news or political podcasts when I went for walks, religiously. Now, after practicing unplugging, I love walking with nothing. I listen to the birds, to the quiet and it reminds me that I'm walking to relax my body and my mind. It feels great.
In EAM, it is stated that the best position for sleep is to lie on the right side with the knees slightly bent. In this position the Heart is located in the "high" position and allows for better circulation of Blood while the Liver is in the "low" position allowing Blood to return to it.