The emotional function of our organs according to traditional Chinese medicine

Modern science is finally catching up with the principles of ancient knowledge such as traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and Indian Ayurveda by agreeing that everything is energy. Everything that constitutes the human being, mind-body-spirit, correlates at an energetic level with something “present” in nature such as geographic location, climate or environment, to give a few examples. According to traditional Chinese medicine or TCM, we can use the vibrational frequency of nature and the principles of natural law to heal and balance both our bodies and our emotions. ( 1 )

In this sense, the principle of interconnection also applies between different aspects of our bodies. For example, the respiratory system or lungs correlates with the skin and hair, the sense of taste for spicy food, the sensory organ of the nose, and other areas of the body such as the colon, chest, and neck.

According to the Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine and School of Acupuncture of Jason Smith in Madrid, the five elements are a model of systemic relationships, often between the human body and its environment.

Element	Season	Evolution	Climate	Color	Flavor	Cardinal point	Activation time
Wood	Spring	Birth	Wind	Green	Acid	This	11pm-3am
Fire	Summer	Growth	Heat	Red	Bitter	South	11am-3pm
Land	Summer	Elaboration	Wet	Yellow	Sweet	Center	7am-11am
Metal	Autumn	Maturation	Dry	White	Spicy	West	3h-7h
Water	Winter	Conservation	Cold	Black	Salty	North	15h-17h

Element	Organ	Viscera	Senses	Tissue	Emotion	Sound	Secretion
Wood	Liver	Vesic. B.	Eyes	Tendon	Gonna	Shout	Tear
Fire	Heart	Int. Delg.	Language	Glasses	Happiness	Laughter	Sweat
Land	Spleen	Stomach	Mouth	Muscles	Anxiety	Singing	Fluid saliva
Metal	Lung	Colon	Nose	Fur	Sadness	Crying	Nasal sec.
Water	Kidney	Bladder	Ear	Bones	Fear	Groan	Viscous saliva

The biological clock of the organs

The ancient knowledge of TCM covers much more than organs, colors and flavors, and has observed, among many other things, that in the human body there is also a schedule for the activation of the meridians that they have rightly called the biological clock.

The circulation of energy or Qi is what defines each organic activity since it passes through the 12 meridians or energy channels of the body throughout the 24 hours of the day, stopping for a period of two hours in each organ and meridians. The Qi energy, which is composed of Yin (cold energy) and Yang (hot energy), alternates, being complementary and at the same time interdependent. For this reason, the Yin zone and the Yang zone in the symbol that represents it, are not divided by a straight line.

According to the online magazine www.emol.com on Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the body naturally has the ability to detoxify, restore itself and provide the organs with the necessary nutrients to balance themselves physically, mentally and emotionally, for which it takes into account specific times during the course of the 24 hours of the day. For example:

From 1 a.m. to 3 a.m .: corresponds to the liver meridian . During this period, the liver's energy is responsible for cleansing emotions, mind, and blood. It requires the body to be in a state of rest.

From 3 am to 5 am : corresponds to the lung meridian . It can be a time of deep sleep, but it also corresponds to the execution of special breathing and meditation exercises, which allow the body to be oxygenated and to have a clear and harmonious mind and spirit. The lung is responsible for distributing the most subtle vital energy.

From 5 am to 7 am : corresponds to the colon meridian (large intestine) . This is the time of day when physiological needs take place. It is recommended to drink a cup of warm or room temperature water to help intestinal motility, as well as massages on the abdomen for people who suffer from constipation and discomfort in that area.

From 7 am to 9 am : corresponds to the stomach meridian and provides nutrients that strengthen stomach function.

From 9 am to 11 am : corresponds to the meridian of the spleen and pancreas . Food is converted into energy and nutrients enter the bloodstream to make us efficient. These hours are appropriate for physical work, if possible, or for greater activity.

From 11 am to 1 pm : corresponds to the heart meridian . It is the period in which the body is strengthened through nutrition, but not only physically, but also mentally and spiritually, alluding to a time for socializing and sharing.

From 1 pm to 3 pm : corresponds to the small intestine meridian that is responsible for separating and distributing the nutrients that have been ingested. It is a good time to continue with activities and physical work, although not necessarily as dynamic as the earlier hours.

From 3 pm to 5 pm : corresponds to the bladder meridian . During this time, when the body settles, it is conducive to work or study. TCM recommends drinking tea to help expel toxins from the body.

From 5 pm to 7 pm : corresponds to the kidney meridian . This time is conducive to therapy, meditation and spiritual contemplation. During this period, reflections on philosophical and ethical principles flow, as well as delving into spiritual themes and listening to music.

From 7 pm to 9 pm : corresponds to the pericardium meridian . According to TCM, this meridian promotes love life and sexuality. It offers protection to the heart by giving it inspiration, making it a good time to carry out group activities that comfort each other's emotions and the collective spirit.

From 9 pm to 11 pm : corresponds to the Triple Heater meridian , which encompasses the body's oxygenation, circulation, digestion and energy assimilation systems. According to TCM, Yin energy begins to decrease and Yang energy to increase. Sleeping is the best way to accumulate Yang energy. During this period, unnecessary chemicals and toxins are eliminated through the body's lymphatic system, and a state of stillness is imperative for this.

From 11 pm to 1 am : corresponds to the gallbladder meridian . The gallbladder is a Yang organ. During this time, sleep and relaxation are required. It is advisable to abstain from alcoholic beverages and other intoxicants as they inflict unnecessary stress on the gallbladder.

How do emotions affect different organs of the body?

According to the PNAS ( Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America ) research article , our emotions coordinate our behavior and physiological states during events that promote survival (such as searching for food when we are hungry) and pleasurable interactions.

In this study, a topographic self-report tool was used to reveal that different emotional states are associated with topographically distinct and culturally universal bodily sensations; these sensations could underpin our conscious emotional experiences. This is very interesting because it could serve as an indicator for emotional disorders since some people find it difficult to express their emotions, but the topographic report shows which organ has the bodily sensation according to the circumstance being experienced.

The study revealed maps of bodily sensations associated with different emotions using a unique computer-based topographic self-report tool (emBODY, Fig. 1). Participants (n = 701) were shown two silhouettes of bodies next to emotional words, stories, movies, or facial expressions, and were asked to color the body regions whose activity they felt increased or decreased during viewing of each stimulus. The participants in the experiment were from different places and languages ​​around the world, yet the body mapping results were very similar.

Body topography of basic (top) and non-basic (bottom) emotions associated with words. Body maps show regions whose activation increased (warm colors) or decreased (cool colors) when experiencing each emotion. (P < 0.05 FDR corrected; t > 1.94). Color bar indicates range of t statistic.

In the table the emotions of the images expressed in order from left to right in the top row are: anger, fear, disgust, happiness, sadness, neutrality.

Bottom row, from left to right: anxiety, love, depression, resignation, pride, shame, envy.

The conclusion of the study is that emotional feelings are associated with discrete, though partially overlapping, maps of bodily sensations that may be at the core of emotional experience. These results support models that assume that somatosensation and embodiment play a fundamental role in emotional processing.

This detection that science has achieved today, traditional Chinese medicine TCM had already broken down in connection with nature, the cultural environment and the organic analysis of the person nearly 3000 years ago and, in addition, showing how the organs involved react and what can be done to restore balance.

Thus, TCM has classified it in the theory of the 5 elements which are effectively characterized by 5 elements: earth, fire, wood, water and metal; five main organs: stomach, heart, liver, kidneys and lungs, and their associated organs (stomach-spleen; heart-small intestine; liver-gallbladder; kidneys-urinary bladder; lungs-colon). From here come characteristics, circumstances and the consequent emotions that directly or indirectly influence the performance of these organs and the psycho-social behaviors that accompany them. Let us take, for example, the lungs.

The emotional function of the lungs

In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), the lungs correspond to the metal element, which in other cultures would correspond to air, ether or prana.

The main functions of the lungs include keeping the immune system protected against pathogens, as well as maintaining the proper circulation of Qi energy and fluids throughout the body.

On a physical and emotional level, both the lungs and their associated organ, the large intestine, are responsible for “letting go” of what you no longer need, from life experiences to emotions and, of course, metabolic waste.

As we have already seen in the biological clock tour, the activation time or time when the Qi energy settles in the lungs is between 3 am and 5 am.

Fall is the season associated with the lungs and their associated organ, the large intestine, or colon. If you tend to catch colds or suffer from allergies during the months of September, October, and November (in the northern hemisphere), it is important to take care of these organs.

The nose , on the other hand, is the sensory organ associated with the lungs. Runny nose, sneezing, sinus congestion and loss of smell are symptoms of compromised lung function.

The skin is the tissue associated with the lungs. If you want to have healthy skin, it is important to take care of your lungs and large intestine. Likewise, an alteration in the functioning of the lungs or colon can manifest itself in the skin.

Spicy is the flavor that corresponds to and supports the effectiveness of lung function according to the 5 element theory.

Sadness and grief are emotions associated with the lungs and colon. If you cry easily or have difficulty processing grief or loss, you may have an imbalance in the vibrational energy of your lungs.

5 Elements Theory for Personality Classification

Traditional Chinese medicine also makes a classification of people who, continuing with the lung organ, would correspond to “metal personality”.

The metal personality means transformation. In terms of colors, it is white, although sometimes they are represented with sky blue or gray. Among their characteristics are that they do things out of conviction and, in the process, they give life purposes to those around them. In other words, they can give useful advice.

They are neat, tidy people who want to have everything under control and not lose that control, especially the emotional aspect (they try to avoid crying in public, for example). They don't like to show their emotions too much. They also feel that they need to control the rest of their body.

The metal personality can be very susceptible to melancholy, which implies going back in time. That is, feeling the lack of the past with sadness. This person, not being very expressive of emotions, does so in the intimacy of the night, connecting with a childish emotion that prevents him from moving forward, as would happen with a negative memory from childhood that has marked him and he returns to it again and again.

They have an intuitive personality. They recognize from their intuition when something is right or wrong. They seek the meaning of life through their heart, not their mind. Unlike those people with a “wood personality” whose organ is represented by the liver and who are visceral, bold and risky, people with a “metal personality” act in a more measured way and wait for the instruction of the heart.

According to traditional Chinese medicine, when a "metal person" has lung problems, the people around him can provide emotional support through recognition, appreciating his effort, his work or anything else he has done that could have left a mark on others.

The “metal person” is constantly searching for a horizon. So a person within this group who smokes, for example, is symbolically letting the smoke cloud the vision of the horizon he or she is trying to glimpse.

Foods to balance the lungs

Many foods have a vibrational frequency that favors the lung and its partner, the colon, especially white and spicy foods. The ideal is to see a person who practices traditional Chinese medicine or an acupuncturist who can regularly prescribe these foods to patients who are trying to strengthen lung function, obviously after a personalized evaluation, since it must be clear that the data presented here is superficial and one must not get lost in the relationships, since not all skin problems refer to the lung, nor those of the eyes to the liver, nor those of the ear to the kidney.

However, since the organ associated with the lungs is the colon or large intestine, foods that are beneficial for the colon will consequently be beneficial for the lungs. As mentioned above, fresh foods that are “white” or have white inside are recommended.

The colon appreciates prebiotic foods (garlic, onion, artichokes, cauliflower, broccoli, asparagus, chicory, leek, dandelion, kefir, breast milk);

Foods rich in fiber such as flax seeds, sesame seeds.

Green leafy vegetables such as spinach and arugula. Beet greens. Celery, cucumber

Fruits such as apples and pears.

Aromatic herbs such as thyme are very helpful in purifying the lungs. Cinnamon and cardamom are also very beneficial.

Spicy foods like ginger and black pepper help strengthen and tone the lungs.

Simple tips for daily lung health

Some ways to take care of your lungs from home:

Get rid of things you no longer need and give yourself a break. Boost your lung function by throwing away those clothes you've kept for twenty years or those notebooks from fifth grade.

Wear warm clothing in windy and cold weather, especially around your chest and neck. Since part of your lung's job is to protect you from pathogens, you can save lung energy by covering your skin.

Do breathing exercises. Here is a video of Wim Hof's breathing method guided by himself in Spanish.

The emotional aspect of our lives is as important as the physical body, so by trying to maintain balance in all aspects we will remain healthy and in harmony.