Reflexology: The 5 Elements and their 12 Meridians: A Unique Approach. Inge Dougans

a knowledge of the meridians in reflexology

       ‘Tell me and I’ll forget. Show me and I may remember but involve me and I’ll understand.’

      ANCIENT CHINESE PROVERB

      As Ted Kaptchuk explains in The Web That Has No Weaver:

       ‘To Western medicine, understanding an illness means uncovering a distinct entity that is separate from the patient’s being; to Chinese medicine, understanding means perceiving the relationships between the patient’s signs and symptoms … The Chinese method is thus holistic, based on the idea that no single part can be understood except in its relation to the whole … If a person has a symptom, Chinese medicine wants to know how the symptom fits into the patient’s entire bodily pattern … Understanding that overall pattern, with the symptom as part of it, is the challenge of Chinese medicine.’

      Using needles, cupping or thumb and finger pressure on the acupuncture points to stabilize and harmonize the flow of Chi in the meridians, an important reflexology tool uses the concept of congestions within the meridians as an assessment technique.

      As we have seen, congestions result from blockages along the meridians, thus obstructing the flow of vital energy or Chi. Congestion such as sinus problems, tennis elbow, breast lumps, headaches or knee pain, has at its root the same problem. For each organ to maintain a state of perfect health, the Chi must be able to flow freely along the meridians. The meridian system unifies all parts of the body and is essential for the maintenance of harmonious balance.

      The atom, the basic form of an element, is composed of a central nucleus formed of protons and neutrons, around which electrons revolve. One of the largest entities we know of is the solar system, which has a similar structure to the atom: the sun the central nucleus with planets revolving around it. A group of atoms makes up a molecule, a group of molecules forms a cell, groups of cells form tissue, a mass of tissue forms an organ, a group of organs forms a system, a number of systems become a person, several persons make up a family, many families form a tribe, a clan or neighbourhood, many neighbourhoods make a town, many towns a province, and so on. Thus, one is in everything and everything is in one. In every part of the body, we find the whole body projected proportionately in an organic, precise, logical way.

      If we accept the viewpoint of human beings as multidimensional bodies of energy, it follows that human beings can be affected by energy. We need to understand that energy, the Chi being referred to here is a vibration, and everything on our planet consist of vibrational energy. Reflexology, acupuncture and many other therapies are in basic essence, vibrational therapies.

      Vibration is a synonym for frequency – different frequencies of energy reflecting varying rates of vibration. We know that matter and energy are manifestations of the same primary energetic substance of which everything in the universe is composed, including our physical and subtle bodies. The vibratory rate of this universal energy determines the density of its expression or form as matter. Matter, which vibrates at a very slow frequency, is referred to as physical matter. That which vibrates at speeds exceeding the velocity of light is known as subtle matter. In order to therapeutically impact on the system, energy needs to be administered that vibrates at frequencies beyond the physical plane.

      Vibrational medicines such as homeopathic tinctures or flower essences are thought to be charged with a particular frequency of subtle energy. These subtle energetic patterns, which are stored within the vibrational essence, may be used to affect human beings at a variety of interactive levels.

       ‘The acupuncturists see meridian dysfunction as a precursor of organ pathology. The meridian circuit abnormality reflects an imbalance in the polar energies of the forces of yin and yang. Neither force exists alone, but in relation to the total energetic needs of the organism.’

      RICHARD GERBER, VIBRATIONAL MEDICINE

      It is at this level that we need to consider the impact of reflexology treatments on the human system. The stimulation of reflexes and meridians we practise generates vibrational waves which, on reaching a target organ or congestion, trigger a chemical reaction in the body; our body reacts to two fundamental stimuli – contraction and expansion – which we can translate into heat-cold stimuli, or yin and yang.

       Congestion of the Meridians

      Cooking and eating good food are the cornerstones of human civilization, however what we eat has consequences for the amount of Chi we receive to keep the meridians and therefore our body and mind in a healthy state.

      As we have seen, subtle energy vibrates at different frequencies – the lower the frequency, the more solid the matter will be. This means that food which is dense is likely to be stagnant and so congest the meridian pathways. For this reason it is important to make sure that what we eat is as pure as possible.

      The vibration of our food is increasingly dense as most is man-made with high levels of non-digestible and non-biodegradable chemicals. Hormone expert Dr John Lee made the following comment with regard to xenoestrogens – empty oestrogens that mimic real oestrogens and take the latter’s place in the body:

       ‘Xenoestrogens from the environment come from pesticide residues, industrial residues and plastics, which contaminate water and get into the food chain. Research has shown that the combination of tiny amounts of these hormone-disrupting chemicals, equivalent to the levels found in human blood, is carcinogenic and triggers breast cells to proliferate.’

      These alterations in our food chains are the major underlying cause of many of our most devastating diseases such as cancer, heart disease, obesity, mental imbalances, as well as the many widespread intolerances and allergies. Pure food, naturally grown, such as vegetables, herbs and fruits which have not been genetically modified, treated with hormones, chemically fertilized or cold stored, have a much higher vibration supplying us with a greater level of Chi.

       High vibrational food

      On the whole, if we buy commercially grown fruits and compare their aroma to that of organically grown equivalent, which have been allowed to ripen naturally on the tree or bush influenced by the sun’s rays, a marked difference will be found. A ripe, red sun-grown tomato, picked directly from the garden is deliciously sweet and has a strong pleasant aroma. By comparison, a commercially grown tomato has very little aroma, and the sweetness is almost undetectable. There is a crucial difference between the vibrational patterns of these two tomatoes. The one that has been left to ripen naturally under the sun in healthy soil has the optimum balance between its sodium and potassium, as well as other minerals, thus giving it a high vibrational pattern, as well as being alkaline forming.

      The tomato which was commercially grown and picked green, not allowing the sodium and potassium to become balanced by the action of the sun’s rays, and which may contain many pollutant chemicals, will have a lower vibrational pattern resulting in a tomato with little or no aroma or sweetness, as well as being acid forming.

      Although we may be under the impression that we are eating very healthily when we eat much fruit and vegetables, this may not be the case if they are grown in such a way as to distort the mineral content and therefore the Chi.

      This illustrates how important it is not only that we eat healthily from the point of view of food groups, but also from the point of view of vibrational energy – or Chi.

       The Thoughts We Think – and the Feelings We Have

      As humans we are energy and we are sustained by energy. Our bodies are ever-changing, dynamic fields of energy and not static physical structures. Every part of our body contains information about the whole. We know from quantum physics that at the sub-atomic level, matter and energy are interchangeable. Christine Northrup in Women’s Bodies, Women’s Wisdom, uses the expression: ‘Matter is the densest form of spirit and spirit is the lightest form of matter.’

      When you are confronted with or you are the recipient of negative, hurtful or destructive actions, you experience negative thoughts and feelings. If you do not let go of those feelings, they become heavy dense vibrations.