Touch For Health International Journal, 1990

The Spiral of Lifeby Dominique Monette, MD

Based on the teachings of the JapaneseShiatsu teachers with whom I lived severalyears ago, here is a way to expand the TFHwheel and to understand on other levels whythis or that meridian is always out of balancein a specific person.

The Vital Circle

The energy enters the wheel through theLung meridian, Therefore we will start withthis meridian for our walk into the cycle oflife.

The first thing a baby does after birth is tomake borders. He needs to know, evenunconsciously, where his limits are, wherethe inside is, and what the environment is.He needs to be able to exchange, tointerchange with the outside. This was theword: EXCHANGE. The LUNG andLARGE INTESTINE meridians have thisimportant function without which it isimpossible to live: exchange on a subtle levelfor the yin LUNG meridian with thebreathing and on a material level for the yangLARGE INTESTINE meridian with theexcretion.

When the child is able to exchange, to knowwhere is the inside and where is the outside,the first thing he needs to do to survive is toOBTAIN FOOD. We will hear it: I want ...He will ask for material food, the function ofthe STOMACH meridian, and for subtlefood, the function of the SPLEEN meridian.

You will see a lot of occidental people with aspleen imbalance. Just ask them, "Do youthink a lot? Do you always have somethought turning in your head?" The answerwill probably be: "Yes, how do you knowthat?" Only because the "spleen person"always WANTS to have more/all theinformation until his head is full or emptybecause it is too much.

It is nice to be able to obtain food, but youcannot survive if you cannot make this foodbecome yours. The function of the HEARTand SMALL INTESTINE meridians is the

ASSIMILATION. The transformation ofwhat is coming from the outside into me, myblood (SMALL INTESTINE) and into MYthoughts, feelings ... (HEART). The HEARTmeridian is really representative of mydeepest inner center, and it can be difficult tointegrate what is coming from the outside, if Iam not in balance and if it's anger, forexample, that I receive from the outside. TheHEART meridian is related to theseemotions, these feelings, which are touchingme deep inside.

Once the assimilation is made, the baby isable to go into action that he now has theenergy for. It is the KIDNEY meridian whichgives the vitality, the IMPULSE to goforward. It is responsible for the distributioninto the body of all the food it hasassimilated. But the use of this energy, thisimpulse, needs purity to be optimal. And thisis the function of the BLADDER meridian, itis PURIFICATION. The Bladder purifies thebody through urine elimination (materialenergy), and the body, now purified, allowsthe subtle energy of the Kidney to go intoaction, to move forward.

Going forward the baby will meet "the othersand the world". He will discover that it's notalways easy to meet them. He will needPROTECTION. This is the function of theCIRCULA TION SEX and the TRIPLEWARMER Meridians, the surface protectionof the being's deepest center. On a materiallevel (climates, viruses, ... ) with the TripleWarmer meridian, and on a subtle level(emotions, superficial feelings, ... ) with theCirculation Sex meridian. When this latestmeridian is out of balance, you'll often find aperson who is touched in his/her feelings andemotions, but not on a so deep level as forthe Heart meridian.

Last, but not least, we have the LIVER andGALL BLADDER meridians. After all theseexperiences, the baby arrives at the end of thecycle. To continue he has to MAKE aRESERVE of his energy and to use itproperly. He has to make a CHOICE. Here is

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the big word. This is the end of the cycle.What will I do with my energy? In whichdirection will I go now? I have so manyopportunities, so many directions in which togo! Which decision to take? And imaginewhat is happening with people having a Liverimbalance? They want to go in this direction,or maybe into this one, or that one, ... It'sreally hard for them to make a choice, tomake a decision.

And when we are at the end of a cycle, thefirst thing we need to start a new cycle is TOMAKE A CHOICE. (Therefore I have calledthis lecture The Spiral of Life)

We are now at the end of the cycle. What isthis cycle? It is life, and you can find it inevery life experience: a job, a relationship,holidays, a phone call, the meeting of a newperson, a dream, this lecture, ...

The position of the meridians on thebody.

Do you know that the position of themeridians on the body tells us about theirfunctions? Look at the LUNG and LARGEINTESTINE meridians. They are located onthe outer side of the arms. And what is theirfunction? Exchange with outside after havingestablished a border.

And what about the SPLEEN andSTOMACH meridians? They are located inthe front of the body. They help us to get ourmaterial and subtle foods. They serve to takein and bring food to the body.

The HEART and SMALL INTESTINEmeridians, responsible for ASSIMILA-TION, the central control, are located on themost inner part of the arms, the most centralpart.

Both KIDNEY and BLADDER meridians,located in the back of the legs, are able togive us a kick, an IMPULSE to go forward,into action.

The CIRCULATION SEX and TRIPLEW ARMER meridians are located in themiddle of both the front and back parts of thearms. They correspond to the surface, locatedbetween the outside (LU and LI) and theinside (H and SI). Their function: thePROTECTION of the center against theoutside.

And where are the LIVER and GALLBLADDER meridians located? On both theinner (LI) and outer (GB) sides of the legs,on sides which are opposite to one another.No wonder it's sometimes difficult to make achoice, if we are attracted to one side and tothe other.

The Shiatsu Master whose intuitiondeveloped this material and its presentation,is called Shizuto Masunaga. He madesignificant contributions to Shiatsu andcreated a new way of practicing it His schoolis called Iokai Shiatsu. However, I havenever met him; he died a few months after Istarted to learn Shiatsu.

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