hostmelissa
02-02-2009, 07:35 PM
Liver Chi and Compassion
By Dr. Melissa West
Host of Returning to the Body Mind (http://www.contacttalkradio.com/hosts/melissawest.html), Wednesdays 8-9 am
This week in my yoga teaching I am moving up to the area of the navel, the third chakra. Normally when I approach this area in the body I think about action, making things happen, sheer will power. Digestion is another function of the third chakra. Because I have so many pregnant women in my classes right now I wanted to approach this area in a way that wouldn’t create too much heat in the body or involve a lot of twisting or pressure on the belly. In other words, I wanted the action to be less aggressive.
This led me to explore the organs associated with the chakra – outside of the digestive system. The liver and the gallbladder are the organs of the third chakra. When liver chi is excessive or deficient we experience anger, frustration and irritation. When liver chi is balanced we experience compassion. Interestingly enough, liver energy, from the perspective of Chinese medicine has to do with a healthy flow of energy.
Notice that healthy flow of energy exists on the opposite end of the spectrum from making things happen and exercising the will to action. This is not “self-discipline,” or “will power” this is allowing. This is being, not doing.
What feels like another lifetime ago I struggled to finish my Ph.D. I probably did irreparable damage to my liver chi because anger, frustration and irritation were frequent visitors those days. I was frustrated because no matter how hard I worked my advisor and committee would send me back to the drawing board to write another draft of my dissertation. I was angry because I couldn’t understand what my committee wanted. I was irritated because there seemed no way out. I wanted things to be different than they were, but the harder I tried, the more frustration I would experience.
We all have these experiences of disappointment and dissatisfaction. We have certain expectations and when they are not fulfilled we become irritated and angry. We compare ourselves to others and feel aggravated when we don’t measure up. We all have our stories of discontent, after all, we are more alike than different.
Fortunately on the opposite end of anger is compassion. Take a few minutes right now to meditate on the word compassion. Think of what compassion means to you.
Now, what would it be like to reflect compassion back towards yourself? Can we ground this idea in our lived experience? Consider for a moment, how your breath could take on the qualities of compassion. Often when I lie down on the yoga mat and follow my teacher’s instructions I become the “doer” of the breath. I make it happen in a certain way. I try to be a good student. I do what my teacher says. When my breath doesn’t cooperate I feel frustrated. What is it like to be with your breath with a deep level of compassion. How can you be with your breath’s gentle ebb and flow. Can you sense its smooth, even and nourishing qualities? Become aware of your breath feeding your body with prana – life giving energy – to every cell of your body.
We can expand this exercise in awareness further to our bodies and ask ourselves, What would it be like to have an attitude of compassion towards our bodies. So often our mind reflects frustration and anger with our bodies. We compare our bodies to other bodies and become upset when they don’t measure up. We want our bodies to be different from what they are. We become irritated with our bodies’ functioning or the parts that aren’t functioning as well as we would like. What parts of your body are suffering from judgment that would benefit from the gentle reassurance of compassion?
This week I encourage you to bring compassion to your frustrations, irritations, and anger. Bring compassion to yourself.
If you would like to explore yoga philosophy more deeply I encourage you to register for Yoga off the Mat – the first Tuesday of every month from 9-10 p.m. EST. E-mail me at info@melissawest.com to register.
By Dr. Melissa West
Host of Returning to the Body Mind (http://www.contacttalkradio.com/hosts/melissawest.html), Wednesdays 8-9 am
This week in my yoga teaching I am moving up to the area of the navel, the third chakra. Normally when I approach this area in the body I think about action, making things happen, sheer will power. Digestion is another function of the third chakra. Because I have so many pregnant women in my classes right now I wanted to approach this area in a way that wouldn’t create too much heat in the body or involve a lot of twisting or pressure on the belly. In other words, I wanted the action to be less aggressive.
This led me to explore the organs associated with the chakra – outside of the digestive system. The liver and the gallbladder are the organs of the third chakra. When liver chi is excessive or deficient we experience anger, frustration and irritation. When liver chi is balanced we experience compassion. Interestingly enough, liver energy, from the perspective of Chinese medicine has to do with a healthy flow of energy.
Notice that healthy flow of energy exists on the opposite end of the spectrum from making things happen and exercising the will to action. This is not “self-discipline,” or “will power” this is allowing. This is being, not doing.
What feels like another lifetime ago I struggled to finish my Ph.D. I probably did irreparable damage to my liver chi because anger, frustration and irritation were frequent visitors those days. I was frustrated because no matter how hard I worked my advisor and committee would send me back to the drawing board to write another draft of my dissertation. I was angry because I couldn’t understand what my committee wanted. I was irritated because there seemed no way out. I wanted things to be different than they were, but the harder I tried, the more frustration I would experience.
We all have these experiences of disappointment and dissatisfaction. We have certain expectations and when they are not fulfilled we become irritated and angry. We compare ourselves to others and feel aggravated when we don’t measure up. We all have our stories of discontent, after all, we are more alike than different.
Fortunately on the opposite end of anger is compassion. Take a few minutes right now to meditate on the word compassion. Think of what compassion means to you.
Now, what would it be like to reflect compassion back towards yourself? Can we ground this idea in our lived experience? Consider for a moment, how your breath could take on the qualities of compassion. Often when I lie down on the yoga mat and follow my teacher’s instructions I become the “doer” of the breath. I make it happen in a certain way. I try to be a good student. I do what my teacher says. When my breath doesn’t cooperate I feel frustrated. What is it like to be with your breath with a deep level of compassion. How can you be with your breath’s gentle ebb and flow. Can you sense its smooth, even and nourishing qualities? Become aware of your breath feeding your body with prana – life giving energy – to every cell of your body.
We can expand this exercise in awareness further to our bodies and ask ourselves, What would it be like to have an attitude of compassion towards our bodies. So often our mind reflects frustration and anger with our bodies. We compare our bodies to other bodies and become upset when they don’t measure up. We want our bodies to be different from what they are. We become irritated with our bodies’ functioning or the parts that aren’t functioning as well as we would like. What parts of your body are suffering from judgment that would benefit from the gentle reassurance of compassion?
This week I encourage you to bring compassion to your frustrations, irritations, and anger. Bring compassion to yourself.
If you would like to explore yoga philosophy more deeply I encourage you to register for Yoga off the Mat – the first Tuesday of every month from 9-10 p.m. EST. E-mail me at info@melissawest.com to register.