So in the first part of the summer the Heart and Small Intestine Meridians are highlighted.
The element is the fire, the colour is red and emotion joy.
Here are a couple of videos showing the locations of the meridians
Here is a one hour and five minutes yin class based on the meridians with a focus on some of the symbolism. The small intestine sorting out and choosing what to keep and what to get rid of. The heart symbolising our connection to ourself, our body, feeling grounded and sensual and at home in our body. The heart also symbolises our connections outwards to friend and family.
….with a special appearance by Kitty the Cat :)
The class sequence is
Sitting in a comfortable position and a series of shoulder and arm stretches - all done on one side in a flow, then repeat on the other side:
1) arm across chest with neck stretches,
2) hug yourself, eagle arms in stillness or movement
3) palms together, arms above head move from side to side
4) cow-face arms
Shoulders are often more sensitive than the hips so one minute for each position is normally enough
Butterfly
Seated Twist
Lateral Shoelace
Sphinx
Seal - this pose is quite intense for many people - I normally offer it for an optional 1 minute at the end of Sphinx
Lateral Child
Lying Twist - flowing in and out then settle into stillness
The heart meridian is about the warmth of our connections and human relationships. A study into death bed regrets found our top 5 retreats are:
1) I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me
2) I wish I hadn’t worked so hard
3) I wish I had the courage to express my feelings
4) I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends
5) I wish I had let myself be happier
I invite you to reflect on your friendships and the level of warmth and honesty about your feelings, could you open up more? Could you reach out more? I know I could.
Article in the Guardian here
The heart meridian is also about our connection to our self and our body. Feeling at home in our body and feeling grounded and sensual. A shocking 90% of British women feel body-image anxiety, let’s take back our freedom and power and work on body positivity.
Another Guardian article here
The heart meridian is also about feeling connected to our environment. Being part of nature. Do you take time just to “be” in nature. Do you ever feel part of a greater whole? We all need to make space to feel that interconnection - it’s so worth while.
And last but not least the Small intestine represents our ability to sort out what’s important and what to throw away. Do you hang onto things for too long? Relationships? Possessions? jobs? Do you buy things you don’t really need? Where you could let go?
Here is a Yoga Nidra based on the meridians and a walk in the forest, feeling connected to, and part of our environment.