Owner Sarah O’Leary wrote on the blog this week about how this time of year, combined with the endless tide of current events, has most of us feeling depleted, shook up, and dysregulated most of the time. In the face of this, I wanted to offer a brief, guided “walk” through an acupuncture channel in the body that’s at its peak this time of year, and that we can call on for clarity and movement as we navigate these times. The Large Intestine channel and its acupuncture/acupressure points are used for issues with the lower intestines, movement of the gut, and elimination. Additionally, as with most concepts in Chinese/East Asian medicine, there is also more energetic/psychological indication for these points, to use when the mind or spirit is “constipated” or “backed up.”
To get started, take a moment to look at the diagram above of the Large Intestine meridian. Notice the flow and direction. You may want to do a quick trace of it to get acclimated before we begin. The Large Intestine (LI) channel starts at the tip of your index finger on the side closest to the thumb, and rides up the outer aspect of the arm, around the neck, and onto the face ending at the nose.
LI – First Stop
With your index fingers pointed, raise your arms, using your deltoids and sides of your neck. Take a deep breath in through your nose, and feel how the activation of the muscles on the arms and throat allow the lungs to take in more air more easily and deeply. This concept of ease through simplicity, shows up in lots of spots along the LI channel.
Return to your fingertips and tap them against each other. Merchant Yang, LI 1, is the metal point on a metal meridian. It is for the height of the Autumn season, and right at the tip of the body is the place where the Large Intestine’s capacity for releasing is the clearest. If you’re really ready to let go of something, LI1 is the point where you can just toss it off the edge of the cliff and be done with it. Enjoy the simplicity of this point as you tap the sides of your fingers together as you walk out of a challenging interaction, or do something final like dropping off your ballot.
LI 4 – Elimination Station
The Large Intestine is all about letting go, so don’t linger on your fingers too long. Move upwards to LI 4 aka Our Great Eliminator, one of the most useful acupuncture points on the body (Kaatz, 2012). Use this to “move” all sorts of issues: headaches, menstrual cramps, constipation, hangovers, anxiety, insomnia. This point is translated as “joining the valleys” and I like to picture rivers coming down from two separate mountain ranges meeting, and the strong increase in hydro power that results at the intersection.
If you’re stuck on something, try digging into LI 4 with your opposite thumb, and see what changes.
LI 10 – Keep Moving
Keep on moving upwards, to LI 10, called Arm 3 Miles. This point lies along the lateral aspect of the forearm and is a super empowering point for both physical and emotional exhaustion.
When you’re ready to let go and enjoy, but need a little more gas in the tank to make it out of town, use gentle twisting/wringing pressure on LI 10.
LI 18 – Support and Rush Out
The Large Intestine channel continues up the neck to the face. Here, the points are used more for the mind and spirit. If the connection between the spirit and the neck and head seems strange, think of how much stored behavior, belief, and bracing are held in the muscles used to support our head through every breath we take and every hour we spend on Instagram 😂. Large Intestine 18 is translated as Support and Rush Out and can help “empower the release of all that no longer serves so we are receptive….and grant us…perspective on our losses” (Jarrett 2003).
Find your sterno-clido-mastoid (SCM) muscle by clenching your teeth and giving yourself a double chin. Here’s Arnold with a very prominent SCM:
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Cross your arms to the opposite side of your neck (left hand to right side of the neck) and feel the strength and suppleness of your SCM. You may be able to feel your heartbeat and the movement of your body as you breathe. With patience, see what you can “let go” of. Pay attention to any movement going on in your neck. This may be jaw tension, air held in your lungs, a sob, a thought, or anything else that comes up. Notice if anything feels clearer as you let go.
LI 20 – Breathe
With the space to breathe more fully, we continue to our final stop on this meridian journey: LI 20, found just outside the widest part of the nose. This is where the channel ends and connects via the sinus passages to another channel going down the body. Not surprisingly, this point is great for congestions, allergies, and clearing the sinus passages. But its name, Welcome Fragrance, also points to the result of clearing out a passage and being able to breathe – the odors of the world are able to enter, be interpreted and appreciated by our brains and bodies.
Jarrett notes that “when the sinuses are congested, our ability to contact essence and feel inspired is obscured. Hence we can tend towards a generally negative and pessimistic outlook…by moving stagnation…[we are] empowered to let go and disengage” (2012).
To clear and bring attention to this point, I recommend doing a general face massage to move your sinus passages. When you’re done, reap your harvest: notice a smell around you and what it evokes. Delight? Nostalgia? Disgust? Curiosity? Whatever it is, enjoy it without judgement, knowing that you have the strength and clarity of your Large Intestine channel to move out whatever that does not serve.
Thanks for riding along!
Sources:
Jarrett, Lonny. (2003). The Clinical Practice of Chinese Medicine. Massachusetts: Spirit Path Press.
Kaatz, D., & Tu, X. (2012). Characters of Wisdom: Taoist Tales of the Acupuncture points. Soudorgues, France: The Petite Bergerie Press.
