The element earth

The Chinese have thousands of years ago added a fifth season, namely the late summer. This is the time, between summer and autumn, when the fruits are ripe and harvested. In many cultures, this transition, from one season to another, is celebrated with a harvest festival. People give thanks to Mother Earth for all the good gifts she has given them. After all, the earth nourishes us and ensures that we can live.

Just as the earth nourishes us humans and provides us with a place to live, the same applies to the earth element in humans. The earth element is basically responsible for food intake and utilization (metabolism).

The corresponding organs are stomach, spleen and pancreas, whereby spleen and pancreas form a unit in TCM. This is called spleen-pancreas for short. That is why the corresponding acupuncture points are also marked with the letters MP, for spleen-pancreas, as you will see later.

The earth element is often called "our center". This is not surprising, because the organs stomach and spleen-pancreas are located in the center of our body. So if you want to find your "center" again, you would do well to strengthen your earth element. TCM offers many possibilities for this. In this case, nutrition and breathing are certainly the best. The earth element wants to be fed and nourished with the best possible food. I will give you some more tips later.

As you have already noticed, each element is assigned several properties and qualities, some of which I would like to mention below:

- Colori: orange, yellow
- Taste: sweet
- Climate: Humidity
- Season: Late summer
- Positive features: Mindfulness, logical thinking, practical disposition
- Emotion: Compassion, empathy, worry, brooding
- Sensory organ: Lips
- Physical: Muscles and connective tissue

The earth type

A person with a strong earth element is someone who provides and nourishes others. This must be understood not only literally, but also figuratively. Earth types are compassionate and caring by nature. They want to help and care for others. The profession of social worker is very typical for such people. Also, all the many volunteers that are everywhere are often earth types. This is very much in keeping with their caring and compassionate nature. The classic image of the earth type, however, is the loving mother (father) who takes care of her children and is completely absorbed in this task.

Blessed with a sunny disposition and a lot of patience are people of the earth type. With them you can refuel and come to yourself. They have the talent to build communities, be it an association, a self-help group or a circle of friends. People like to gather around them because they form a calm and stable center.

In the last post, I talked about the fire element. In the fire element, it is through the shen (consciousness, spirit) that the ego matures. The fire type longs for intense intimacy. He would prefer to merge with another person with body, heart and soul.

In the earth element, the relationship radius is now extended to the "you". Now the fellow human being is the focus of attention. The earth type likes to establish contacts and connections with others. The origin does not matter to him at all.

The earth element is associated with the connective tissue (fascia), which basically has the task of connecting muscles, bones and organs. Here you can see that the physical function corresponds to the spiritual function. The earth element is about bonding. Bonding also means stability. That stability that comes from being well grounded and having both feet firmly on the ground. A well-developed earth element conveys this.

Man basically needs strong roots, a good center and a connection to heaven. Since this is seen in qigong, one is always looking for rootedness. To feel this, the idea that roots grow from the soles of the feet deep into the earth helps. This creates a deep sense of stability in the body, which leads to a relaxation response in the nervous system and throughout the muscles. Therefore, at the beginning of a Qi Gong session, the connection of the soles of the feet with the earth is always established.

The meridians of the earth element

The meridians of the element earth are the stomach meridian and the spleen-pancreas meridian.

Symptoms with
An imbalance of the element earth

When the Earth Element is out of balance, the following physical symptoms may occur:

- Weight problems
- Weight loss problems
- Food cravings
- Sweet cravings
- Fatigue especially after lunch
- Soft chair
- Flatulence
- Tendency to bruise
- Dull headache
- Lack of perseverance

Changes will also be seen on the emotional level if the earth is not in balance.

- Excessive concern
- Strong desire for attention
- Feeling of inadequacy
- Loneliness and inner emptiness
- Lack of mental energy
- Unmotivated
- Unfocused thinking

Back to harmony

Qi Gong

As I mentioned earlier, breathing, in addition to nutrition, offers another way to strengthen the earth element. This is because with each breath, the ZwerchfelI performs an organ massage. The stomach and spleen organs benefit greatly from this. Qi Gong is a special form of breathing training and for this reason optimal to balance the earth element. In the video you will learn 2 Qi Gong exercises. The first one is called "Connecting Heaven and Earth" and shows very nicely what we actually want to achieve with the mindful movements. In Qi Gong, it is said that a person should be stretched between heaven and earth. Or in other words, the goal is to put the person upright and straight. With the feet in the earth and the head in the sky. At the same time he rests in his center, i.e. in the lower abdomen, the so-called dantien - our energetic and anatomical center.

The second exercise is called "looking at the full moon". When you do the exercise, you feel the torso rotate and especially the upper abdomen become somewhat compressed. The subsequent opening of this area causes a movement of energy in the stomach and spleen-pancreas organs. Of course, the liver also benefits from this exercise, as it sits at the same level as the stomach. This also benefits digestion. In the post on the wood element, I pointed out that the stomach and spleen can be "attacked" by the liver. That is, the liver, if stagnant, can negatively affect the digestive organs. Therefore, anything that is good for the liver, by extension, is also good for the stomach and spleen.

If you practice these two exercises regularly, you can strengthen and stabilize your health on a very deep level. As always, it is most useful to practice not only one element, but at least the two elements that precede it in the cycle. These elements are called the Mother and the Grandmother of the Earth. The mother element is fire. The grandmother element of the earth is wood. So, as shown in the video, do the full program. Thus, you will benefit the most from it. It is best to do it 1 time a day in the morning or in the evening. If that is not possible, any other time of day is suitable. The important thing is regularity! So it is better to practice Qi Gong for 10 minutes every day than 1 hour once a week.

As we now know, breathing exercises are a good way to strengthen the Earth Element. Therefore, it is important to learn to breathe consciously into the abdomen, i.e. the lower abdomen (dantia). You will feel how your abdominal wall rises when you inhale and lowers when you exhale. Your organs get a wonderful massage and you feel centered. The following little meditation can support you in this. 

Nutrition

What you eat, on average three times a day, has the greatest influence on your digestive tract and thus also on the earth element. At this point I would like to give you a few tips on how to stop the successive weakening of the earth element, due to wrong eating habits.

And I want to show you what you can do to strengthen your digestive tract.

Here are the 5 most important tips:

1) First thing in the morning, drink 1/4 to 1/2 liter of hot water. This is the best way to bring warmth and energy to your digestive tract. And at the same time you stimulate the whole digestion. Hot water is also an optimal detoxifier. This is widely used in many eastern cultures.

2) Get used to a hot breakfast. This can be a sweet or savory cereal porridge. Use oatmeal, millet flakes, spelt, wheat, bulgur, quinoa or another cereal and combine it with fruits or berries that are in season. Especially the spleen loves cooked cereals and its natural taste.

3) This brings us to the third point. Avoid too much bread. Bread and its myriad additives can create moisture in the body, which can lead to digestive problems and many other symptoms. The problem is often those foods with which we top the bread. Jam, Nutella, sausage or cheese cause moisture and thus burden our body already in the morning. And it is at this time that the stomach and spleen are most sensitive and therefore easily upset. Homemade bread is definitely better than store-bought.

4) An important tip that is often forgotten is to chew thoroughly. Chewing is the first stage of digestion. All too often we skip this stage by eating too fast. As a result, the stomach has to do more work than it would like. This of course weakens it in the long run. If you start to enjoy your food more consciously, taste it and chew it slowly, you will notice that you can get by with less food. You will also not be as tired and fatigued after eating as usual. Some people lose weight with this method alone. In any case, your whole energy system benefits because the whole digestion works better and no "waste" is left in the body.

5.) Eat warm especially in the cold season. In autumn and winter, when it is cold outside, the body wants something warm. Here soups, stews or warm vegetable dishes are optimal to strengthen the earth energy. Meat in moderation is also a valuable food to strengthen the spleen.

In the nutrition section you will find even more interesting articles on the topic of 5 elements diet.

Acupressure

For the strengthening of the earth element 2 acupuncture points are particularly important. They belong to the most frequently used points in TCM.

Acupressure involves pressing the indicated points on both sides of the body for 30 to 60 seconds. The thumb or the middle finger is used. To deepen the effect, you can press the point with the AkuPen edit. With this therapy pen developed by us, it is child's play to hit every point exactly. And the effect is stronger than with the fingers because of the tip. So you can do a "self-acupuncture" and use the advantages of this unique therapy method for yourself.

Here are the two important and effective acupuncture points:

St 36
This point is a prominent point in TCM because it strengthens the post-heaven qi. What is meant by this is that it strengthens the stomach and spleen, those organs that are responsible for our energy intake through food.

St 36 is a general toning point for the whole body, but also for the psyche, and is used for all symptoms of fatigue, tiredness and weakness.

Location: 4 transverse fingers below the lower edge of the patella (kneecap) on the tibialis muscle.

Helps with: Indigestion, bloating, constipation, stomach pain, fatigue, headache, loss of appetite, blurred vision.

MP 6
This point is used in Chinese medicine to tonify the spleen energy. It is often used in combination with the point St 36.

Due to our diet, many suffer from spleen qi deficiency, which manifests itself in sweet cravings, tiredness after lunch, general fatigue and soft stools. Sp 06 is therefore a very important point for us. Furthermore, it causes moisture to be removed from the lower of the triple burners. Thus, it also has a specific effect on the urinary tract and is often used for problems with the bladder.

Sp 06 is, among other things, an important point to strengthen blood and yin. Therefore, it is used for blood and yin deficiency.

Sp 06 is one of the main points in all gynecological problems, as it regulates the uterus and menstruation and resolves pain.

This point can also offer a lot on the psychological level. Thus, it has a strong calming effect on the mind and is therefore used for sleep disorders. Due to its effect on the liver energy, it is also very applicable for irritability.

Location: 4 transverse fingers above the tip of the inner ankle.

Helps with: Loss of appetite, fatigue, diarrhea, feeling of weakness in the lower extremities, menstrual disorders, in the absence of menstruation, disturbed libido.

Herbal medicine

Here I would like to specify several mixtures, all of which have a slightly different effect. To achieve optimal results in herbal therapy, a diagnosis is advantageous. But there are also general mixtures that lead to very good results if you know the symptoms. Basically, from the Dr. Weidinger line, the following products are interesting to bring about a balance in the earth element.

For the stomach:

W 10 - Dry relaxed upper abdomen
Optimal for a so-called "stress stomach". So whenever bloating, heartburn, belching or nausea arise or worsen due to stress.

W 11 - Gentle without evil
This mixture is suitable for draining moisture from the stomach and spleen. It also helps against nausea during pregnancy.

For the spleen:

W 14 - Qi build up
This is a basic formula for any form of energy deficiency and thus naturally suitable for weakness in the earth element. It strengthens the spleen qi.

W 15 - Thrive mixture
This mixture also strengthens the Spleen-Qi, but additionally also the Lung-Qi. So if there are lung problems such as bronchitis, breathing problems, shortness of breath or recurrent infections, this mixture is perfect.

I wish you much success in strengthening and harmonizing your earth element with qigong, breathing, acupressure, nutrition and herbal medicine. Until the next post, which will be about the metal element and autumn.

May you have strong roots and grow to heaven with your spirit!

Sincerely,
Wolfgang