Oh Love! It’s near Valentine’s Day, and I have it on my mind! It is the most beautiful, exhilarating, terrifying, painful and worthwhile thing in the world! As an acupuncture physician who loves 5 Element Acupuncture, Classical Chinese Medicine, and Love, I wanted to share how I think about love from a Chinese Medicine Point of view.
In Chinese Medicine, there is an organ called the Pericardium, and it is responsible for surrounding and protecting the heart. The heart is the source of connection, passion, and interest and it is the job of the Pericardium to determine if something or someone is worthy and safe to be embraced by the warmth of the heart. I think of the Pericardium as being supple and intelligent, but also fragile. Constitutional factors and past experiences can stimulate or block the blood and qi/energy flow in this organ and influence how supple and easy it is for the Pericardium to assess what is safe, smart and appropriate to open up to. For interest, passion and intimacy to happen, the Pericardium needs to be functioning properly.
There is a whole branch in East Asian Medicine, called 5 Element Acupuncture, specifically concerned with looking at your psychological state as an indication of how energy is moving through your body. It is a beautiful system in which the mind and body are completely intertwined, and by observing one, you have an idea about the other. Emotions and behaviors are manifestations of movements of Qi/Energy. Our early childhood/powerful experiences and our constitution predispose us to view and interact in the world through a particular lens- a combination of the elements of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. We each are composed of all of them, but we usually have 1 that is more pronounced than the others, and we call that our Constitutional Factor. Working with an acupuncturist who is knowledgeable about this system is very helpful in helping us learn more deeply about ourselves and how to have a more balanced, healthy life.
Romantic relationships are not so simple because they involve 2 people (unless you’re poly and then it’s more complicated) with their own elemental strengths and weaknesses. Certain elemental relationships are easily compatible, while others can have more challenges. For example, a fire/ earth couple or a water/wood can be very compatible. One element supports and generates the other. However, a metal/wood couple or an earth/water couple might have drives that are antagonistic to the other. Remember that each person is a combination of all of the elements and not purely their Constitutional Factor, so before you diagnose your partner and deem your relationship as doomed, consult a 5 Element specialist, like Coco Jonquil A.P. or Maria Cordero A.P. at Peace and Health Acupuncture.
I love it when partners come in together for these balancing treatments- the treatment and self knowledge that develops can be transformative for the individuals and the couple. Through working with the acupuncturist to balance elemental strengths and weaknesses, partners are physically and mentally healthier and not as motivated by their neuroses/imbalances. They have fewer relationship complications. They develop awareness of their own strengths and weaknesses and those of their partners. When one partner is imbalanced, the other is less reactive and can respond with tenderness and compassion. Safety and trust between balanced partners grows, which allows the Pericardium to receive more blood and qi/energy so it can open and allow for a deep heart connection and deeper intimacy in a relationship.
This Valentine’s Day, Peace and Health Acupuncture is offering a special Love Package! In 4 sessions over a month, we will explore your Elemental Constitutional Factor, how this relates to how you want to express and be loved, and your strengths and weaknesses in relationships. We will use acupuncture and herbs to correct any imbalances. You will finish the sessions with an internal sense of stability and self-knowledge to approach love with an open heart!
Love Package includes 4 acupuncture sessions and an herbal formula over the course of a month. We encourage you to do this either as self work, or together as a couple!
