Speak of something, ‘at the heart of it all’, and most get a visceral idea of what is being spoken to. It’s the essence, the juice, the kernel and ‘soul’ of something.
In Chinese medicine, that’s exactly what lives in the heart. The heart is the ‘seat of our spirit’ and the ‘seat of emotions’ — the dwelling place of perception itself, where consciousness resides in our waking state.
The heart influences everything.
The heart is the centre of it all.
At The Centre
In any good kingdom, at the centre, is a good leader. The heart is dubbed the emperor of the body. The one that governs and nourishes all, as the physical heart nourishes the body with flowing blood and all this provides to the muscles, tissues and organs.
At the heart’s centre is a place of deep resting stillness. Joy.
True joy is calm and still.
Yet, the heart is also where the 7 emotions (as named by Chinese medicine) can flow through, be known, and felt. Each one — sadness, worry, anger, fear, joy, grief, apprehension — and their particular ways of showing up in the body like laughing, sobbing, moaning, sighing, involuntary bodily movements, and so on, are all decorative reflections of ‘spirit’ flowing through the heart. The heart is meant to feel it all. It’s made for it. And so are we. (As long as we don’t get in the way of that.)
When emotions, blood, life force, are felt and experienced fully, without being held onto or resisted, when we don’t get bogged down or stagnant but live in the harmony of its rhythm, a bright and vital presence alights in our eyes. The ‘spirit’ and ‘soul’ can be seen and known. The eyes will show if the spirited presence in the heart is healthy and available or not. As the saying goes, “the eyes are the window to the soul.“
Re-Imagine Joyous Health
Disfunction of the heart, in Chinese medicine, has all the usual symptoms of western medicine, but the eastern medicines add onto that — anxiousness, poor sleep, palpitations, a simple lack of vibrancy or joy, depression, low libido, a cold personality and complexion, an addictive, irritable, or frigid personality. Even manic joy is a sign that something is up in the space of the heart. Because when the heart is agitated and depleted, our ‘spirit’ does not have a natural stable and secure environment; so things can go a little haywire to say the least in there, which can manifest in the various various heart problems we’re aware of in western pathology.
(When it comes to the cause of the heart imbalance, or the specifics of how it’s manifesting, that is a whole other story and best diagnosed by a well trained doctor of eastern medicines. If you’re wondering if something is going on with you, getting checked out sooner than later is best, as issues can be detected before they manifest, when they are far easier to treat. It’s also a good reason, as preventive measures, to be regular with the medicinal mushrooms used in Chinese medicine to support the heart like Reishi, Cordyceps, or those found in our Complete 360 blend.
What can you do on your own for heart health, if not seeing an eastern medical practitioner?
On the natural supplement front, regular use of the medicinal mushrooms mentioned; or any natural supplement supportive of the heart like Magnesium for relaxation and blood flow; or our Probiotic Cardio (many don’t know about the role of the microbiome in cardiovascular health) can keep our heart and heart-mind healthy.
That all supports the physiological heart, and the real work of engaging the heart in what it’s made for, which is intimately tied to perception. In the understanding of Chinese medicine, the heart is the centre of perception itself. So what perception supports a healthy heart more than one of joy — its primary emotion — laughter and beauty? Where does a heart thrive more than in meaningful connection to ourselves, others, and source of life? And what does the heart need more of but genuine time, for focused rest and contemplation, to take it all in even further, and extract the heart essence of it all?
Essentially, the question is — What supports a joyous heart? What ’nourishes the soul’?
So what are a few things you can give to yourself, that will nourish your heart more regularly? What are your daily forms of joy? What helps you feel deeply in the heart? (Knowing that to allow the 7 emotions to be felt, and flow on through, is to support the growth and rediscovery of joy.)
And how can you offer this more regularly to yourself, knowing it will only flow back out from the heart and feed others as well with that joyous bright eye inducing spirit, because that’s what the heart does.
May we take this opportunity to suggest garishly loud heartfelt singing at the top of your lungs? This, of course, engages the tongue, which has a direct relationship to the heart in Chinese medicine. (Just tell those you live with your obnoxiously loud singing is a Chinese medical prescription.)
Inspirited Connection
The heart is where we all meet most genuinely, and most fully in this inspirited human experience. What better thing to remember, and take care of here towards the end of winter, when we may not have felt the warm embrace of the sun or support of communal gathering for a while, than the joyous warmth of the heart: “…the fire at the center of our being, from which the spirit radiates” which, when healthy, shines through the eyes in bright eyed vibrant presence?
It’s no frivolous thing to make a commitment to the health of your heart. It’s an honouring of the core of your being that radiates out to, and nourishes, everything it touches. If you feel you don’t have time for it well, in the eyes of Chinese medicine, giving yourself the time could literally save your heart’s life, which saves you a lot of time in this world.
