This is the time of the year when the transition from the Yang energy of Spring and Summer towards the Yin of Autumn and Winter is almost completed and Autumn has made its way in most places of the Northern hemisphere; a time of letting go and stillness to prepare Nature and living beings for the next new cycle.

Here is a small collection of videos by Roni Edlund and Damo Mitchell from Lotus Nei Gong International. Roni describes the energetic qualities of Autumn form the Chinese medicine perspective and illustrates some exercises to regulate the Lungs and the breathing. Lungs and Large Intestine are the two organ systems related to Autumn and they are very much about breathing in the Heavenly Qi and letting go of what serves us no more.

The letting go process is not happening at physiological level only but as always in Daoism, the mental qualities are involved too. The letting go frees up the Mind from its attachments to life experiences, where the attachment is specifically one mental aspect associated to the Lungs. This process is meant to end in a place of stillness, of deep Yin from where the spark of Yang initiates new life: it is in fact a law of Yin and Yang that the extreme of one transforms into the other. This process of purification leaving behind the unnecessary is usually associated to the cycle of death and rebirth and in fact the colour white that is associated to death in the Eastern traditions is the colour that resonates with the Metal element of Autumn.

Autumn energetics and Lungs exercise

Nourishing the Spleen

Based on the Five elements theory, each element is nourished by their predecessor, namely ‘the Mother’. Earth is the Mother that nourishes and supports Metal, the element associated with Autumn. The organ systems related to the Earth element are Spleen and Stomach. The Spleen and the Lungs also work together in the Tai Yin axis, both involved in transforming the Qi from air and food to nourish the body. The two are intimately connected and by nourishing the Spleen the Lungs are supported too.

Anchoring the Qi

Another crucial aspect for the health of the Lungs is their relationship to the Kidneys. One of the main functions of the Kidneys in fact is to anchor the Qi, which particularly supports the Lungs’ function of spreading the Qi down into the body. The Qi for its nature tends to rise and if it is not anchored properly it gets stuck in the upper part of the body compressing the Lungs and the Heart and generating symptoms like shortness of breath, anxiety and palpitations. Hence not only well functioning Kidneys help the physiology of the Lungs but they are also very effective in subsiding stress due to rising Qi.

In the Five elements theory Metal generates Water, which is associated to the Kidneys and Bladder. It is said that Water is the Child of Metal and as well as a healthy child makes the mother flourish and happy, here the health of the organ systems of Kidneys and Bladder makes sure that the Lungs perform at best in all their functions.

Anchoring the Breath

At last but not the least, I want to include the anchoring the breath exercise to provide a wide perspective on the subject of breathing, which after all is the n.1 treatment for the Lungs when it’s done properly. This exercise is primarily meant for a more grounded, relaxed and more comfortable state of the Mind for the Qigong practitioner, having the benefit of anchoring the Mind to the lower Dan Tien (the main energetic center in the lower abdomen) from where the practise itself unfolds. This does also make sense in relation to the previous paragraph, in the cases when the Lungs fail to send the Qi downwards that gets then stuck in the upper torso generating stress and anxiety.

This exercise has also great potentialities either as a tool to simply relax and decompress and within a practice meant to support the Lungs (due to the resulting improved quality of breathing) and the Kidneys (due to the lesser toll on their system once the stress levels have been dimmed down). Ultimately this is the synergetic fascinating quality of an holistic approach, where all parts work together and the improvement of one has domino effects on the others: all the exercises described here could be either applied to treat the Lungs, the Spleen or the Kidneys with the same benefits spreading to the others!

I really recommend these routines, do not give up if at first your Mind seems restless, it will eventually subside. As always in these arts, repetition is the key as it consolidates the new patterns within your body to the point that it will start recognising them as its own, to extreme benefit for your health and wellbeing.

If you wish to hear more in detail in a personal consultation or you need some help on the aspects here discussed, book a discovery call or contact me to book an appointment in London or in Brighton.