Developing Yin first - Bonding with the Earth By Suzanne Yates MRSS(T)

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1 Developing Yin first - Bonding with the Earth By Suzanne Yates MRSS(T) Developing Yin First: Using the Extraordinary Vessels to ground and relate By binding ourselves to earth we free ourselves to fly heavenwards. The first few months of our life on earth are particularly important and we have been preparing for them since the moment of our conception, if not before. As soon as we re born we must establish a relationship with a whole new world, a world outside the fluid-filled, watery environment of our mother s womb. We must also relate differently to our mother - the link between these two worlds. In this article I will explore how we do this, the impact of these early relationships on the rest of our lives, and how they relate primarily to the energy of the Extraordinary Vessels. Introduction to the Extraordinary Vessels ** Diagram** The Core Four Extraordinary Vessels are Du Mai (GV, Governing Vessel: Sea of Yang), Ren Mai (CV, Conception Vessel: Sea of Yin), Chong Mai (PV, Penetrating Vessel: Sea of Blood) and Dai Mai (GDV, Girdling Vessel). They are midline vessels linking the brain, Heart, Kidneys and reproductive organs. They overlap with each other in many ways and I tend to work with them as a group. This midline (especially the navel, lumbar spine, mouth and anus) is vital in supporting our life relationships. Chong is the only one that has a pathway into the legs and I wonder if this is what Masunaga felt, with his extensions of the Heart and Heart Protector meridians. Chong brings energy down to our feet, anchoring us to earth. Chong is a bridge to the Outer Four (Yin and Yang Wei - Linking vessels and Qiao Heel vessels). The Qiao and Wei bring energy from the earth through the feet back up to the brain, Wei also brings in energy from the heavens. It is these fundamental connections that then support the 12 meridians. We can work the Extraordinary Vessels via the whole channel or by working with their Regulating points Regulating Points Each vessel has a key regulating point, listed below. This point is classically paired with another vessel s regulating point eg CV / Lu 7 and Yin Qiao / KD 6. I include many other combinations, sometimes even favouring a Yin/Yang polarity, e.g. HC 6 and TH 5.

2 CV: LU 7 - KD 6 Yin Qiao GV: SI 3 - BL 62 Yang Qiao PV: SP 4 - HC 6 Yin Wei GDV: GB 41 - TH 5 Yang Wei Our first connection with the earth: pre-conception Chinese Medicine is based on our connection to the whole Universe, the Tao. Why do we choose to incarnate on this earth? This initial imprinting of the Universe and our purpose in being here is the essence of the energy of the Extraordinary Vessels. Moving in water: life in the womb and our first relationships For the first week after conception we are self-nourishing, as the fertilised egg journeys down the fallopian tube to land on its first earth: the uterus. We are whole and self-contained, spiralling apart into 8 totipotent cells, which in turn give rise to both our inner and outer bodies. (Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen works with Cellular breathing : feeling the movement of breath in every cell 1 ). At the end of the first week, we form an inner body that will become our physical body, and an outer body that will become our support structures: placenta and membranes. In the second week, this outer body burrows into the lining of the uterus, making Blood connections to bring us nourishment. The quality of that first Blood connection/bonding with our mother, when we bathe in her feelings and how much she accepts us, will imprint itself profoundly on us. We carry this experience into all future relationships. We can access it by working with the Extraordinary Vessels, especially PV. Our inner body starts developing from the Ming Men area (GV4: between L2 and 3), forming a fluid midline (neural tube, primitive streak ). From this, in the third week, will develop our three germ layers - of endoderm (CV: Yin), ectoderm (GV: Yang) and mesoderm (PV: Blood). There are two points where the layers remain only two: the future mouth and anus. The heart develops before the brain since blood is needed for the brain to develop. Here we see the relevance of key points and the importance of Blood (Chong).

3 In week 4, other organs start to develop out of these three layers and we form limb buds: the 12 channels arise out of the 8 Extraordinary Vessels. During weeks 4 8, as we start to fold our fluid midline into the fetal position, the umbilical cord forms. This will provide a new form of orientation around the navel, as through it we receive Blood, our nourishment from the placenta and we form a new relationship with our mother. (Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen has also developed navel radiation breathing where we breathe into our navel and feel our body organising around it 1 ). From week 9 we start moving our arms and legs, developing the Wei and Qiao and the 12 meridians. Touch is the first sense that develops, at around week 8, and provides the most basic foundation to support the nervous system and other senses. We experience the outer world through our perception of movement. Later we start to develop reflexes that support different body movements, preparing the tool kit we need for emerging on the earth, but in the watery world of the womb, we are like a fish: our spine is the most important axis for movement. Preparing to land on earth: birth - strengthening the vertical axis In a vaginal birth, the head presses down against the perineum, stimulating contractions. So birth is initiated by the head descending and emerging, followed by a rotational movement of the shoulders, running through the hips to the feet. This spiralling movement engages the whole of the midline in a very physical way, preparing for us to stand. If this movement is restricted, for example in a forceps or a Caesarean delivery, where the movement of the spine is different, this affects the quality of the midline. The feelings of the mother and those present at the birth also inform its quality. However if the initial stage is missed out, as practitioners we simply need to be aware that the midline needs more strengthening. This is best done as soon as possible after birth, as babies are very adaptable and seek to integrate movements. However we can always support an adult too, although it is likely to take more time. Our first movements on the earth Our first movement is to take in oxygen through our nose and mouth, which brings about complex changes in our circulatory system, shifting the focus from the navel up to the lungs. We start to organise ourselves differently around our midline as we take in food through our mouth and eliminate waste through our anus.

4 How do we relate to this new world outside? There are various reflexes that support our basic bonding and one of the most fundamental is the Tonic Labyrinthine (Tonic Lab). This draws us to earth by increasing the postural tone of the muscles on the side of the body in contact with it. If we rest on our front then flexor tone (Yin) is increased; lying on our back, extensor tone (Yang) is increased; lying on our side, lateral tone (Dai, Wei and Qiao) is increased. Each position has a different energy and affects our new relationships with heaven and earth as we connect with gravity and space. If we yield first, we can then push away. A basic yes and no are established in our first three months. If we push first without yielding, a different relationship forms. Developing Yin: trust and yielding - CV/PV, Yin Wei and Qiao At birth, our posture is still foetal: physiological flexion. We have more tone in the front of our body, while the back is curled around in protection. Initially new-borns lie in a left or right C curve, determined by the way they were in the womb, so are more comfortable on one side than the other. Development of tone begins in our lower abdomen and seems to be linked with our new digestive activity and the stimulation of the mouth/anus connection. The tone of our digestive organs develops upward from the torso to the mouth (PV/CV). Flexor tone develops from the feet through the torso to the upper limbs and head (Yin Wei and Qiao). It is integrated when a baby lying supine can lift its head away from the ground. If we are breast-fed and held against our mother s body, a stronger Yin-to-Yin connection is established, and the quality of that connection imprints profoundly. For example, if our mother is unsure or anxious, it expresses through her whole being and we will perhaps not be able to relax deeply into feeling safe and trusting. It s another layer of how we experience our most basic way of relating. If all our needs are met, we trust enough to move away. If our needs are unmet, then we may spend the rest of our lives searching. If our mother doesn t hold us close against her body, but away from her and is bottle-feeding, then we will experience a different kind of stimulation to our front, and may not be able to relax so fully into Yin. Yang develops our capacity to push away from the earth: GV and GDV, Yang Wei and Qiao Extension develops slightly later in the womb than flexion and only develops fully 6 months

5 after birth. It relates to the development of the back muscles, so that in prone the baby can arch into a total extension posture ( airplane, Landau righting reaction). Extensor tone develops as the infant starts to push away from the earth. We see it when they are held upright in someone s lap. Like flexor tone, it first reflects in the feet developing up through the torso and arms to the head. It appears to originate in the development of tone in the lower tip of the spinal cord and to be a manifestation of spine and central nervous system activity (GV, GDV and Yang Wei / Qiao). It develops through stimulation to the back - through Tonic Lab the baby will yield to the earth and then it will push away. A vital balance - Yin provides the basis for Yang An imbalance will develop if the baby is placed too much on their back, which is often the case these days. Following government guidelines in the Back to Sleep campaign ( babies are placed to sleep on their backs rather than, as pre-1991, on their fronts. Many parents reinforce this further by placing a waking baby on their back more than on their front, for example on a changing-mat or in a car seat. Encouraging the baby to stand before they are ready will also over-stimulate tone in the back of the legs. This means that the front (abdominal muscles, iliopsoas, sartorius and rectus femoris) doesn t get developed enough. Yang overpowers Yin! This presentation is common in adults. Furthermore parents are more likely to wave toys and other objects at their baby if they are on their back, so baby s attention is drawn to space and Yang. If our Yang is over-stimulated then we want to pull away from the earth before we have fully connected. This will affect future relationships. Moving away: once we have experienced yielding, we can push away Our first movements are a continuation of how we strengthen our midline through spinal movement, moving like a snake and getting used to land. Gradually we start to move our arms and legs more as we develop tone in them, also first through yielding and then pushing away. We pass through different stages - homologous: amphibian, homolateral: reptilian, contralateral: mammalian. Once we have integrated all these movements we are ready to stand on our two feet and establish a new vertical relationship along the mid-line: with Heaven above and Earth below. It is only at this point that the Yin/Yang flow we know so well in the 12

6 channels is established. I have developed some simple exercises to re connect the client back to the feelings of bonding: What is our capacity to bond and to leave? Whole body exercise to feel yes and no Repeat this exercise in the three different positions of lying on your front (Yin), back (Yang) and side (Yang Qiao and Wei). Notice which position is most comfortable and reassuring - this indicates which way you bond more easily and which energies you express more. Allow yourself to rest and feel the parts of your body in contact with the floor. Notice your feelings. Next, imagine the earth as a body you are lying against. How comfortable do you feel with simply letting go and receiving support from the earth or another body? How does your yes feel? Be aware of your spine and start to initiate movement only using your spine to move away from the earth. How does your no feel? The impact on children/ adults If any of these connections is not fully integrated, it impacts on our relationships with earth, with heaven and with other people. The good news is that it is always possible to rediscover a connection. Since the connections relate so much to the Core Four Extraordinary Vessels these are our base, and how we work depends on which aspects may have been over- or under-stimulated. We can feel this in the current expression of the Vessels, but should remember that touching these areas may potentially be difficult for the client to accept. This is where the Regulating points can be useful. The purpose is not to re-live the past or any traumas, but to rediscover our potential. People come into spaces with a deep capacity for connecting to their inner resources of Yin and Yang, bonding and leaving, and they are no longer bound by past patterning. They are then able to establish new ways of relating and to develop a new capacity for being fully present in each moment.

7 References: 1 Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen - Sensing Feeling and Action - Contact Editions, 1993 Linda Hartley - Wisdom of the Body Moving - North Atlantic Books, 1994 Gary C. Schoenwolf, Steven B. Bleyl, Philip R. Brauer, and Philippa H. Francis-West - Larsen s Human Embryology, Elsevier, 5 th edition 2015

Yansheng Taiji jin 1st Form

Yansheng Taiji jin 1st Form These notes are intended only as a reminder for participants who attended Mark Atkinson's recent seminar in Hertfordshire (February 2007). Anyone interested in learning this or any other DYYSG form is