The neurotransmitters in our "guts' and in our brains are one and the same. This autonomous alterna-brain resides in our abdominal cavity, in close proximity to other vital organs. The gastro-intestinal system distributes energy and nourishment for the entire body. When people feel certainty - they say they know it in their guts. Healers have referred to the region just below the navel as the " all knowing". This center provides the raw nutrients for our mental and physical activities- for our life and emotional balance.
When this area becomes stagnant and is not working properly, food and water are not readily made into blood. The impure substances is not separated from the pure. This situation produces allergies, phlegm, and over prolonged periods, the formation of masses. These undistributed products become a mechanism of more disharmony by blocking the pathways where pure refined resources should course. Dietary and meditation practices aimed at establishing emotional balance have been used for centuries as a means of harmonizing this system. The early Chinese physicians in their beautifully metaphorical language, observed that the Spleen belonged to the earth element and transforms and transports. Its paired organ, the Stomach, rots and ripens what is taken in. Worry( over-thinking) and overeating obstructs these vital functions. This allows for the creation of mucous, inflammation, and other energetic obstructions. There is a psychological phenomena associated: feeling of "unrooted", confused, and/or apathetic. Another function of the Spleen is to raise "the clear". This clarity circulating in the brain and orifices is akin to perception, the quality of it begins in the cauldron of the belly.
The Chinese physicians established 3,ooo years ago that mental status and mental processing are directly linked with the gastro- intestinal system. With this perspective, it has been easier for CAM (complimentary and alternative medicine) to address and change symptoms from IBS ( often emotional component), food allergies (related to deficiency), and other auto-immune disorders related to the gastro-intestinal / enteric nervous system. The emotional factors around disease is diagnostic and confirms the treatment strategy . Forms of ancient and modern abominal diagnosis link areas of the abdomen with areas of the body and the energy system of the chakras places our immune system, emotions, and various genetic factors within this region.
Get in touch with your gut
One way of accessing and learning to listen to the gut/intuition is to breathe deeply into this space, filling it up with light as much as possible. Avoid overeating. Warm food are preferable to cold which can lead to further damage in a weakened system. Cold foods needs to be heated by the body in order to be transformed. Foods that aid digestion such as Hawthorn berries and millet can be cooked in porridge. It is also essential to limit fats. Orange foods such as pumpkin and sweet potato are tonics to the Spleen. Green tea, cucumber, and mint are cooling if there is burning or inflammation of the stomach. This heat leads to agitation. Honor the stomach and stop eating when it feels tight or oppressed. Physical and emotional balance is the result of honoring and nourishing ourselves.
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