In all aspects of life, there is a balance between relationships: relationship with self, with others, between mind and heart, and between mind and body. When life is in flow, there is health, abundance, and freedom. There is a sense of purpose in this flow as life provides us the right support on our own journey. When it comes to our life’s purpose and meaning, it ebbs-n-flow within clarity.
The Kidneys and the Heart play an important role in supporting our sense of purpose in life; while maintaining a flow of balance. How? Physically, the kidneys help with detoxing, filtering, and clearing out (through the bladder) unneeded waste from the body. The kidneys play an important role in maintaining a balance within our water pressure (blood pressure) and ion balance by choosing which to keep and which to let go. The heart plays a central role in maintaining flow through circulation and delivering the vital nutrients and oxygen to our cells; while removing the waste to its designated areas all via the blood. The heart has its own nervous system and controls its own rhythm in synch with the mind.
Emotionally, the kidneys houses one’s willpower known as Zhi, while the heart houses the Shen, or spirit of a person. Both play a role together in response to the experience of Joy, fear, fright, or shock. When one is unsettled and unclear, the balance between the heart and the kidneys have been distorted.
During conception, we receive our Jing, or Essence, from both of our parents known as our genetics. In TCM, the Kidneys house the Essence, which is activated and used throughout life. The Jing, or Essence, plays a crucial role in development, growth, and maturation. As we age, these reserves in our Kidneys start to get depleted. In Western science, the telomeres in our chromosomes (part of our DNA) are responsible for aging process. If they start to shorten in length faster; then, our body physically ages faster. This can effect our drive, will power (Zhi), and our passion for life if our Essence reserves are used too quickly.
Chinese medicine has an intimate relationship in explaining how the human body and mind resemble the elements of the nature. When flowing, water is known for its fluidity, strength, turbulence, and abundance. If water is blocked and becomes stagnant, it starts to become cloudy and murky. The kidneys resemble the water element as it promotes the flow of water leaving the body; allowing the internal water to remain fluid, clear, and balanced. Yet, if the kidneys are not filtering properly and become blocked; the fluids in our body start to accumulate, building up toxins, and murkiness such as edema, swelling, and fogginess. It is well known for elderly, who get an UTI, start to have cloudy vision and brain fog. The urinary bladder plays a critical role in balancing the water element of the body by releasing the unneeded water through urination.
The water element of the Kidneys is powerful enough to balance the firey nature of the Heart. The Heart is known for its fire element. The energy of fire usually rises upwards and out as the water energy flows downward. If the Heart’s firey nature is too much, the mind will start to be agitated and overactive. This resembles the feeling of restlessness, insomnia, anxiety, and at times, manic behavior. One will be too restless to have clarity and easily distracted from their goal/purpose in life. This can lead to making life decisions that do not resonate with the original purpose of life.
The opposite of excessive fire is too little fire; which can lead one to be emotionally distant, numb, and disconnected. This makes it difficult in feeling the flow of joy, gratitude, and purpose in life. One may be feeling a lack of will power and disconnection.
The interrelationship between the Water and Fire of the Kidneys and Heart help with us feel connected with ourselves and with our purpose in life by providing clarity and drive to pursue our passion. If one is ever feeling disconnected, dissociated, numb, restless, or uncertain with their purpose, Chinese Medicine can be used to cultivate a strong Heart-Kidney relationship through Acupuncture, Herbal medicine, nutrition, breathing exercises, and Reiki.