In this 9 minute read, we answer what are the meridians?

We look at our body’s energy, how this energy moves and what happens when it doesn’t. Finally, we look at how to weave this knowledge into your Yin yoga classes.

 

Our body’s energy 

Unlike Western medicine, most Oriental medicine traditions don’t focus on eliminating sickness from the body. Instead, Oriental medicine practitioners measure wellness by assessing signs of our ‘life-force’ (AKA energy, qi or prana) that circulates around our bodies in 24 hour cycles. 

Every day for about 12 hours, our energy is active, uplifting, outward-moving and light: while the remaining 12 hours are still, downward, inward-moving and dark. This 24 hour cycle of ‘Yang’ and ‘Yin’ energy governs day and night, hot and cold, activity and rest – not only in us humans, but within every living thing in the universe.

Understanding Yang and Yin

When we talk about Yang and Yin, we often discuss them as opposites, as separate entities, as binary. But just like society moving forward in recent years, Yang-Yin energies are actually non-binary. They flow into each other. There’s a transition when night (Yin) becomes day (Yang). Yang-Yin also create each other: when we’ve had enough sleep (Yin), we then have the energy we need for the day ahead (Yang). 

Oriental medicine links this back to our bodies.

We have 12 major internal organs. 6 of which create and store energy (Yin) and 6 which move this energy outwards (Yang). And how does this yang energy move outwards? Through our meridians.

What are the meridians?

Meridians are where our ‘life-force’ flows. They’re a network of interconnected pathways from our 12 internal organs that move  energy out to our body’s surface.

What’s super cool, is because we’re living, breathing organisms, our meridians also absorb energy from the external world. The meridians send this new energy back to the internal organs – nourishing them (Yin) or moving them (yang). The meridians and organs form an ongoing feedback system of energy moving inwards and outwards – correcting and rebalancing itself along the way. 

Oriental medicine sees this energetic system as both physical and emotional.

You can see this in action by thinking back to a time when you felt grumpy. There you are feeling grumpy,  then a person, place or situation changed your mood. We experience this as an ’energy’ shift: our grumpy mood changes and we feel better on the inside.

Our 12 ‘main’ meridians

While there are actually thousands of meridian pathways in our bodies, we talk about the 12 ‘main’ meridians because they’re energetic highways where the most life-force flows. 

But when our life-force doesn’t flow, it causes an imbalance in our Yang-Yin energies. 

Oriental medicine practitioners are trained to trace these imbalances back to energy not moving either in our meridians or our internal organs. When you know the signs Oriental medicine practitioners look for, this can be a powerful tool to rebalance your own energy. 

Before you jump in fully: a word of caution, most Oriental medicine practitioners train for at least four years to understand this system. Plus they have years of clinical practice to enable them to diagnose. Please be kind, cautious and careful when applying this knowledge to yourself and others.

The 12 meridians in Yin yoga

In our 50hr Yin yoga teacher training, we teach the 12 meridians and organs as 6 Yang-Yin pairs:

  1. Large intestine (Yang) & Lung (Yin)
  2. Stomach (Yang) & Spleen (Yin)
  3. Small intestine (Yang) & Heart (Yin)
  4. Metabolism* (Yang) & Pericardium (Yin) 
  5. Bladder (Yang) & Kidney (Yin)
  6. Gallbladder (Yang) & Liver (Yin)

*the Metabolism meridian is also known as the San-jiao or Triple-burner

In Yin yoga, we teach the meridians as pairs because primarily we’re seeking to nourish Yin energy, with a secondary focus of gently moving any energy blocks. 

 

Let’s take a look at each pair:

Large intestine & Lung 

  • SEASON: Autumn
  • BALANCED: Judicial, maintains boundaries
  • IMBALANCED: Stuck in grief, cant let go
  • SENSE ORGAN: Nose, smell, breath, elimination
  • TISSUE: Skin + pores
  • ENERGY: Moves out + down
  • ASANAS: Upper body + chest

Bladder & Kidney 

  • SEASON: Winter
  • BALANCED: Brave, goes with flow
  • IMBALANCED: Fearful, neurotic
  • SENSE ORGAN: Ears, hearing
  • TISSUE: Bones, spine, brain
  • ENERGY: Grasps + sinks down
  • ASANAS: Back + forward bends

Small intestine & Heart (which are grouped with Metabolism & Pericardium)

  • SEASON: Summer
  • BALANCED: Joyful. fun, inspiring
  • IMBALANCED: Manic, anxious, hateful
  • SENSE ORGAN: Tongue, speech
  • TISSUE: Blood
  • ENERGY: Moves out + away from heart
  • ASANAS: Chest openers and closers

Stomach & Spleen

  • SEASON: Harvest (late summer)
  • BALANCED: ‘Mother Earth’-like
  • IMBALANCED: Worries, overthinks
  • SENSE ORGAN: Mouth, taste
  • TISSUE: Muscles, gut feelings
  • ENERGY: Absorbs up + moves down
  • ASANAS: Inner legs, outer core

Ways to use this in your yin yoga classes 

Even if you’re the most experienced yin yoga teacher, working out the imbalances of every yogi who attends your class is impossible!!! 

So if you’re starting out as a yin yoga teacher, a great way to start including the meridians in your sequences, is to teach based on the current season. 

For example, Autumn is a 90 day transformation from Summer (most Yang) to Winter (most Yin).

So from the start of March until the end of May, when your yogis start wearing more layers, bring their sniffles and colds to class, or you notice a tinge of sadness that summer’s coming to an end, teach Lung and Large intestine Yin yoga sequences. This helps your yogis gently transition into Autumn. They’ll leave your class feeling balanced with the energetic shifts happening around them.

To sum up

The network of meridian pathways is a way of understanding our body’s ever-changing flow of ‘Life-force.’ Life-force (aka qi, prana) is expressed as two transitioning energies: Yang and Yin. In Yin yoga, we practice asanas that rebalance Yin – which can bring gentle yet profound physical and emotional change to yogis who attend your classes. 

Looking to deepen your meridian knowledge?

If you’re interested in exploring the energetics of Yin Yoga, Fiona and Sal’s 50hr Yin yoga teacher training is a two-weekend training specifically designed to help beginner Yin Yoga teachers safely explore each meridian, then teach Yin from a place of confidence and ease.

About the author

Sal Flewelling is a mid-Canterbury acupuncturist with a deep love of yoga. She studied ‘the science’ of body energetics during four years of Chinese medicine, Tuina massage and Tai-chi study with NZSAO then went on to train as a Yoga teacher with Inspire YTT. Read more about Sal here



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