Traditional Chinese Medicine holds that the original spirit and its 5 Virtues – order, trust, integrity, wisdom and compassion – are housed in us at birth and specifically in the corresponding five major organ systems – the heart, spleen, lungs, kidneys and liver.
Accumulated toxic emotional energy from life experience as well as emotional and/or physical trauma can obstruct the healthy nurture of the 5 Virtues and the health of corresponding organ systems. The embodiment of toxic emotions impedes the natural flow of life force energy, or Qi, in the body, and can cause disease or inflame existing conditions.
The 5 Virtues in Medical Qigong and Traditional Chinese Medicine represent a circle of health and vitality.
The 5 solid organs, classified as Yin organs, will take on and embody specific toxic emotions:
- Heart: anxiety, shock, unforgiveness and long-term memory of emotional trauma
- Spleen: worry, obsession, self-worth issues
- Lungs: grief, sorrow, shame, guilt, despair
- Kidneys: fear, loneliness
- Liver: anger, jealousy, resentment, depression
Contrast those emotions, which can take a great toll on physical and emotional health, with the original attributes the organs manifest when in a healthy, natural state:
- From the heart: peace order, forgiveness and love
- From the spleen: trust, openness and resolution
- From the lungs: integrity, righteousness and courage
- From the kidneys: wisdom, willpower and the ability to root Divine Will to human will
- From the liver: compassion and benevolence.
Because these important organs hold the spiritual and energetic properties that include the 5 Virtues, removing blockages and restoring proper energy flow are central principles of Medical Qigong in achieving spiritual, physical, emotional and mental balance in life.
