The Spleen Meridian

Spleen Meridian – Worry

The Spleen: It filters the blood and removes damaged cells.

The Meridian: Influences the body’s thoughts and intentions. Responsible for analytical thinking, cognition, intelligence and ideas.

Location: Runs from the big toe up the inside of the leg. Across the abdomen and the side of the chest. Ends on the rib cage underneath the shoulder.

Physical Imbalance: Tiredness after eating, obesity and diabetes.

Emotional Imbalance: Always rationalizing and filtering things through the mind- often referred to as ‘living in one’s head,’ excessive thinking, obsessiveness and worry, feelings of regret or bad temper-moodiness.

How to Balance

* The spleen meridian is believed to house the body’s thoughts and intentions. It is referred to as, “wisdom mind.” Balanced spleen energy promotes trust, openness, acceptance, honesty, and equanimity.

Acupressure/Massage: *The are many pressure points in the body. This is one example.

Press deeply yet gently on each acupoint.
hold for a few seconds.
Feel slight soreness or tightness at the point of acupressure.
Do so repeatedly for 1-2 minutes.

Herbal Therapy/Diet: Aromatherapy and essential oils can help balance this meridian. Certain fragrances calm you down such as lavender, frankincense, and lemongrass oil. Also eat in moderation and chew foods well to not overload your spleen. It may cause bloating and fatigue.

Here are some spleen-friendly eating tips to help balance this meridian:

Cook your food. Rather than eating cold salads with lots of raw veggies, cook your food. Simmer a pot of soup. Sauté some kale or spinach. Roast a tray of veggies. Or enjoy some cooked grains or protein.
Say no to ice. Cold liquids weaken the digestive fire, making the spleen work overtime. So skip the ice, and drink room temperature or hot beverages instead.
Warm it up. When eating leftovers, warm them up instead of eating them straight from the fridge.
Eat orange foods. The color linked with the spleen meridian is orange. For this reason, many believe eating orange foods supports this energetic channel. Enjoy plenty of seasonal root veggies such as sweet potato, butternut squash, and pumpkin.
Don’t skip meals. Traditional Chinese Medicine theory says that the spleen is sensitive to erratic eating habits. Eating at regular intervals keeps your blood sugar steady and helps the spleen stay balanced.
Eat mindfully. Instead of rushing through meals, slow down, chew your food, and eat without distraction. This helps your body stay in “rest and digest” mode to support your digestive fire.
Drink ginger tea. Ginger is considered a warming food that nourishes the spleen. Sipping on ginger tea throughout the day may help support digestion, and in turn, your spleen.

Meditation/Mind: Mindfulness tip – settle down to feel emotions instead of running from them. Below is a very cool video that uses healing sounds to release worry and overthinking. Try it!

Physical Exercise: Relax while eating and do not mix work, watching tv or reading with eating. It may slow down the passage of food and affect digestion.

Also listed below is a yoga pose that could help calm the mind, and reduce stress and fatigue.

Child’s Pose

The knees are open wide
The big toes are touching with most of the weight of the body on the heels of the feet.
The forehead rests softly onto the earth.
The arms extend to the front with the fingers spread wide.
The gaze is down and inward.

Spleen Meridian – Worry

How to Balance

Child’s Pose

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