Ask Dr. Michael: Your Sex Meridian

How Does the Circulation/Sex Meridian Affect My Health?

In 5 Element Acupuncture, each of the 12 main meridians of Qi energy which flow through our bodies functions on the physical, mental, and spiritual levels. The ancient Chinese described the meridians’ functions as if each were a government “official” that had responsibilities on all these levels. In other words, each of the 12 Officials not only supplies its associated meridian with the vital Qi energy to perform its physical functions, but each Official also supplies our mind and our spirit with this vital life force energy. Let’s consider how the Circulation/Sex meridian functions in this way.

The Circulation/Sex Official is called The Heart Protector and is one of the four meridians in the Fire Element. The Heart Protector’s main function is to protect our Heart from insults and injury. Physically, our Circulation/Sex meridian is responsible for the health of our circulatory system and our sexual function. The vital Qi energy in this meridian maintains our correct blood flow and blood pressure, to reach every cell in our bodies. The Qi in our Circulation/Sex meridian also maintains a healthy sexual energy level.

When our Heart Protector is healthy and strong we feel safe, trusting, openhearted, joyful and able to love unconditionally. We feel passionate and enthusiastic about our lives and the people in them, while having the wisdom to avoid situations where we would be unsafe. We build happy and healthy relationships with family and friends and enjoy sexual, emotional and spiritual intimacy in our primary relationship.

When our Heart Protector is out of balance, we can feel overly vulnerable, emotionally sensitive, unsafe, distrusting, closed-hearted, sad or “flat”, unenthusiastic, or depressed. The Heart Protector can also become too open, which can make a person unable to discern appropriate boundaries. We may lose our zest for life and our personal relationships. It is as if our “spark” is lacking, and our Fire is no longer burning brightly.

During my 31 years of practice, I have witnessed over and over again how 5 Element Acupuncture does wonders to rekindle the Fire element and restore a person’s Heart Protector to strength and balance. It is so very rewarding to watch a patient’s heart open back up as they feel protected and safe to do so!