Sikhs(') Nurturing Nature: March 18 2022 - Full Moon in Virgo, Affecting the Small Intestine Meridian

March's full moon in Virgo will affect the Small Intestine (SI) meridian.

In Chinese medicine this meridian is connected to the Fire Element (which has 4 meridians connected to it, while the other 4 elements only have 2 meridians each connected to them). The Small Intestine Meridian is a Yang meridian, paired with the Yin meridian of the Heart. All Fire Element meridians help us connect with the inner fire, the flame of our soul.

The path of this meridian runs as follows: it starts where the Heart meridian (its Yin pair) finishes, namely in the outer tip of the little finger. It then runs along the back edge of the hand, through the wrist, upward along the outer forearm and upper arm, to the shoulder. After zigzagging along the back of the shoulder it meets the Governor Vessel meridian which runs along the center of the back. Here it branches, with a first branch going inside the body and descending through the heart, diaphragm and stomach before ending in the small intestines. A second branch ascends along the side of the neck to the cheek and outer corner of the eye, from where it goes to the ear. A third small branch leaves the cheek to run to the inner eye, where it meets the Urinary Bladder meridian.

The human Small Intestine is about 6 meters or 20 feet long. A semi-permeable barrier that sorts (and thus is responsible for discernment) solids and liquids into useful nutrients vs. waste to be eliminated, it is responsible for the absorption of nutrients from our food into our blood (which then takes it to our cells). Its surface is a mucous layer containing beneficial bacteria and essential parts of the immune system.

The term 'leaky gut' refers exactly to this intestinal barrier becoming compromised, holes appearing, and particles that shouldn't be entering our bloodstream doing exactly that, thus creating food intolerances, inflammation, immune system issues and ultimately auto-immune disorders. (This is a field of natural healthcare that I'm personally specialised in as a natural healthcare provider, so feel free to contact me if this is something you want to work on).

The SI meridian's energy is about separating the pure from the impure - on the physical, mental and emotional level. It can be regarded in connection to the Ayurvedic or yogic Agni Tattva, i.e. the fire of digestion, but also the fire of transformation, of alchemy, of profound inner change. The digestive fire changes food into blood. The fire of the heart gives us spiritual endurance; when we see that fire in someone's eyes, we know they are living from their heart. Fire is the great purifier.

On a mental/emotional level, the SI meridian stands for Discernment - the so-called Buddhi aspect of the mind (aka Bibek Buddh). The SI meridian influences our mental clarity, judgment, and our powers of discernment. The ability to distinguish relevant issues with clarity before making a decision is attributed to the Small Intestine.

A weak Small Intestine loses the capacity to discern useful nutrients from garbage. This manifests in poor absorption of food, but the brain will soon start spluttering as well, becoming overwhelmed and indecisive.

The SI function can also be affected by emotions such as anger - which causes Liver Qi to stagnate - and fear; together they can cause digestion to stop altogether. That's why we say to never eat when you're angry or upset...

The key for this full moon is to simplify everything. Keep your diet simple and pure. Keep life simple and pure.

Symptoms of an imbalanced small intestine meridian:

Problems digesting food
Stomach problems
Pain in lower abdomen
Bloating
Gas
Constipation
Sluggish gut
Gut inflammation
Leaky gut
Bacterial imbalance
Confusion about what is and isn't pure
Unclear life direction
Inability to make decisions
Inability to focus on 1 single task
Taking on too many things at once
Feeling of being pulled in many directions
Ear problems (e.g. deafness)
Eye problems
Pain in shoulders and neck (along the path of the meridian)
Congestive Heart Failure is also linked to SI chronic inflammation
Restlessness
Anxiety
Depression
Moodiness
Irritability
Pessimism
PMS
Melancholy

Things to avoid:

An overly critical attitude
Too much self-analysis
Overeating low nutrient foods that require excessive sorting
Eating on the go without complete chewing (stresses the small intestines)
GMO foods with pesticides and herbicides
Excess cold and raw foods (can cause cold to accumulate in the Small Intestine)
Excess hot and spicy foods (can cause heat to accumulate)

Tips to balance the meridian:

Hold and massage the little finger of each hand for 2 minutes
Wear red clothes, use red crystals such as garnet, red jasper, red carnelian, red agate, ... (mala ideas: https://www.shuniya-yoga.org/product/mala-yellow-jade-bloodstone-red-agate-carnelian/ , https://www.shuniya-yoga.org/product/54-bead-pocket-mala-of-6mm-carnelian-picture-jasper-red-jasper-with-8mm-picture-jasper-guru-bead/ , https://www.shuniya-yoga.org/product/54-bead-pocket-mala-red-jasper-bloodstone-mookaite-carnelian-picture-jasper-with-8mm-bloodstone-guru-bead/ )

Things to eat:

Bitter foods: turmeric, quinoa, basil, grapefruit, karela (bitter gourd), rucola, green tea (washed), dark chocolate, ...
Red foods
Psyllium and chlorophyll daily help to keep the intestinal tract clean.

Yoga for the small intestines:

Any and all postures that work on the third chakra and navel point: leg lifts, leg pulls and pushes, Stretch Pose (1-11 mins.), Sat Kriya (3-31 mins. -- see https:www.3ho.org/articles/everything-kriya-sat-kriya for a full explanation), pumping the navel and breath of fire, ...

Stretch Pose

Sat Kriya

Yoga Mudra: sitting in Rock Pose (on the heels) with the hands interlaced in Venus Mudra behind the back, bow forwards bringing the forehead to the floor (or onto a cushion that you put in front of you) while lifting the arms up behind you as high as you can. (You just lift up the arms as high as they can go - it might look nothing like the picture for you and they might only be lifted slightly - don't worry, that's okay).