Hand letting go
Article written by Dr. Rachel DeMattio, L.Ac., M.S.T.O.M
We all have things in our past that we wish we could change. The concept of "going back in time" is something that most of us wish was a reality. Life unfolds in ways that we sometimes don't understand, but it's not without purpose. Envy and anger, pain and fear, regret and defeat; These are all feelings we have dealt with throughout our lives. No one gets out scott free and without some sort of an emotional scar. So why am I choosing to write about this today? As an acupuncturist and practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), I have treated many patients, colleagues and friends who are " stuck" in their past. They allow their present to be defined by things they can't let go of, and are unable to move forward and become the people they are destined to be.
What many people don't realize, and what I have come to learn throughout my Chinese medical studies, is that the way you handle your negative emotions and stress can make or break your physical and mental health. Emotions when not dealt with properly are stored in the body much like the way fat cells are stored. Fat is stubborn and hard to get rid of, and is noticeable to others and ourselves when it becomes excessive. Unless you make a conscious effort to keep it to a minimum, it will become a burden and could end up holding you back from physically doing the things you want to in life. The show "My 600lb. life" instantly comes to mind as an example. This is very similar to what living in the past and holding onto toxic emotions does to the body. The idea of not being able to let go of things that have occurred, and choosing to remain in that stuck place, will begin to affect the body as a whole. The starting place of the physical impact of your emotions is in the large intestine.
Woman in conflct
Each organ in the body has a physical and emotional function. The large intestine’s number one emotional function in the body is to let go of things that don’t serve us anymore. Physically, it lets go of waste, and on an emotional level, it allows us to let go of patterns of negative thinking, spiritual blockages, and destructive emotions that prevent us from being the best version of ourselves. As a practitioner, there is an EXTREMELY powerful acupuncture point that I use on patients called 'Large Intestine 6' that I liken to traffic finally breaking up. This point literally unclogs the jam, reestablishing and reinforcing the movement and flow of physical and emotional elimination.
When the function of the large intestine energy is compromised through excessive focus on things we cannot change, an imbalance in this meridian may develop. This could manifest as something physical like chronic constipation or IBS, or something emotional like the inability to start a new healthy relationship due to an inability to let the last one go. The large intestine also has a strong relationship with the lung, which is directly correlated with the emotion of grief. If a loved one is lost and the person can't let go of the grief, the lung energy begins to weaken and things such as bronchitis, asthma and pneumonia can begin to develop.
Woman in field
The connection between the mind and body cannot be separated, and it’s so important to do things like acupuncture or meditation to allow your body to release whatever it’s holding on to. Here at The Acupuncture Center in Morristown, NJ we can help you get rid of that unwanted baggage you’ve been holding onto. Letting go is not always easy, but it can be life changing. Imagine how you would feel if you had nothing holding you back? The possibilities are endless!
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