DON'T IGNORE THIS POINT, it does a lot!

Broken Sequence: the clue is in the name. it helps break 'unhealthy' patterns we so easily form in the course of our lives, very often caused by grief and loss. It does this in a slow, gentle way. Breaking down and releasing worry, grief, sadness that a person may be holding inwardly and bearing in silence …..we all know, or perhaps are the stoic in extreme!

Suppressing  emotions takes energy and effort, releasing that tension calms the mind and spirit.

Loosening this stagnation from the lungs enables inner clarity to gain ground, opens up your ability to connect to the ‘inner’ wisdom that we all have.

Located 1.5 cun above the wrist crease, this is a master (opening) point for Central meridian. This means you are able to tap into a whole new energetic pathway which is also the master Yin reservoir. Thus bringing harmony to all the other Yin meridians. It's also a 'hybrid Stangeflow' - I cover these in different blogs, but suffice to say the Strangeflow energy is a potent 'troubleshooting' energy that runs throughout the body, deeply healing. It seems to have it's own unique 'intelligence' and knows where help is needed in the body and goes straight there.

As you would expect, it opens up the chest.

And there's more (I told you it does a lot) .....

It's the Command point for the face, head and neck .

It is the connection (Luo) point with Large Intestine.. It really encourages letting go, especially of repressed emotions and also receiving.

It’s the EXIT POINT of the meridian as it flows into LI4 on the Large Intestine meridian, it’s Yang partner. 

Normally, the exit and entry points are the last and first points on meridians, as you would expect – in this case they are not, the ‘sequence’ is broken.

Think about ‘exit’ as part of the process of letting go …. Lung 7 supports that process – surrendering what you don’t need to it's partner Large Intestine for elimination.

Use with Kidney 6 to supports the relationship between Kidney and Lung. Where Kidney ‘grasps’ the energy of lung, essential for healthy lung function.

Diagrams with grateful thanks to The Manual of Acupuncture - Deadman. Available in print or digital format. https://amanualofacupuncture.com/

Briefly ......

Lungs send energy and Fluids down to the Kidneys.

Kidneys hold down that energy and evaporate some of the fluids,

then send fluid vapor back to the Lungs to moisten them

the Lung then sends Fluids to moisten the skin.

When Kidney energy is weak, it cannot hold down that energy effectively, it flows back up to the chest ("rebels") and obstructs the Lung's descending function. Result is asthma, cough and often an inability to inhale deeply.

Smoking and some lung diseases can cause deficient Lung energy, resulting in an inability for this Lung Kidney exchange, so Kidney can be weakened too.

A robust and resilient Kidney energy is vital for lung health. Help yours by tracing the meridian or simply hold Kidney 3 (inside ankle) on both legs, rub the points daily.

Long term, deep sadness can lodge in the Lungs and ultimately can restrict your breathing.

Futile breathing is the scourge of our modern day society, the disturbed breathing pattern manifesting as shallow, mouth or rapid breathing may lead to reduced oxygen intake, impacting the body in many ways, oxygen is so vital for so many functions. The brain will always take what it needs, although there may be impaired mental clarity and focus BUT that means that the other organs and systems of the body are running on reduced rates which, over time inhibit function.

Here are two tips for helping ......

Watch your posture! Maintain good posture to allow for optimal lung expansion and airflow. Poor posture can restrict the movement of the diaphragm and lead to shallow breathing.

ROYAL STRETCH FOR THE LUNGS

Here is one of my favourite stretches. Have you noticed how King Charles III will often stand with his arms clasped behind his back?

Do the same, in a slightly more exaggerated way, so that you feel your chest area open up. It’s the combination of pushing them down and outwards, that makes this effective.

Stay like that for 30 seconds – repeat three times.

Do whenever you have a moment: standing in a queue, watching television, talking to a friend – it’s fairly discreet.

You might like to make a statement such as ......

I open my heart and lungs, stretch my Central meridian and Heart chakra as I honour, feel and allow my grief to flow through and out of me in a healthy, healing way.

Breathing Exercises such as pursed lip breathing, box breathing (I'll cover these in a different blog) I use them all the time. In the meantime the classic diaphragmatic breathing, also known as deep belly breathing is easy and useful. This involves breathing deeply into the diaphragm rather than shallow chest breathing.

Or, one of my favourite: Donna Eden's Diaphragm Breath, I do it every day ... here's the lovely Dondi (Donna's daughter) demonstrating how to do it ...