The Spirit of the Lungs: the Seven Needs of the Corporeal Soul (Po)
Paying attention to what are bodies are telling us can seem complicated and unclear until we have the framework to properly listen to them. While it may be more straightforward when we get a local ache or pain to take it easy, what do we do when our soul feels tired?
in Chinese Medicine, the mind and body are inextricably connected. The 6 Yin and 6 Yang organs not only have physical symptoms of imbalance, but emotional symptoms too.
The Spiritual aspect of the Lungs is known as the Po, or corporeal soul. When we take our first breath at birth, our Lungs anchor us into our bodies. Our Breath is our constant connection to self in life, and we part with it in death.
The Po has seven needs to thrive:
Eat - this is a given, put quality nutrition in, get quality energy out
Sleep - without sleep, we cannot adequately digest our world or our food - we need sleep to detox and make neurological connections
Drink - water is life - we need it to send information and energy to our cells
Rest - this is different than sleep - we need restorative and Yin activities to balance our “go go go” Yang activities
Relax - this is different than Rest! - sometimes we need to do nothing, this is equally important
Play - it is a basic need to be able to be creative, to do activities with no pressure on the outcome - this can look like singing, dancing, making art, going for a drive for the fun of it - anything, just enjoy the process
Intimacy - this can be a hard need to fill when we are so busy but really is a physical and spiritual need - both physical intimacy with our partner or even a hug from a friend, and emotional intimacy in being able to be open and ourselves with the people around us
In order to properly take care of our Lungs, we must be able to listen to the needs of the Corporeal Soul. These are our basic needs of survival, our foundation of health and our foundation to thrive. Other organs systems with more complex needs will be overtaken by the needs of the Po if we are not meeting our minimum requirements. This theory is akin the the more modern Maslow’s of Hierarchy of Needs, and can be seen today in the all too common “Burnout” - in order to truly thrive, we need to revisit the basics.
