Hormonal Meridians

According to the Dao and Chinese medicine, hormonal balance

and fertility are maintained and restored through the process of
bringing heaven and earth together, and in the body, that means
pacifying the Heart and activating the Kidneys. The upper half of
the body from the chest upwards belongs to yang energy and is
dominated by the heart organ meridian system. This includes the
chest, neck, shoulders, upper back, scapulae, arms, head and
sense organs. Yin energy comes from the earth, belongs to the
Kidneys, and is naturally located from the waist downward, housed
in the pelvic bowl, hips, legs, and down into the feet.
Often, the modern 24-7 hectic, global lifestyle causes the yang
areas of the body to become over-stimulated and dispersed, and
the yin part of the body gets placed on hold, a dormancy that
leads initially to stasis and sluggish blood flow, and later to a more
hypo-functional state of deficiency. Overly yang, the minds
concentration is often splintered, or too much energy above
becomes stuck causing migraine, over-thinking, TMJ, insomnia
tight shoulders, or heartache. All of these seemingly disparate
symptoms are related through the excessive expression of yang
(active, hot, rising) energy that is either trapped or overactive.

This description is interestingly similar to modern medicines view

of the stress response and the repercussions it particularly has on
the endocrine system. In response to stress hormones, the
reproductive tissues get placed on hold so that precious resources
can be shunted toward more critical organs and function needed
for survival, specifically the brain, the lungs, the heart, and large
skeletal muscles. As a result, the ovaries, uterus, fallopian tubes,
cervix, and pelvic floor all become hormonally compromised as
pelvic blood flow slows the ability of nutrition and hormones enter
into the cell, and inhibits waste products and toxins from leaving
the local tissues. Further, the receptor sites on the endocrine
tissues actually close in the presence of stress hormones, or get
occupied by the wrong kinds of hormones- specifically cortisol.
This sets up rapid aging, nutrient deficiency, and the inability of
your body to respond well to hormonal cues.
The body is an exact replica of the nature, so says the Dao, and
the yang energy in nature, the sun shines down on the earth, and
in response, the earth rises upward to receive and respond with
the growth of healthy plants, and flowers, air to breathe and water
to drink.

The very same process is happening in the body. The yang energy
of the upper body, from the Heart, must be channeled downward to
give good influence to the reproductive tissues in the lower pelvic
bowl. And the yin energy of the lower body must be nourished and
activated in order to rise upward to meet the Yang.
As Yang energy is pacified and Yin energy is firmed and activated
this gives the fertile ground for new life to manifest. The 2nd
chakra, the womb, is where all creative and generative essence
gathers. Fertility is so much more than a narrow reproductive
marker. Hormones drive almost every meaningful job in the female
experience. As your creative energy gathers, hormones balance
and all life expression can manifest. This is Fertile Living. This is
Dao Flow Yoga.