Central to the ancient healing modalities of Qigong, Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is the Five Elements (五行): Water 水，Wood 木，Fire 火，Metal 金 and Earth 土. These underpin all phenomena and their transformations in the universe. In the external world: the four seasons, shifting moon phases. In the internal world: the structures and functions of the human body, emotional disturbances and imbalances. As a Five Elements Coach and Women’s Health Yoga & Qigong specialist, I support clients to attune to these forces. This is to heal from difficult emotions like anger and grief, to return to balance, peace and calm in their lives.
Since I was little I have been prone to stress and anger. And so for over two decades I sought out methods to cultivate greater calm and peace. This included Yoga, Somatics and Meditation. Eventually, by way of Qigong, I discovered the healing framework of the Five Elements within Traditional Chinese Medicine. Emotions are energy in motion, and each of the five primary emotional imbalances (Anger, Excitation, Worry, Grief and Fear) have an association with a specific Element, energetic quality and organ system. Anger with Wood and the Liver, Excitation with Fire and the Heart, Worry with Earth and the Spleen, Grief with Metal and the Lungs and Fear with Water and the Kidneys.
According to each individual’s constitution, one is prone to specific organ system imbalances. For example, my constitution being predominantly of the Wood Element. This means that I was prone to stagnation in Liver Qi, which surfaces as impatience, frustration and anger. Even more vital is that each emotion feeds on and is curbed by another emotion. Anger for example, is mothered by Fear and controlled by Grief. Understanding this helped me identify and acknowledge the underlying emotion controlling me. I realized my anger came from fear of being rendered powerless and sadness at the loss of my autonomy, time or resources to a situation or person outside of my control.
As I continued to embody the practice of identifying and acknowledging the underlying emotion controlling me. Over time, the anger dissolved and relief, healing and peace came to me. Further, I became able to identify and anticipate potentially triggering situations, face them calmly, and resolve them without being overwhelmed by my emotions. This greater sense of peace began to permeate all aspects of my life. As a result, this improved my work, my relationships with others and with myself. Eager to share this with others, I began sharing this in my coaching and group training programs.
Gemma came to me seeking healing from a recurrent pain shooting down from her right shoulder towards her elbow. Due to the pain her mobility was narrow and she struggled to perform daily actions like reaching for items on the top shelf that she could previously do with ease. She had recently undergone surgery for breast cancer in the area where she experienced pain. Two months prior to the surgery, she had lost a close family member to a long illness. The unresolved grief and loss she was experiencing had manifested in the shoulder and arm pain.
As Grief (Metal Element and Lung) comes from by Worry (Earth Element and Spleen) and controlled by Excitation (Fire Element and Heart), our initial sessions took a specific route. Indeed, I guided her through Fire Element Qigong and meridian tapping around the breast and lymph node area. This boosted Heart Qi and calm the 神 (Spirit), meditations centered on the Earth Element to foster safety and relief, and self-acupressure on three potent points to soothe and release blocked Lung Qi.
When she felt ready to connect with her emotional body, I guided her through self-reflection. This helped her identify, acknowledge and gradually come to peace with unresolved worry that was feeding the grief. Several months later, with my consistent support, Gemma reported a sense of relief in her right shoulder and arm. The five elements is a profound and effective framework and it brings me great joy that I can use this to support clients like Gemma on their healing journey.
Wenlin Tan
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