According to East Asian medicine, summertime correlates with the element of Fire [火;] and co-resonates with all things that exhibit the qualities of joy, self-realization, flourishing, alignment with life purpose, connection, and spiritual consciousness.
In the body, specific tissues and energetic processes exhibit a healthy Fire element including: the Heart or xin [心] organ and its associated meridians, the circulation, the ability to feel joy and contentment, an expansive quality in the chest, brightness in the face, a spiritual presence in the eyes, comfortable shoulders, underarms, and wrists, sensitive palms, and warm fingers and toes.
In this system of medicine, Heart balance is central to the health of the entire organism and is thought to govern the wellbeing of all the other organs and meridians.
(*Note that specific words are purposefully capitalized here to denote the ancient pictographic characters and entire word-fields of meaning. Capitalized Heart denotes the Chinese medicine understanding of the organ and related acupuncture channels as well as energetic and physiologic associations. The uncapitalized heart signifies the English language word and western medicine understanding of the organ.)
The Heart in East Asian medicine is not quite the same thing as the electrically connected hydraulic pump it is perceived as in western conventional medicine. Often when we talk about heart heath in western medicine, we think about cardiovascular markers such as blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and arrhythmias. While these patterns are also treatable by East Asian medicine, for now, I’m interested in sharing about the energetics of this organ system from a wider perspective: a view that considers not only these symptoms, but also the ecologies in which they arise.
Patterns of Heart Imbalance
The Heart is a sensitive instrument. It is nourished by living in harmony with our higher self and our loved ones. The Heart receives uplifting qi every time we stay aligned with our higher purpose, when we notice and respect truth. It’s also nourished in relationship: when we receive a knowing glance from a loved one and feel seen, when we take time to watch the radiance of a sunset, or when we delight in kids laughing. Heart medicine is connection, both inwardly with ourself and outwardly in community.
When the Heart is fully nourished and balanced, its circulatory and electrical activities are replete, but it also exerts a real, warming, and expansive energy in the chest and entire body. Radiating up and outward like an internal hearth.
Heart Qi Deficiency: Signs of a Depleted Heart
It’s fair to say that mainstream lifestyle often leaves the Heart under-nourished and depleted. Many people experience loneliness, the loss of a loved one, job loss, relocations, impossible stresses, or heartbreak . . . and in the context of a fragmented social fabric or materially focused culture, these events take place without the circumstances of support that could better soothe the Heart. Under-nourishment of Heart qualities contributes to a pattern in known as Heart Qi Deficiency. In this pattern, the capacity for warmth, outward expansion, and radiance grows colder and without tending, can collapse inwards.
I want to share more about how the pattern of Heart Qi Deficiency – whether brought about by internal or external circumstances – can reverberate in the body. I hope this exploration of the energetics of the Heart offers a new way of seeing your own body and its sophisticated interconnectivity.
Heart Qi Deficiency: How does it Affect the Rest of the Body?
Let’s explore how deficiencies in the Heart can affect other organ systems including the musculoskeletal, immune, digestive, and mental-emotional systems.
Heart as Source of Structural Integrity
A sunken, collapsed chest can be a purely postural problem. Other times, however, this sagging, hollow quality can be a reflection of internal energetic depletion. When the Heart is full, it’s a bit easier for the body to hold itself upright, to keep a resonant, expansive posture in the chest and a sturdy shoulder and rib basket.
Some bodies might exhibit Heart Qi Deficiency as symptoms of frequent musculoskeletal complaints, particularly in the upper body. This can explain nagging musculoskeletal pains (neck, left shoulder, left inner wrist, upper rib cage subluxations) that seem to crop up during a breakup, or the sensation that it feels unreasonably hard to maintain a steady posture while going through a bout of depression, for example.
When mechanical therapies (e.g., lifting weights, pilates, physical therapy, rehabilitation) can’t quite resolve these types of ongoing concerns, supporting the Heart may be a helpful avenue.
Heart as Immune Protector
The Heart is responsible for the circulation of qi (energy) and blood. When the level of our qi and blood (a simplified version of our immune system) is fully resourced, we can protect the entire body and the periphery from pathogens with well-circulated immune cells. During times of deficiency (excess physical or mental-emotional stress, a lack of nourishment, lack of sleep), the body must prioritize its circulatory resources. Vital internal organs receive highest priorities receiving immune (blood + qi) protection first; whereas peripheral structures (fingers, nose, toes) may be left cold. Under stress, the outer periphery and skin layer may feel tight (think: tight muscles before a flu hits).
As you might imagine, someone with Heart Qi Deficiency may have a harder time defending their body from immune challenges. They may lack the circulatory resources to help them resolve lingering infections too. So, one way of treating lingering cold symptoms (e.g., a chronic post-nasal drip, drippy nose, stubborn cough, or frequent bouts of sickness) is by supporting circulation. In my practice, I prescribe individualized herbal formulas that work to support the Heart organ network.
Heart as Digestive Warmth
Healthy Heart and Lungs maintain a constant internal pressure in the thoracic cavity (everything above the respiratory diaphragm). The pressure difference between the thoracic cavity and the abdominal cavity (where the organs of digestion reside) helps keep the processes within these two different areas separate and distinct.
When there is a loss of vitality in the Heart center, sometimes an increase in digestive symptoms start to appear: lacking sufficient outward pressure in the thoracic cavity, stronger digestive forces float upwards into the chest. Downward digestive processes weaken without a proper boundary of a strongly pressurized thoracic cavity.
In some cases, this explains why an uptick in digestive symptoms can crop up after emotional challenges. People with weakened Heart qi might experience an increase in GERD, reflux, burping, gas, bloating, a resurgence of SIBO, sluggish/slow bowel movements, or a flare of IBS or IBD.
Digestive patterns are quite complex and deserve nuanced, subtle attention. The above represents a broad over-generalization of many different specific possible patterns, but in some cases and symptom presentations, treating the Heart is the best approach to resolving ongoing digestive challenges. (Note: Sometimes the opposite pattern can take place in which excess digestive fullness in the upper abdomen can congest and constrict the chest area. I have seen and treated cases of transient high blood pressure that are actually due to digestive fullness. Lisinopril is not effective in these cases.)
Heart as Mental-Emotional Stability
In ancient Chinese language, the pictograph of the Heart [心] is the nearest equivalent to the English term for mind, implying that our consciousness is located not in the brain, but in the Heart. In this system of medicine, the Heart calms the shen (spirit or presence) and regulates the nervous system. Healthy shen results in clear thoughts and feelings, a strong memory, and restful sleep.
In this way, Heart Qi Deficiency may contribute to a myriad of mental emotional imbalances. When the shen is diminished — common following certain kinds of trauma states — there may be a sense of vacancy, an inability to be present, or a tendency to disassociate.
A lack of Heart quality can also manifest as a feeling of agitation, internal exhaustion, or listlessness. Without a sense of passion, the experience of contacting life may feel overwhelming or tension-producing. Unable to meet the present moment with a sense of calm, constant restlessness, busyness, or agitation can predominate. It may be difficult to slow down enough to experience interactions comfortably and instead notice upwellings of nervousness during pauses. In milder forms, this is low level anxiety. In more advanced states, it can contribute to panic attacks or insomnia/difficulty sleeping. It should be noted that each of these patterns are made worse with overwork, overexertion, rushing, or under-eating.
Western medical approaches to mental-emotional distress can be important and stabilizing, but on the other hand, anxiolytics and antidepressants have no way to treat the embodied patterns described above. East Asian medicine has therapies that speak to this dimension.
Heart Qi Deficiency: How it Impacts the Heart Itself
We’ve begun our conversation on the extra-organ manifestations of Heart Qi Deficiency, but of course, this pattern can manifest and impact the heart, blood vessels, and cardiovascular system itself. Heart Qi Deficiency may cause palpitations, spontaneous or irregular sweating (too much perspiration or inappropriately timed sweating such as flushing easily), and weak circulation.
These patterns (in addition to those listed above) can be differentiated in clinic and treated with herbal formulas, acupuncture, moxibustion, and integrated with conventional and naturopathic therapies. If left to progress, they could contribute to further symptoms in the circulatory system such as arrhythmias, fainting/syncope, chest pains, or circulatory problems.
Tending to the Heart
Since the Heart is involved in many different physiologic and energetic processes (immune issues, mental emotional balance, sleep and rest, digestion, cardiovascular and circulatory systems), tending to its health in individualized, constitutionally appropriate way can make a big impact on symptoms.
It takes years of training and practice — including assessments of the body, overall symptom expression, meridians, pulse, and abdomen — to help determine the nuances of patterns like this to, for example, distinguish whether a digestive flare is coming from an issue in the stomach or from the circulatory system. If you have an instinct about the causes of your symptoms, talk to your practitioner who will collaborate with you on your insights.
Next, I’ll provide recommendations for therapies you can try at-home to nourish the Heart organ network in daily life.