How do you embody the Earth element?
You can begin to get an intuitive feeling of the Earth element by imagining the earth itself. What qualities come to mind? Perhaps, notice its round shape. Feel the ground under your feet, and relax back into your chair. Notice what is supporting you. Feel your relationship with gravity. Do you resonate with the idea of “mother earth” being generous and abundant?
The color that is used to represent the Earth element is yellow. I like to picture an egg yolk, because it is round, in the center of the egg, and provides nourishment. The season of the Earth element is the late summer, the time of the harvest. Sunflowers, pumpkins, grains, apples and pears become ripe. Picture an overflowing table with people gathered around. In an agricultural community, people come together to help bring in the harvest, and then share it. In this way, the Earth element teaches us about reciprocity and nourishment. Our bodies and the earth itself provide a home and hopefully a place of safety and belonging. We are intimately connected to the earth through the foods and drinks that we take into our bodies.
Our Earth element helps us to satisfy our needs. We are guided by our desires, our hunger, to seek out and take in nourishment. The energy of our Earth element organ networks helps us to transform what we take in, including not just food and drink but experiences, into a form that is nourishing. This process of “rotting and ripening” we also see in rich forest soil that is moist and full of life and decay. This nutrient-rich soil then feeds the plants. Likewise, the process of digestion is our ability to break down and process what we have taken in so that it can nourish our bodies. This provides the basis for our energy and materials for our cells to use. We must get our daily needs met so we have the energry to live our lives. The tissue associated with the earth is our flesh, and it also provides strength to the muscles and limbs.
In the 5 element cycle, the Earth phase brings us toward center and stillness. We have to slow down and relax in order digest all that we have taken in. It comes after the most expansive element of Fire and before we contract further into metal and descend into autumn. In addition to it’s own season of the late summer, earth also comes between each element as a transition between seasons. My teacher Nini taught this as a lesson that reminds us that in moments of transition, it is important to come back to center and stabilize our earth. This could mean taking care of ourselves and getting enough rest during seasonal transitions so we don’t get sick, for example. Our need for nourishment calls us into the present moment. Daily, we must satisfy hungers, including innate drives for love and acceptance. As we live our lives, there are many transitions and situations to get caught up in. The phase of Earth is a reminder to come back inside of ourselves, to ground and find our center.
In shiatsu, we use areas on the belly and back to assess the state of each element. The diagnostic areas of the earth element are in the center of our bodies, where the major organs of our digestive system are located. On the surface, we locate this around our naval and in the lower thoracic vertebra of the mid back. We can notice temperature, fullness, emptiness, or any sensations or associations that come to us as we gently palpate these areas. The channels or meridians of the earth element are located on the front of our bodies along major muscle groups, such as the quads, abdominals, and SCM. These muscles provide support as we bear weight.
When we offer ourselves a pause to find a comfortable stillness, we can feel the effects of gravity. Gravity is one of the basic physical forces in our lives. I like to think of this physical attraction we have to the earth, as we are pulled towards its center, as a loving embrace. To tune into this movement, I invite you to lay on the earth, or the floor, and notice how it feels. Maybe feel what your body does in response to the thought “I love the earth and the earth loves me.”