The Longmeridian: why exactly in autumn?

Autumn is a season of change. The days get shorter, the temperature drops and nature slowly withdraws into itself.

In Eastern medicine, autumn belongs to the Metal element. The Lung and the Large Intestine are the meridian functions associated with this element. This makes it a good time to take a closer look at the Lung meridian.

When it comes to the Long, we often think only of breathing. Within Iokai Shiatsu, we look at things more broadly. A meridian is not simply an energy pathway that belongs to an organ. We see a meridian as the expression of a vital function. The Long Meridiaan shows how we are connected to our environment, what we absorb, and how we let go again.

Living means constantly exchanging

From our first breath, we are in contact with our environment. We breathe in, take in air, and breathe out again. That sounds obvious, but in reality something very fundamental is happening: we can only live because there is constant exchange between ourselves and the world around us.

The Long function is strongly connected to this exchange within Iokai Shiatsu. In the inhalation we receive something from our environment; in the exhalation we give something back. Neither movement can exist without the other.

With this, the Longmeridian is not just about breathing, but also about a much broader question: how are we connected to our environment? Can we receive what we need? And can we also let go again?

Why the Long belongs in autumn

When you look at autumn, you actually see the same movement returning. Nature withdraws. Leaves fall from the trees. Growth and expansion make way for inward turning, selection, and letting go. In Eastern medicine, this movement is associated with Metal and thus with the Lung and Large Intestine.

That doesn't mean that the Longmeridian is only important in autumn. The Long function is always present. But the season makes certain qualities of this function more visible.

Autumn invites us to look at what we want to preserve and what we can let go of. Physically, too, there is a lot of change. We spend more time indoors, face colder and wetter weather, and our breathing and skin come into contact with the environment in different ways. That is precisely why the Long Meridian is an interesting meridian to better understand during this period.

A meridian is more than just a line on the body

Anyone who hears about meridians for the first time sometimes gets the image of a series of fixed lines on the body through which energy flows.

In Iokai Shiatsu we learn to look differently. The Long Meridian does have a path through the body, but the function of the Long is not limited to that line. The meridian shows how a particular life function manifests itself throughout the body. This makes studying meridians interesting. You not only learn where a meridian runs, but especially how that meridian functions.

At the Long, it involves breathing, exchange, contact with the outside world, and the movement between taking in and letting go.

Skin and hair

In Eastern medicine there is also a strong relationship between the lung and the skin.

The skin forms our boundary with the outside world. At the same time, it is through our skin that we make contact. We feel warmth and cold, wind, pressure, and touch.

The skin thus has two functions that seem to be opposite to each other, but are actually related. It protects us and enables us to make contact. In this respect, we can also recognize something of the Long function. We must be open enough to be able to make contact with our surroundings, but at the same time retain our own limits.

You can’t only understand this theoretically. During a shiatsu treatment, this is also very concretely felt.

Long and Thick Intestines: Recording and Release

Within Eastern medicine, the Long Channel forms a connection with the Large Intestine. At first glance, these two may seem to have little to do with each other. But when you look at their life functions, the relationship becomes more understandable.

The Long stands for taking in and exchanging. The Big Gut helps to release what is no longer needed. Together they form a natural movement: taking in, processing and releasing again.

That nicely fits with the movement of autumn. Nature does not hold onto everything. What has served its function is released, leaving space for a new phase.

And what does sadness have to do with the Lung?

The Long is often associated in Eastern medicine with sadness. That does not mean that sadness is a problem or that someone with a dysfunction of the Long meridian is automatically sad.

It is more interesting to look at the movement that is associated with grief. When we lose something or someone with whom we were connected, our relationship with our surroundings changes. We have to find our place again and eventually be able to let go of something. So we see the same movement here: connecting and letting go.

Therefore, within Iokai Shiatsu, emotions are not viewed as something separate from the body. Physical and emotional processes are different expressions of the same human being.

How does a Shiatsu therapist look at this?

An Iokai Shiatsu therapist does not automatically treat the Long Meridian because someone is, for example, experiencing tightness or tension around the chest.

We look at the person as a whole. How does someone move? How does someone breathe? Where is there tension or rather little tone? What does the Hara tell us? And which meridian function requires support at that moment? Therefore, within Iokai Shiatsu there is no standard treatment for a specific complaint. You learn to feel and investigate what is happening to this person at this moment.

That is also an important part of the training. You start with techniques, postures and meridian movements, but as you go along the way, the way you look at the body changes. You become less and less focused on muscles, joints or symptoms, and increasingly more on coherence.

And that is perhaps what makes learning shiatsu so interesting: you don't just learn a treatment method. You learn to understand the body and the human being from a different perspective.

Curious to know how that feels? During a open day or the Shiatsu Trial Module Get acquainted with shiatsu and the training in a low-threshold way.