Middle Palace: Opening The Lungs

Author’s note: It is a custom in the Chinese Medicine community to capitalize the names of the meridians. (They are actually known as “Officials” when speaking about the meridians and organs together.) You may notice that I sometimes capitalize and sometimes don’t. There is a method to my madness. I’m not just a lousy typist. When referring to just the organ, I don’t capitalize but when referring to the Chinese Official, it’s capitalized.

How many times have we heard from our teachers, “Relax the shoulders, back and down, lift the chest.” Upright posture is an important part of effective T’ai Chi Chih practice but do we understand why?

As a practitioner of Chinese Medicine, I can’t help noticing the connections to the acupuncture points that are so carefully integrated into the movements and the grace with which Justin accomplished it.

“Middle Palace” is the name of the first acupuncture point on the Lung meridian. The Lung is considered the “Treasury of the Qi.” The point is located at the front shoulder crease about two inches above the armpit. We receive Qi from the sunlight, and from every breath we take. It is brought into the body via the breath and is then distributed throughout the body by the Lungs. That is the Lung meridian’s main function – to descend the Qi. In the Five Element tradition of Chinese Medicine, the Lung is paired with the Large Intestine. (All the organs and meridians are paired – one yang with one yin.) The Lung is the Official that brings in the new; the Large Intestine lets go of the old, in body, mind and spirit. The emotion associated with the Lung is grief. When we are unable to let go of grief or hold on to negative emotions, the lungs become disharmonized and our posture becomes curved or caved in at the chest. Grief in the Lungs may obscure the Heart’s fire the way the clouds can obscure the sun.

In our practice, there is an opportunity with every movement to open the lungs. The significance of that small, simple awareness is huge.

Every time we relax the shoulders back and down we are opening the lungs and heart. The access to that opening is Middle Palace. If we take notice of that moment when the chest opens all the way to the axilla, we can actually feel the breath moving freely into the lungs, unhampered by tension. We can feel a little moment of relief or peace, because the “heavenly Qi” has found its way in – because now we are open to be inspired with our destiny, and led to our purpose in life. The richness and joy of the palace should be felt every time we breathe in. Every time we pull the elbows back in Around the Platter, we can open the Middle Palace. Pulling Taffy, too, is a great opportunity to relax the shoulders back. But I think my favorite movement to open the lungs is Working the Pulley because it’s as if we are standing between the past and the future, between the new and the old, releasing the past and beckoning to the future. We are standing tall and erect, opening our bodies to the left and the right, without grief or fear for what is to come. We are in the Middle Palace.