The meridian archetype articles were born of a need to better define the personality traits and symbols inherent in the Traditional Chinese medicine meridians. Inspired in part by Bob Cooley’s book The Genius of Flexibility and by Caroline Myss’s book Sacred Contracts, the meridian archetypes explore a part of ourselves often hidden from our conscious mind.
The archetypes are a tool, and like any other tool, archetypes are what you make of them. Caroline Myss has more than eighty archetypes that she has defined in the back of her book Sacred Contracts. But even she admits that eighty archetypes barely scratch the surface of all the possibilities alive in the world today.
Bob Cooley’s work in The Genius of Flexibility explored the connection between the meridians from Traditional Chinese medicine, the muscle groups, and the personality. The connections that we all felt were put into words. Bob also worked on exercises that allowed the practitioner to heal the meridians and muscles, and bring awareness to connected personality strengths and weaknesses. His exercises are based on hatha yoga poses and are combined with modern Western resistance training.
Infinity Flexibility’s meridian archetypes combine Carolyn Myss’s research, Bob Cooley’s connection of the personality to the muscles, and the classical five-element personality types. We use this system to validate a client’s strengths/weaknesses and to identify exercises that will improve health and performance goals.
Years of experience in the field of strength and flexibility training has given the staff of Infinity Flexibility the ability to see past the symptoms of the body and mind to the root cause of the imbalances.
Uncover Powerful Healing with the Meridian Archetypes
Years of experience in the field of strength and flexibility training has given the staff of Infinity Flexibility the ability to see past the symptoms of the body and mind to the root cause of the imbalances.
God or Goddess: Investigate Divinity with the Sexual Meridian
The sexual meridian is represented by the archetype of the god/goddess. Like the Greek and Roman gods, the power of the sexual meridian is inherent and inherited. Their energy captivates people and draws people in. One of the emotional meridians, the God/Goddess is drawn to social situations. They are instinctually empathetic and often take on the emotions of those around them. They have a subtle shrewd intellect and a very strong will.
The Engineer: A Brain Meridian Archetype
The engineer archetype typifies the brain’s control over the mind and body. The engineer is driven by their need to understand how things work. By breaking the world down into its parts, the engineer turns life into a blueprint where one action predictably leads to another. When not being themselves, the brain meridian tends toward paranoia and may see plots where there aren’t any.
The Politician: A Heart Meridian Archetype
The theme of the heart is unity. It connects yin and yang, which are two states of being with the same life force. If our spirit is not congruent, our heart meridian cannot process thoughts and feelings properly. Congruence comes when the mind and heart are working together. Together the heart and mind control the will. Without congruence, the will is subject to the influence of an outside force.
The Artist: A Small Intestine Meridian Archetype
We know that extreme emotions can negatively affect our digestion, causing poor absorption and slow movement through the digestive tract. This is why we refuse food in the face of grief or lose our appetite when our fight-or-flight response is triggered. Unfortunately, poor digestion can also aggravate our stress response. They feed off of each other in a symbiotic relationship. Therefore, to have a healthy digestive system, we need to take care of both our minds and our bodies.
The Entrepreneur: A Stomach Meridian Archetype
American culture is exceptional because of the energy of the stomach meridian. The stomach is the spirit of entrepreneurship and the American dream. While in balance, the Entrepreneur proves that anything is possible with ambition, hard work, and persistence. Strength in this meridian has created innovative businesses and a way of life that has inspired millions.
The Mediator: A Spleen Meridian Archetype
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, earth elements are particularly important in times of transition. They keep us grounded and protected during turbulence, and allow us to bloom and grow during times of peace. However, though the spleen meridian thrives in times of peace, that does not mean they revile conflict. One of their greatest strengths is seeing both sides of an argument and mediating a compromise.
The Architect: A Large Intestine Meridian Archetype
Learn about the role of the large intestine meridian in your physical health. Plus, a few exercises to strengthen and stretch your large intestine meridian muscles.
The Alchemist: A Lung Meridian Archetype
Learn about the role of the lung meridian in your physical health. Plus, a few exercises to strengthen and stretch your lung meridian muscles.