Train with the Meridians & Upgrade your Workouts
Meridian exercise applies meridian theory to physical movement. Most people think that meridian energy pathways are only accessible through acupuncture points and energy work. But the truth is that meridians are accessible to everyone via their muscles and movement.
The most common examples of exercising for your meridians are yin yoga and tai chi. These practices activate the energy of your meridians using specific poses and encourage energy to flow more smoothly through the body.
But you don’t have to tap into your spiritual side to engage the muscles of your meridians.
The energy lines that run from the tips of your toes to the top of your head each pass through different muscle groups. So, when you do certain types of exercise, you are inadvertently activating certain meridians.
Keep reading to learn more about the different types of exercise for your meridians, including the best type of exercise for each of the sixteen Meridian Archetypes.
Benefits of Exercise for the Meridians
![woman and man partner stretching - exercise for the meridians](https://infinityflexibility.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/3-1024x576.jpg)
The meridians support every aspect of your physical body, mental health, spiritual self, and emotional well-being.
Say you’re training for a big race. One day, you may wake up and go for a run and feel like every step is dragging. You don’t come close to your best time and you feel exhausted when you’re done. All of these are clear signs that your meridians are not in balance.
With meridian-balanced muscles, you will feel like you can run all day. Your energy levels will be high and you will probably crush your goals without even trying.
The benefits of exercising with the meridians are:
- Stronger, faster, and more efficient movement
- Feel energized instead of drained after exercise
- Easily access the “flow state” and fall into a natural rhythm that fits your body
- Exercise has a deeper meaning and purpose than getting fit
- Faster exercise recovery
- Better balance between strength and flexibility
- Quicker recovery after an injury
- Injury prevention
- Less pain from old exercise injuries
- A more effective form of crosstraining!
Exercising with the meridians is a powerful tool for athletes. Olympian Dara Torres used meridian strength and flexibility training to remove tension after her workouts. By removing tension daily, she was able to start training the next day from a place of clarity. She removed the recovery time and was able to improve her performance almost daily.
Infinity works with many athletes and active people to permanently eliminate pain and injury. But you do not need to be an athlete to get the benefits of meridian training. The exercises remove tension after any repetitive movement or exercise. They go deeper into the muscles so that you can even treat old injuries and movement patterns that may have been causing you pain for years.
How Meridians and Muscles Connect
![exercise for the meridians - meridian muscle connections](https://infinityflexibility.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/1-1024x576.jpg)
If you want to exercise with the meridians, you need to understand how the meridians connect to the muscles.
Each meridian corresponds to a muscle or group of muscles in the body. The lung meridian, for example, goes from the tips of your thumbs to the front of your chest. The muscles that activate the lung meridian are the pecs, anterior delts, and biceps.
Even if you have an organ removed – a gallbladder, appendix, kidney, spleen, etc – you still have a meridian and the corresponding meridian muscles.
Meridian & Muscle Connections
Gallbladder | Abductors |
Liver | Adductors |
Lung | Pecs, anterior delts, biceps |
Large Intestine | Upper traps, posterior delts, triceps |
Stomach | Lateral quadriceps |
Spleen | Medial hamstrings |
Heart | Biceps |
Small Intestine | Infraspinatus, Supraspinatus |
Sexual | Hip flexors |
Brain | Hamstrings |
Skin | Posterior delts, traps, triceps |
Pericardium | Pec minor, biceps |
Kidney | Medial quadriceps |
Bladder | Lateral hamstrings |
Thymus | Delts |
Appendix | Lats |
Flexibility and strength training at Infinity uses the meridian muscle map to bring balance to the body. We do a form of muscle testing to find which meridians are active or strong and which are inactive or weak. Then we go through the body to strengthen muscles, support meridians that are turned off due to overuse or inactivity and encourage energy flow.
When you know which meridians are strong or weak, you can support your own meridian healing with exercise.
Exercising for the Four Worlds
The best exercise for each meridian is based on a couple of different factors. First, the exercise should work with the corresponding meridian muscles. But it should also relate to your dominant meridian world – physical, emotional, analytical, or spiritual.
In The Four Worlds article, Infinity goes through which meridians reside in each of the four worlds. Each world craves different things from exercise.
Analytical types are goal oriented. They tend to love exercise that builds toward a specific goal – whether that’s training for a marathon or working toward a goal weight.
Emotional types love breathwork. They are drawn to exercise that allows them to connect to their emotions and breathe deeply, like breath of fire in kundalini yoga.
Spiritual types are extremely adaptable. They excel at the types of exercise that combine physical exercise and spirituality, like yoga.
Physical types enter the flow state with ease. They are physically grounded in their bodies and are the most athletic of all four types. Any challenging physical activity will attract physical types, like team sports.
![woman breathing deeply - exercise for the meridians](https://infinityflexibility.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/6-1024x576.jpg)
However, just because something is a strength doesn’t mean you should spend all of your time doing it. When it comes to the body, balance is essential. So, each world should strive to do the exercise that supports its subconscious self.
Analytical types are emotional in their subconscious. They should focus on exercise that incorporates breathwork like Kundalini or transformational breathwork.
Emotional types are analytical in their subconscious. They should find a type of exercise that works toward a goal such as training for a marathon or working with a strength trainer.
Spiritual types are physical in their subconscious. They need to ground themselves for balance by getting outside in nature and feeling the dirt between their toes. For example, hiking a mountain while doing yoga is the perfect exercise for spiritual types. (Check out our friend’s business that does exactly that – Peaks and Poses!)
Physical types are spiritual in their subconscious. They need to find exercise that also develops their spirit, like yoga or tai chi.
When you combine exercise using the meridian muscle map, you get a perfectly balanced workout for you!
Types of Exercise for Each Meridian
Everyone has a meridian that dominates their personality. Once you find your dominant meridian, you will gain valuable insight into what exercise will support you the most.
Infinity’s Recommendations for Meridian Exercise (based on your main meridian)
Gallbladder | Biking, horseback riding, hockey |
Liver | Earthing, walking in the woods, hiking |
Lung | Team sports, Crossfit, baseball, softball |
Large Intestine | Climbing, Crossfit, gymnastics |
Stomach | Spinning class, running, outdoor cycling |
Spleen | Pilates, yoga |
Heart | Swimming, yoga |
Small Intestine | Dance |
Sexual | Pole dancing |
Brain | Pilates, tai chi, golfing, snowboarding |
Skin | Team sports, the natural athlete |
Pericardium | Conscious movement, earthing, walking |
Kidney | Yoga, horseback riding, hockey |
Bladder | Kickboxing, dancing (high kicks) |
Thymus | Climbing. Skeet shooting, archery |
Appendix | Yoga, swimming (butterfly stroke) |
Of course, no matter what your main meridian is, you can benefit from exercising all of the meridians. But, if you find that you are attracted to a certain form of exercise, it could be a clue to your dominant meridian.
Learn more about the meridians and their archetypes in the Meridian Archetypes series!
![trainer shoulder stretch - exercise for the meridians](https://infinityflexibility.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/4-1024x576.jpg)
When you exercise for the meridians, you unlock a powerful internal system. Infinity Flexibility Integrative Bodywork in Natick, MA, works with the meridians to bring balance to the body, mind, and spirit.
Want to Work with Infinity?
Infinity Flexibility has in-person and online offerings to bring balance to your body, mind, and spirit including flexibility and strength training, lymphatic drainage, and massage. Massachusetts locals can now schedule online for in-person appointments at our Natick, MA office!
We are also in the process of creating virtual offerings, including online consultations and a video library for self-stretching on YouTube. Sign up for our newsletter to be among the first to know when new products and services become available.
Emma Matthies
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