God or Goddess: Investigate Divinity with the Sexual Meridian

Meridian Archetypes Part 8: The God and Goddess

In Traditional Chinese medicine, the sexual meridian is better known as the conception vessel and is represented by the archetype of the god/goddess. The conception vessel houses the “Sea of Qi,” one of the most powerful energy channels in the body.

The conception vessel works with the governing vessel to move yin and yang energies throughout the body. Yin energy (conception) moves up the front of the body and yang energy (governing) descends the back of the body. 

To locate the sexual meridian energy within yourself, you need to assess the strength of your will and discover your inner god/goddess.

Which God/Goddess did you most identify with growing up?

Do you know the meaning of fatal attraction pretty intimately?

Are you spontaneous?

Do you often take on the feelings of others without realizing you are doing it?

The sexual meridian has close relationships to all yin meridians but has a special connection to both the kidneys (creator of the essence) and the lungs (creator of Qi). In the physical body, sexual meridian imbalances directly affect your hip flexor muscles and indirectly your hamstrings. You may also experience impotence, asthma, PMS, weight problems, and carbohydrate cravings. A god or goddess meridian imbalance could also result in moodiness or unpredictability.

By strengthening and stretching the sexual meridian, you gain access to your will and your inner god/goddess. You also may learn some tricks to combat hip flexor and hamstring issues. To understand the sexual meridian’s place in our series, we will examine its western medicine functions, archetypes, common imbalances, and exercises to help restore the healthy flow of our meridian.     

The Sexual Meridian in Western Medicine

Since the sexual meridian focuses on growth, both physical and psychological, our western medicine break-down will look at the endocrine system. The endocrine system manages the body’s hormone production, mood, and male/female organs.

The Endocrine System

The endocrine system controls the circulation of hormones. Hormones carry messages to the body’s cells via the circulatory system and thus control a variety of functions. The endocrine system is made up of glands, including the adrenals, thyroid, parathyroid, pituitary, pineal, hypothalamus, thymus, testes (men), ovaries (women), and pancreas. 

Imbalances in the endocrine system effect:

• stress levels
• weight gain
• metabolism
• immune function
• sexual development and function
• heart rate
• blood pressure
• blood sugar

The endocrine system is responsible for more than just bodily functions. It affects our mood, energy levels, and ability to give birth to the next generation. Endocrinologists are still discovering the myriad of functions that hormones play in our lives.

The Endocrine System & Mood

The adrenal glands, pineal gland, and thymus all play a role in managing our moods.

The adrenal glands control our body’s stress response.

The pineal gland produces melatonin (derived from serotonin) and uses it to regulate sleep habits and seasonal responses.

The thymus is the metabolic engine of the body.

Each of these three glands influences our mood, health, and wellbeing. Only by eating well, exercising, maintaining a regular sleep schedule, and managing our stress level can we hope to control and sustain our moods.

Male/Female Hormones

The ovaries and testes are the female and male counterparts of the endocrine system. The ovaries produce the hormones estrogen and progesterone both of which are necessary for the development of a woman’s breasts, the menstrual cycle, and pregnancy. The testes make testosterone which is responsible for the growth of facial and body hair, the growth of a man’s penis, and the creation of sperm.

In Traditional Chinese medicine, the endocrine system is closely tied to the balance of yin and yang. Both elements need to be in balance for the body to function properly. Yin/yang, male/female, the human body needs both to survive and flourish. 

Exercises

Beginner

Hip Flexor Exercise

Intermediate

Pigeon Pose Bind, Resist In-And-Out

Advanced

Forearm Stand

A Captivating Energy: The God/Goddess Archetype

Other Archetypes: God (Zeus, Poseidon, Apollo, etc.), Goddess (Aphrodite, Athena, Hera, etc.), Femme Fatal, Don Juan

The energy of the Sexual meridian has long been fetishized in literature, poetry, and, more recently, Hollywood movies. Think Marilyn Monroe, Angelina Jolie, Elvis. There’s a magnetism to the God/Goddess archetype that draws people in.

But that magnetism isn’t just about physical appearance or sex appeal. The Sexual meridian is the Conception Vessel, the home of Yin energy in the body. Yin receives. It draws inward. It creates. And it connects.

When this energy is strong, you may feel comfortable receiving attention, affection, support, and inspiration. You can connect deeply with other people and intuitively pick up on what they’re feeling, sometimes without realizing you’re doing it.

That receptivity can also be a double-edged sword. When Sexual energy is out of balance, it can become difficult to separate your own emotions and desires from the people around you. You may rely too heavily on attention or admiration to feel confident, or find yourself absorbing other people’s feelings as if they were your own.

The God/Goddess archetype captures both sides of this energy: the ability to draw people in without chasing them, and the challenge of staying rooted in yourself once they arrive.

This meridian is not one of the twelve main Chinese medicine meridians. Instead, it falls under the category of “extraordinary meridians.” The Conception Vessel is the home of Yin energy and works with the Brain meridian, or Governing Vessel, to balance Yin and Yang throughout the body.

Qi Control: The Main Yin Meridian

In Traditional Chinese medicine, the sexual meridian works closely with all of the yin meridians, but none more so than the kidney and lungs. In women, the “Sea of Qi” regulates the uterus, menstruation, menopause, and pregnancy. The kidneys form the menstrual blood, which is regulated by the liver inside the uterus. The conception vessel helps Lung Qi descend and assists the kidneys in grasping the Qi. When these systems function properly, we inhale and exhale with ease.

In men and women, the Sea of Qi moves energy in the “lower burner” which includes the bladder and the prostate in men. Sexual meridian exercises can be used to treat all sorts of problems such as chronic bladder problems, ovarian cysts, prostate issues, and fibroids. 

The conception vessel energy is essential to give birth to new things in our life, whether we are birthing creative endeavors, experiences, goals, or a child. It houses our will and empowers us to cause great change in our lives. 

Growth Spurts in Gymnasts: A God/Goddess Case Study

Both of my case study examples featuring the sexual meridian occurred when my adolescent daughters were practicing gymnastics. Competitive gymnastics is a unique world full of athletes who push their bodies and minds to the limit. When adolescents grow up, they are flooded with hormones, male or female. The god/goddess archetype develops, changes, and grows a lot during adolescence. 

Sexual Meridian Influence on Growth Spurts

The first example of sexual meridian influence was when I began observing the effects of growth spurts on adolescent gymnasts. Their muscles and bones would grow at different rates leading to potential injuries. Growth spurts affect the entire body, but primarily the muscles of the sexual and brain meridians. Injuries are preventable if the muscles are properly strength-trained and stretched. Common injuries include pain at top of the hamstring, low back injuries due to a tight psoas muscle, and injuries cascading down through the calf to the growth plate in the heel.

Adolescence is the most important time to monitor the strength and flexibility of the hip flexors and hamstrings. The benefit of keeping these muscles strong and flexible is that you prevent both general and sports injuries.

The Coach: A Sexual Meridian Case Study

The second example looks at how an imbalance in Sexual meridian energy can influence the people around us. This coach demonstrated many of the patterns we associate with imbalanced Sexual energy, particularly a powerful drive to achieve and a tendency to project his own vision onto his athletes.

Instead of working within the gymnast’s own strengths, he would subconsciously project a very specific path to success. He was unable to see the strengths and weaknesses of the gymnasts in front of him. He believed that the same restrictive training routine would result in success for everyone.

The pressure to meet his expectations resulted in some of the gymnasts pushing themselves to be something that they were not and thus injuring themselves. These injuries were not random or based on the physical ability of the gymnast. Most of the injuries occurred in the hamstrings and hip flexors- i.e. home to the sexual meridian energy in the body. 

This second example shows the profound influence the meridians can have on us without us knowing. The pattern of injuries directly lines up with a dysfunction in the sexual meridian. The coach’s drive to have his gymnasts be number one limited his ability to coach all of his gymnasts to their fullest potential. 

Looking Ahead…

Up next in the meridian archetypes series are the pericardium and skin. These fire meridians are great protectors in the body, with the pericardium surrounding and protecting the heart, and the skin embodying the essential element of the immune system.

The Pericardium is represented by the Judge and has a strong connection to the spiritual world. Its balancing meridian, the Skin, is represented by the Athlete and brings us into the physical world. Together, these meridians explore the balance between our inner experience and our relationship with the physical world around us.