How to Use the Organs and Emotions Chart as a Healing Guide to Release Trauma and Reclaim Your Well-Being

There’s no denying the unbreakable bond between the body and mind. And yet, many people overlook this connection when it comes to their emotions.

Everything you feel translates to a certain process in the body. This holistic approach is very popular in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), which provided the first organs and emotions chart.

While the traditional chart is now thousands of years old, many of today’s researchers have proven that certain parts of your body are connected to your emotions.

When you look over the organs and emotions chart, you might get answers you weren’t expecting. It’s fascinating to understand how your body keeps score of everything you’ve ever felt.

What Does the Organs and Emotions Chart Teach Us?

Our emotions don’t just happen within our minds. They literally inhabit our bodies. And specific emotions are stored in specific body parts. 

Think about it. What does it mean to feel?

Feel the sunlight on your skin. Feel the fresh air blowing through your hair. Or feel some burning tears running down your cheeks. 

They’re all bodily sensations, right? Then why would we think emotions aren’t supposed to be felt? And how do we do it otherwise than through our senses? 

You got it right. The senses mean through our bodies, and the Chinese got this way before western philosophy.

Now, let’s dive in to see what emotions are connected to what organs.

Lungs, skin, large intestine: Grief, courage

According to traditional medical systems, grief and sadness are felt in the lungs, skin, and large intestine.

Sadness depletes your body of energy and can cause chest pain, tightness, and shortness of breath. In TCM, the lungs are in charge of controlling your pores, which is why skin issues like dryness and sensitivity can be the result of lung problems.

But positive emotions, like pride and courage, are also felt in the lungs.

Kidney, ears, bladder: Fear

These organs are the first to respond to fear. Once you feel it, your fight or flight response is triggered and adrenaline floods your body.

The adrenal glands are responsible for dealing with this physiological response. And have you ever felt like you’re going to empty your bladder when in a state of severe fear? This is because fear relaxes the bladder.

Liver, eyes, gallbladder: Anger, generosity

Feelings of anger and rage affect your liver and travel upwards to your head. This can cause migraines, dizziness, a lack of clarity, and many other strong bodily sensations.

Melancholic emotions like worry or pensiveness also impact your liver, but in a different way. 

These are often less powerful, but they last longer and can cause digestive issues and problems with your gallbladder.

The main positive emotions associated with these organs are generosity and kindness. This is why people say you can often tell that someone is a kind person by simply looking into their eyes.

Heart, small intestine: Impatience, love

As one of the vital organs in your body, your heart reacts to strong emotions of hate or impatience. These emotions can lead to heart palpitations, brain fog, insomnia, and many other unpleasant sensations and disorders.

The heart is also responsible for love and happiness. Since the heart is a universal symbol of love, this connection may not come as a surprise.

Spleen, stomach, pancreas: Anxiety, trust

The ‘gut feeling’ that many people believe in is very real. There’s a strong connection between your gut and brain, so it comes as no surprise that it’s affected by strong emotions.

Anxiety is felt in the spleen, stomach, and pancreas. Excessive worry can trigger many digestive issues and negatively impact your overall quality of life.

People with emotional disturbances are more prone to constipation, spastic colon, and irritable bowel syndrome. But on the flip side, many positive emotions are felt in these organs, including trust, openness, and vulnerability. 

Learn more: The Mind-Body Connection: Illness, Addiction & Eating Disorders

Why Is This Important?

Understanding that your body and mind are connected is crucial to your overall health. By making positive lifestyle changes like a healthy diet, meditation, and regular exercise, you support both your physical and mental health.

And when you understand which organs hold emotions, you can tackle health issues with a holistic approach, not only treating the physical aspects but also integrating healing on the energetic level.  

According to Jeffrey Allen, renowned energy healer and trainer of Mindvalley’s Duality Quest, “the number one reason people can’t sense energy is that they are not connected to their bodies.” 

And how do you connect to your body? “Feel your feelings,” as the saying goes.

How to drop into your body

Jeffrey recommends some energy tools when practicing being more present with our feelings in the body:

• Focus your energy with intention. For example, call all of your awareness behind your eyes. Can you feel it?

• Grounding. Connect yourself energetically to the Earth. Walk barefoot with your feet on the ground. Notice your connection to the material world.

• Scan every part of your body with your attention. Let yourself notice different parts of your body. How does your chest feel? How does your hand feel? Is there any emotion coming up when you focus on them?

These practices are simple but powerful. So, once you identify the emotions you need to work on in the organs and emotions chart, you can start working on being present in your body and see how your overall physical, mental, and spiritual health will improve.

According to Jeffrey, some benefits you might notice are:

• Stronger personal presence
• Passion for everything you’re doing
• Increased confidence
• Stronger intuition and guidance

He strongly emphasizes how your whole life takes on a different tone of color, shining brighter each day once you uncover the wisdom of your body.

Connect to the Wisdom Within

Jeffrey describes this beautiful anecdote of how the spiritual and material worlds aren’t two separate entities. We don’t become more spiritual when we disconnect from the matter. And having less money, fewer possessions, or taking less care of our bodies won’t increase our spirituality in any way.

The opposite is the truth.

And if you’d like to learn how to connect to your higher self and use your body as a vehicle for rising up to higher states of consciousness, Mindvalley is the place to be. With the Duality Quest, taught by Jeffrey Allen, you’ll discover the energetic tools you need to live presently connected to your body every day.

Get ready to enjoy this beautiful journey of coming back home to yourself. Welcome in.

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Images generated on Midjourney.