Fire: Heart and Small Intestine; Pericardium and Triple Warmer

The most yang element, Fire is the domain of the yin organs heart and pericardium and the yang organs small intestine and triple warmer. It is characterized by heat, joy, and expansion. Summer is the season of the fire element. The heart and small intestine are most active from 11 AM – 3 PM and the pericardium and triple warmer from 7 PM – 11 PM.

The PDF provides more information about the fire element and associated organs. Through a healthy fire element, you connect with the world. The insight provided by the PDF into how this element functions in your life and ways you can balance the fire element will help you strengthen your connection with your world.

The Warm Up and Five Element Stretches will stimulate the movement of energy through all four of the fire element meridians and organs. These stretches are essential as regular practice to keep energy moving and organs healthy. Use them daily when possible.

The Ki Strengthening video for this element explores the effect of gratitude and open-heartedness on the flow of ki throughout our body. When we do things with resentment we hold tension in our bodies and less energy flows through us. When we do things with our whole heart, we are relaxed and energy flows freely. This ki test will assist you in feeling the power of staying open-hearted. It will help you cultivate this attitude in daily life.

Ki breathing can assist us in opening our heart and experiencing joy. The breath is expansive, connecting us through both time and space to our world. The fire element is the most expansive yang element. With every breath, we inhale atoms that have been here since the beginning of time and that have been part of many forms of life. The air you breathe has been breathed by trees and animals and blown about the planet. Breathing is an intimate act of connection with the universe.

The heart, warmth, and joy are expressions of fire. As you practise ki breathing, you will find that you can feel your breath creating warmth in your body, nourishing the fire. It brings in the oxygen that is distributed by your heart and fuels your cells.

Gratitude is the magic elixir that opens the heart, creates joy, and connects us with our world. As you practise your ki breathing, breathe out all resentment, resistance, fear, or regret preventing you from feeling gratitude. Breathe in gratitude. You may find it helpful to make lists of what you release and of what you are grateful for before you begin your ki breathing session. If there is something or someone you are having difficulty feeling gratitude for, you may focus there and see if your heart becomes more open.  

Use your breath to expand into the world and enjoy every breath you take.

The Facial Massage is a way for you to connect with yourself every day. It is easily incorporated into morning or evening cleansing routines. The face holds many beginning and end points for the channels (meridians) and also has many of our sense organs, so facial massage has abundant health benefits and particularly supports the fire element. The health of our face reflects the health of the fire element in us.

The Mansion of Your Heart Guided Visualization will give you insight into the fire element and especially the condition of your heart. You may use it whenever you feel the fire element to be out of balance, such as when you feel ‘cold-hearted’ or perhaps when you are ‘all fired up’, to calm and control the fire.

In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit. – Albert Schweitzer