When working with clients as a natural health care practitioner, we always examine all patterns of health and behavior associated with the mind, body and spirit. Noticing our body’s energy patterns throughout the day can often signal issues arising in the body, and in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) the Horary cycle helps us to understand and analyze these energy flow issues during a 24 hour period.
When looking at the Horary Cycle Chart, you will notice that each energy center or meridian peaks during a 2 hour time frame. Each energy meridian on the chart also has an opposite part across the chart, which indicates a low point in that energy meridian.
Imbalances can be effectively addressed, along with other assessments and data collection, by analyzing this cycle.
Here is how I utilize this in my own practice; I recently had a client who was complaining of energy fluctuations throughout the day, cravings for sweets and breads, and would awake very anxiously at around 3 am every night. She would feel like her heart was racing and her mind would be immediately churning. She called it her “Anxious Awakening.”
By utilizing the Horary cycle, we can see that this points to a disruption with the liver, and her body’s ability to metabolize and process toxins, regulate blood sugar and allow for purification and cleansing.
Irregular sleep patterns, particularly waking up at very early hours of the morning can mean the body is being disrupted by circulating levels of insulin, which is one of the liver’s regulatory jobs.
When insulin levels are disrupted in the body, this can also send the adrenal glands into “fix it mode”; it does this by releasing cortisol, a hormone commonly referred to as the stress hormone. This hormone gets released in the body when it suspects the body is under duress (think the “flight or fight” response). My client was having her “Anxious Awakening” in the middle of the night because her adrenals were shooting out cortisol in an attempt to normalize and bring these blood sugar handling issues back into a safe zone.
Another interesting point to observe: the weaker energy meridian at this 3 am time frame, which is directly across from the liver meridian, is the small intestine. The small intestine and pancreas are attached, and the small intestine also plays an important role in blood sugar handling and signaling to the pancreas for insulin, so the disruption this client was experiencing correlates very well with the Horary Cycle.
This analysis, along with a full work up helped to put together an individualized plan to improve blood sugar handling issues, along with digestion and detoxification, to help this client relieve symptoms and improve overall health; no sleep aids or pharmaceuticals were necessary.
Something else that is fascinating in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is the association of emotions and organ function, which you can also see notated on this chart below. My client was having issues at work and felt very irritated and at times angry with her boss. In TCM, these emotions of anger and irritation correlate to liver issues, which we already notated on her Horary Chart.
These are just some of the tools a natural health care practitioner will use to put together the puzzle pieces of your health.
Please feel free to reach out to me via my Work with Me Page if you are looking to resolve your nagging health concerns, or just looking to enhance your well being!
