top of page

Lungs and the Tiger (notes with Heiner Fruehauf)

*notes from classicalchinesemedicine.org


The Healthy Tiger Inside: Key Qualities of Lung Physiology

  • Power and vitality of the physical, acuity of animal instincts, being fully in the body; ferociousness.

  • Wildness, nature bound, freedom, need for breathing space, territorial, clear sense of personal and professional boundaries.

  • Vanguard, authority, status, charisma, confidence of rank and place, self-worth, commanding respect, sense of nobility; military power.

  • Bound to earth but yearning for heaven, attraction of opposites, yin/yang (male/female) magnetism, sexual prowess, rainmaker.

  • Radiant complexion, attractiveness, appearance, adornment; imposing posture; knowing how to strike a pose, natural ability to act; rare, prized, expensive.

  • Surface, outer layer, skin, protection against external pathogenic influences, protector of nature and natural laws, weaponry, killing, just wrath and vengeance, punishment, justice;

  • Symbol creation, civilization, knowledge.

  • General yang quality balanced by a yin side: patience, quietude, solitude, hermit behavior; sudden and brief display of force (bursts of activity) following resting (breathing) phase; associated with yang-East (position in the 12 Earthly Stem Cycle), but also with yin-West, the mountains, and the fall season (position in the 5 Phase Element cycle).

The Sick Tiger Inside: Key Qualities of Lung Pathology

  • Physical weakness, reduced immunity, reduced instincts, slowed reactivity, feeble voice, pale complexion.

  • Inability to defend oneself against all types of invasive challenges, especially those into the privacy of the human body (including viral attacks) and the home turf of home and relationship; lack of boundaries; letting things get “under the skin.”

  • Poor growth of body hair, especially in males. On the other end of the spectrum: excess growth of body hair.

  • Inability to breathe, claustrophobia, sense of impinged freedom.

  • Wind diseases, such as getting winded, symptoms characterized by unpredictable onset and movement (allergies, especially affecting the respiratory tract and skin).

  • “Demon invasion,” such as the sudden and violent onset of epidemic disease, especially affecting the respiratory tract and skin.

  • Lack of self-worth; physical, social, and financial impotence; inability to establish oneself and find one’s place in society; sense of being an outcast. On the other end of the spectrum: megalomania; seeking the limelight, ambition to be in the public eye.

  • Emotional wounds around respect; inability to command respect; lacklusterness, especially with regard to body color, choice of clothing, aura strength, and vocal expression; inability to connect with others and to attract a mate; loner behavior; poor body language; poor verbal expression (with regard to both the spoken and the written word); disheveled looks (clothing, hairstyle, grooming).

  • Sexually amorphous (especially with regard to body shape, skin characteristics, clothing, and voice).

  • Morally ambiguous, without clear sense of right and wrong; disregard for the law. On the other side of the spectrum: being a stickler for rules; rigidity and inflexibility.

  • Ill at ease in the physical body; disjointed and stiff body movements.

  • Superficiality (obsession with expensive jewelry, clothing items, or other material trophies; inability to make deep and intimate connections); cheap and unrefined taste (wearing ostensibly fake jewelry and poor quality imitation designer brands); thick and gaudy make-up; vanity, narcissism; aloofness; preoccupation with nobility (buying false aristocratic or scholarly titles); arrogance; sensation of being common and unattractive.

  • Sudden and unexpected outbursts of anger and shouting; vengefulness; obsession with punishing others; obsession with weapons, killing, and death; obsession with hunting large game or domesticating dangerous exotic cats.

  • Sensation of being unsafe and ill at ease; anxiety (associated with sensation of being overwhelmed, unsafe, alone, or having no place, no power, no money, no peace); grouchiness, frequent moaning and groaning; tendency to dramatic display of emotion.

  • Disregard for nature, resulting in the destruction of wild spaces and extinction of rare animal species.



0 comments

Comments


bottom of page