Heat is a direct expression of the change in any energy because it is temperature differences that cause the energy to circulate. This also applies to life energy. So any change in your level of life energy can be observed by changing the temperature of your body. So in this sense, your body temperature expresses the essence of life. When a person dies, their body temperature drops. So warmth, your body temperature is a sign of life. Usually, however, you don’t think about your body temperature until it’s too cold or too warm, as this is regulated by your autonomic nervous system and happens automatically outside of your consciousness.
In this article you will learn:
- What is the relationship between body temperature, and emotions is.
- Why your head is cooler than your stomach and how it affects your health.
Normal adult body temperature is 36.6 ° C.
It depends on the environment, weather, and measurement site (body parts). Also circadian rhythm (resting and active phases), women’s menstrual cycle, and body condition. Both overheating, i.e. hyperthermia and hypothermia, are dangerous for our bodies. When your body temperature drops, you start shivering. It is the reaction of your muscles to raise your body temperature. As the temperature drops further, your movements become slower and slower. The blood pressure rises and the heart beats faster to raise your body temperature. This could lead to a heart attack.
A rise in body temperature, or fever, is a sign that your immune system has activated. If a bacteria or virus attacks your body, the immune system raises its temperature to fight it. Your body’s immunity increases fivefold when your body temperature rises by 1 ° C and decreases by 35% when it drops by 1 ° C. However, too high a fever is harmful.
Although the thermometer shows some measures of your body temperature, it does not mean that all parts of your body are at the same temperature.
Some of them are warmer than others. The abdominal area is warmest due to the number of muscles there, and the further away from it, the colder it gets. Your body generates the most heat in your muscles (approx. 25%). 75% of the muscles are in your belly. So, when you don’t exercise and don’t have strong internal muscles, the so-called core, your body temperature may be lower. Eating cold, not getting enough sleep, overeating, and the frequent use of painkillers and antipyretics will also cool the body down.
Proper body temperature is, above all, good energy circulation. Good circulation means good nutrition and oxygenation of every cell in your body, but also cleansing the body through carbon dioxide and detoxification.
The most important thing, however, is the temperature difference between your head and belly. The head is always colder than the stomach, so if you have a fever too high, for example, you usually put a cold towel on your forehead. This principle is very important in Eastern medicine, here’s why.
Life energy flows through your meridians in a certain natural way and in a certain direction.
Two extraordinary meridians take part in giving it this direction: the Conception Meridian (female energy) and the Managing Meridian (male energy). For energy to move in the right direction, temperature differences are needed. Male energy is warm and female energy is cold, therefore everything cold is yin and everything warm is yang. When the energy is warm, it becomes lighter and therefore more vital. Energy becomes lighter and rises when heated, and when cooled, it becomes thicker and falls.
The cold feminine energy collected by the Meridian of Conception falls down through the heart because it is cold. In Chinese medicine, the heart with its blood vessels, blood, and pericardium is related to the element of fire. It is also joy and heat, which means that after passing through these organs, this energy begins to heat the abdomen and lower body. In a normal, optimal state of your body, a large amount of blood flows inside your stomach, making it easier for your internal organs to work and helping your body to metabolize and produce energy. In this way, it warms your stomach and makes its temperature slightly higher than that of your head.
This situation causes the natural flow of life energy. The warm, male energy collected from the male organs heated in the stomach rises upwards. It passes through the kidneys, equated with the water element. This water as it rises up cools your brain. Thus, a cold head and a warm belly cause a natural circulation of vital energy in your body.
How does it work physiologically?
When you are in a state of emergency, your sympathetic system becomes active. Blood drains from your internal organs and is concentrated in the large muscles of your limbs to prepare your body to act – fight or flight. The heart speeds up, the sugar level rises to provide energy to the muscles and blood pressure. Your body generates the incredible energy potential it needs to eventually respond to a threat. Your stomach cools down and the temperature in your extremities increases. When the threat is gone, the parasympathetic system comes into play, stabilizing the body, lowering the heartbeat, and producing enzymes to aid digestion. The blood pressure goes down and the temperature in the abdomen rises and the temperature goes down in the extremities. The parasympathetic system restores energy to the body.
If the energy that mobilizes your body in times of danger is not discharged in action, it turns into a destructive, inward force that damages organs, tissues, and cells. When this situation is short-lived, the body will deal with it. If, on the other hand, it is a permanent state of your body supported by your thoughts and imagination, your body is in a permanent state of readiness to fight. There is no time to replenish the energy consumed by your sympathetic nervous system, repair the damage and remove the toxins. As a result, your immune system is increasingly weakened.
So stress reverses the flow of vital energy in your body.
When you are stressed, the blood flow is concentrated in your arms and legs to keep you energized. When this happens, your brain temperature rises and your belly temperature lowers. The reverse flow of energy causes stress and the circle repeats. We need a bit of stress to help us survive and avoid threats, but chronic stress affects the way our body functions. Managing stress properly in your daily life will keep it from building up.
Emotions also change your body temperature. Researchers from Aalto University studied 700 people from Finland, Sweden, and Taiwan. They evoked their emotions and then asked them to color the area where they felt the change in body temperature caused by the emotion and other physical sensations. In this way, they created the below map of emotions:
Body temperature and emotions.
Emotions physically affect your body through the endocrine system that changes your body temperature. When you are angry or upset, you are all “boiling inside” and you feel like you’re about to explode. When you feel happiness and excitement, you feel a surge of energy in your body, which causes your body temperature to rise. On the other hand, when you are sad and depressed again, you don’t even want to move, so your body temperature drops. A happy person, raising the temperature of their body, rarely gets sick, while a depressed person, by lowering the temperature of their body, weakens their immunity. Displaced or suppressed emotions also create energy blocks in your body that obstruct the flow of life energy, thus disturbing your body temperature. Also, the rigid body armored with muscles hinders the flow of energy.
Another factor influencing the flow of your vital energy is how your brain works.
Overworking the brain causes it to overheat and, consequently, raises the temperature of the head and disturbs the circulation of vital energy. Usually, you come from work and instead of giving your brain a rest, you turn on the TV, turn on the computer to view something on the Internet, or pick up your cell phone. This behavior causes you to constantly expose your brain to a constant flow of information. The electromagnetic waves produced by these devices also increase the temperature of your head.
Or maybe you constantly worry and create different scenarios in your head. Thought flows afterthought and you get into a never-ending thought process. So even though you feel as if you are resting, your brain is actually still working at full capacity. The brain is your central computer and like any computer, it overheats too. In order for it to be able to rest, its part is called DMN, i.e. the network of a rest state must be activated. This only happens when you are meditating, resting without thinking, sleeping, daydreaming, or staring into space. When the brain rests, it is more creative and effective.
You also influence the energy flow in your body through exercise – exercise and diet. Your muscles produce most of the heat so, when you are not exercising and you do not have abdominal muscles, only a layer of fat will cool your abdomen. When you eat poorly, you eat cold food even in winter, drink with ice, and sit on a chair all day, you make blood circulation in your stomach difficult and you cool it down.
Your body is healthy only when the vital energy circulates through it naturally without any blockages or restrictions.
When energy is blocked or flowing in the wrong direction, disease arises. Your body is a complex system with many variables. It has various mechanisms that maintain its harmony and balance. When this harmony and balance are disturbed, it sends you various subtle signals and warnings. This can be, for example, pain, muscle tension, or emotions such as nervousness or melancholy. When it does, it is important to recognize them and take care of them. Unfortunately, when you are disconnected from your body, your body is locked together and you are focused most of the time on the outside world, not recognizing it and ignoring it. So you are not taking action to restore this balance and it deepens even more until it eventually leads to a catastrophe. When you finally realize that something is wrong, it is often too late to do something about it.
A skilled observer can even notice changes in temperature in different parts of the body.
They know what food is good for them, what causes them allergies or digestive problems, when the period is approaching, and when they have caught a virus. Only when you learn your body will you be able to learn to recognize your emotions. As you learn to recognize emotions, you can learn to recognize your mental states. By understanding your own mental state, you will be able to separate your own awareness and your authentic self from the limitations and programs imposed on you by others and the environment in which you live. Only by understanding yourself will you be able to understand others.
When you are able to interpret the signals coming from your physical senses well, you will achieve mastery of the physical plan. When you achieve this, you will be able to develop and understand your psychic senses, which will allow you to explore other dimensions of existence.
Only being in the here and now, observing your thoughts and emotions will allow you to achieve mastery in life in order to become a conscious creator of your reality.
Source:
Ilchi Lee „The Solar Body. The Secret to Natural Healing”, Best Life Media, Sedona, 2015
Ilchi Lee „Water Up Fire Down: An Energy Principle for Creating Calmness, Clarity, and a Lifetime of Health”, Best Life Media, Sedona, 2020.
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