In this post, I will share several ancient-healing techniques for working with the Kidney meridian. They are very simple yet powerful, and you will be able to try them immediately. These techniques cause a shift of energy which might energise you, relieve you from physical pain or diminish fearful feelings.

Reservoir of Energy and Centre of Courage

Traditional Chinese medicine regards the Kidney meridian as a reservoir of energy, as well as the centre of courage and willpower. Conversely, a dysfunction in Kidney meridian can result in feeling extremely tired, being overcome by emotions of fear or paranoia, or symptoms and ailments such as asthma, chronic inflammation, or tinnitus.

The good news is that we have tools to keep the Kidney meridian in balance, and thus enjoy a healthy energy flow, vitality, willpower, and courage to move forward in life.

The Pathway of Kidney Meridian

The pathway of the Kidney meridian starts under your foot, on its first acupressure point where energy enters the body. The point is called Kidney 1 (or K1). In the old Chinese medical terminology, which is much more poetic than modern medicine, the point is known as ‘The Wellspring of Life’, ‘Bubbling Spring’, or ‘Gushing Spring’.

Pressing or massaging it can bring you ‘back to life’. In fact, the master practitioner of energy medicine, Donna Eden, has described a situation when an unconscious, dying person was brought back to life after this technique was applied. (Energy Medicine, by Donna Eden, pg 125) 

The Kidney meridian pathway then circles around your ankle, goes up via the back of the legs, and reemerges at the front of the body.

The meridian then flows up your body all the way under your clavicle. It finishes on the last (and very important) set of acupressure points called K 27.

The K27 are very important points, because they are is a junction point for all the other meridians and you can influence how you feel by working with these points. The K 27 are considered the “energy switch” of the body: If you thump or deeply massage these points, it will stimulate the energies of all the other meridians and get your body’s energy moving.

You will find these points right under the collarbone, near the U-shaped notch. Massage these points vigorously to bring fresh energy to your body. Remember this next time you’re feeling tired! Thump or deeply massage these points and you will soon feel the difference.

Please note: Although this diagram shows the pathway on only one side of the body for clarity purposes, in reality it runs on both sides of the body, right and left, in a pair. So if you’re massaging the K27, you’ll be massaging a set of two points (as in the picture below). The path of the Kidney meridian is marked in red colour.

Ancient Prints Showing Meridians

I find it fascinating to compare modern acupuncture/acupressure diagrams with ancient Chinese prints and paintings. Nowadays, we have devices that can detect meridians and their acupoints, and they are almost exactly the same as depicted ion the thousands’ of years-old medical illustrations. There are also people who can see energies, such as Donna Eden, who was born with this ability. She had seen meridian pathways even before she learned about them!

If Kidney Meridian is Out of Balance

In the traditional Chinese medicine, the emotion associated with Kidney meridian is fear.

When we experience a strong emotion of fright, our kidneys will struggle to hold their energy and we can even end up experiencing involuntary urination. (You’ve surely heard the phrase ‘I nearly peed myself’!)

Dealing with long-term fear can often result in kidney issues.

The other challenges associated with imbalance in the Kidney meridian are fear, edema, eye problems, tinnitus, lung problems, dry tongue, lumbago, constipation, diarrhoea, lower back pain during period, shoulder pain, and pain along the course of the meridian and its associated muscles.

However, working with the Kidney meridian and its acupressure points can often help you relieve pain and improve your health condition, and emerge from loneliness, depression, and fear.

Techniques for Balancing Kidney Meridian

If you suffer from any of the symptoms mentioned above, try the following techniques: 

• Trace Kidney meridian
• Flush Kidney meridian
• Work with the acupressure points of Kidney meridian

What Is Happening on The Five Elements Wheel:

Water element (Kidney meridian) flows into Wood element (Liver meridian).

This means that Kidney meridian is freed from excess energy by sending it to Liver meridian.

Or you can view it the other way – the helpful friend Liver is ‘hoovering’ excess energy from the overcharged Kidney meridian, this helping the Kidney meridian to relax. (This often diminishes pain in our body, like in the case of my friend with the back pain.)

You can see this happening on the wheel (from blue to green, inside the circle):

Step 2 – Stabilise the Energy Flow by Holding the Control Points:

Now we need to stop the flow of energy from the previous point. We need to stabilize the shift in energy, and we’ll do this by holding the so-called control points.

The Procedure:

Gently hold the following two points (Kidney 3 and Spleen 3) for 1,5 minutes.

As in the previous step, do this on both sides of the body; on the right foot first, then on the left foot. (Or vice versa.)

What is happening on The Five Elements Wheel:

Earth element (Spleen) controls Water element (Kidney).

This means that ‘good cop’ Spleen meridian will ‘stop’ the flow of energy from the previous step, thus preventing the Kidney meridian from having too much energy taken away. This wise intervention of the controlling element (Earth) will stabilise the energies.

You can see this happening on the wheel (from yellow to blue, inside the circle):

What Is Happening on The Five Elements Wheel:

Metal element (Lung) flows into Water element (Kidney).

This means that Lung meridian is strengthening the neighbouring Kidney meridian by sending its energy into it (flowing into it).

Or you can view it the other way – Kidney is ‘borrowing’ some energy from its neighbouring Lung meridian.

You can see this happening on the wheel (from light grey to blue, inside the circle):

Step 2 – Stabilise the energy flow by holding the control points:

Gently hold the following two points (Kidney 3 and Spleen 3) for about 1,5 minutes.

As in the previous step, do this on both sides of the body.

What Is Happening on The Five Elements Wheel:

Earth element (Spleen) controls Water element (Kidney).

You can see this happening on the wheel (from yellow to blue, inside the circle).

You may have noticed that this is the same procedure as when we were holding the control points after the Sedating procedure in the first example. The control points are always the same after sedating and strengthening a meridian.

Step 1 – Sedate the Kidney Meridian:

Sedate (relax) the Kidney meridian by sending its excess energy to the next meridian, which is Liver. You’ll see how the flow works on the wheel diagram (The Five Elements Wheel) further down.

The Procedure:

Gently hold the following two points (Kidney 1 and Liver 1) for 2 minutes. Use the tips of your fingers (preferably the index or the middle finger).

Do this one side of the body first, (e.g. on your right foot).

Repeat the same procedure on the other side of the body (your left foot), also for 2 minutes.

What Is Happening on The Five Elements Wheel:

Water element (Kidney meridian) flows into Wood element (Liver meridian).

This means that Kidney meridian is freed from excess energy by sending it to Liver meridian.

Or you can view it the other way – the helpful friend Liver is ‘hoovering’ excess energy from the overcharged Kidney meridian, this helping the Kidney meridian to relax. (This often diminishes pain in our body, like in the case of my friend with the back pain.)

You can see this happening on the wheel (from blue to green, inside the circle):

Step 2 – Strengthen the Kidney Meridian 

Strengthen the Kidney meridian by borrowing some energy from the previous meridian (i.e. Lung meridian).

The Procedure:

Gently hold the following two points (Kidney 7 and Lung 8) for 2 minutes. Use the tips of your fingers (preferably the index or the middle finger).

Do this one side of the body first, (e.g. your right side) and then repeat the same procedure on the other side of the body, also for 2 minutes.

What Is Happening on The Five Elements Wheel:

Metal element (Lung) flows into Water element (Kidney).

This means that Lung meridian is strengthening the neighbouring Kidney meridian by sending its energy into it (flowing into it).

Or you can view it the other way – Kidney is ‘borrowing’ some energy from its neighbouring Lung meridian.

You can see this happening on the wheel (from light grey to blue, inside the circle):

Step 3 – Stabilise the energy flow by holding the control points:

Now we need to stop the flow of energy from the previous two points. We need to stabilize the shift in energy, and we’ll do this by holding the control points.

The Procedure:

Gently hold the following two points (Kidney 3 and Spleen 3) for 1 minute.

As in the previous step, do this on both sides of the body; on the right foot first, then on the left foot. (Or vice versa.)

What Is Happening on The Five Elements Wheel:

Earth element (Spleen) controls Water element (Kidney).

You can see this happening on the wheel (from yellow to blue, inside the circle).

Share Your Thoughts

I would also love to hear about your experience – have you used the techniques mentioned here, and with what results? Or have you got any other questions or comments? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below and I look forward to getting back to you soon. To your amazing health!