Penetrating Vessel - Chong Mai: Vessel of Bonding and Sea of Blood
I have just posted a talk I did on my YouTube channel and thought I would also include this blog post to accompany it. In the talk I show the mudra I have developed and we end with a meditation.
Mother archetype
I “discovered” the Extraordinary Vessels through my work with pregnant and postnatal clients because Penetrating Vessel is the archetype of mothering energy. It is a time in a woman’s life when it is at its strongest and I couldn’t help but feel it, even though I didn’t know what it was. Penetrating Vessel enables us to nourish our baby in our womb. The Chinese call it the sea of Blood, but Blood in Chinese medicine is so much more than blood in modern medicine. It is an energy of nourishing emotionally and spiritually as well as physically. Blood flows through our whole body in every cell and not only in the blood vessels.
The image find most expresses the nature of the Penetrating Vessel is of a woman breastfeeding her baby. The pathway of the Penetrating Vessel includes important branches on the breasts and it is the main channel I would explore for any breast issues, including cysts and swellings. A woman breastfeeding is holding her baby and giving them love, getting to know them, as well as being nourished herself by this new relationship with her baby, as she feeds.
Our first relationship with our mother affects all our future relationships. Our mother represents our first connection to arriving on the earth and patterns laid down at this stage of our life impact on how we make a connection to a place, feel safe and take nourishment from the earth and another being. Although we can’t change what happened during our early years, we can discover a new relationship with it. Receiving shiatsu of the Penetrating Vessel is one powerful way, but we can also do exercises for this vessel, as well as meditations and affirmations.
Affirmation
For the Penetrating Vessel the affirmations I have created are:
I feel at home in my body and at home in my place on earth.
I create a nourishing relationship with myself from which I can create nourishing relationships with others.
Simple connections
When I was working with pregnant women, I intuitively felt drawn to making simple connections between the Brain, Palaces (reproductive organs - the womb and baby), the Kidneys and the Heart. These I later realised are the Core Four organs of the Extraordinary Vessels. If you want to know more about these powerful channels read my other posts .
How does the Penetrating Vessel develop in our body?
You might find this strange to write about, because you might think that the Vessels, like the meridians or channels of Chinese medicine, are energy pathways and are always there in some form. Yes, there are. However they develop along with our body. Indeed we can say that they exist before our physical body forms, and they support the creation of our form.
Through my work with pregnancy, I wanted to learn more about how the baby developed and so I started studying embryology. I was fascinated by how this mirrors the development of the Extraordinary Vessels.
Without going deeply into embryology here (I have written some other articles on this subject on my website blog ) I want to talk about some of the key phases in the development of the Penetrating Vessel because I feel it helps you understand its nature better.
Making our first home - implanting in the womb
We spend the first week after conception spiralling down the fallopian tube to arrive in the womb where we implant. During this time we don’t need any nourishment from outside. We don’t increase our size, but inside our cells are increasing in number exponentially. After a few days we have created an outer body and inner body. Our outer body will become our support structures, like our placenta, and our inner body will become our physical body. In order to grow we will eventually need nourishment from the outside. This nourishment comes into us once we implant in the lining of our mother’s womb after a week to 10 days of spiralling.
We spiral round the womb looking for a place to implant and burrow our outer body into the womb lining so we can draw blood from it. Now we settle and we aren’t going to move away from this place until we are born. We have found our home for the rest of our time in the womb. We start putting down “roots” through our outer body. The process is called “nidation”. In French “nid” is a nest. We make a nest and settle. From these first cells our placenta will eventually develop but for now blood starts to come into us to nourish us.
This is our first “home” and how we make this process influences how safe and settled we feel each time we make a new home or nest. Did we feel welcomed? Rejected? Was it a struggle or easy? Of course we have no conscious memory of this time, but all that we experience is imprinted within us. I have worked with people who discover memories of this time when we disappear fully into our mother. We need our mother to survive. This process involves all the Extraordinary Vessels, but Penetrating Vessel energies dominate, even though the Vessel is not yet formed.
The first physical appearance of the Penetrating Vessel - the mesoderm
Now we are receiving nourishment we grow rapidly. In our second week our inner body has a front and back and top and bottom and we are a flattish line with 2 layers of cells. This physical midline can be seen as the first physical appearance of the Governing and Conception Vessels which are the sea of Yin and Yang. From this flattish line, at a place in what will become our lower back (the primitive streak), cells stream out to create a third layer during the third week after conception. From these 3 cell layers, the rest of our body will develop. The ancient Chinese saw our lower back as the source of our energy and where we store our life Essence or vital force. One point here, between our second and third lumbar vertebrae, is called the “Gate of Life” (GV4). I find it truly fascinating that, even though the ancient Chinese had no idea of these connections and structures intellectually, the functions they attribute to the Governing, Conception and Penetrating Vessels match almost exactly these 3 cell layers.
3 germ layers – Conception, Governing and Penetrating
If you read descriptions of these Vessels, you will find they closely correspond to what develops from the 3 germ cell layers
Ectoderm: outer layer - Governing
Surface ectoderm
Skin – the outer layer and its glands
Hair and nails
Mammary glands
Anterior pituitary gland
Enamel of teeth
Inner ear
Lens of eye
Neural ectoderm: nervous system
This includes the brain, spinal cord and nerve cells
Endoderm: inner layer - Conception
Lining tissue (epithelial) of most of the digestive and respiratory canals and linings of the body
Mesoderm: middle layer - Penetrating
Tissues which facilitate movement - both of fluids and foods within our body as well as moving our body in its environment. A lot of the medium for the 12 meridians (i.e. connective tissues and muscles) is derived from here. It is literally the energy of incarnation.
Connective tissues and fascia, soft tissue, cartilage and skeletal systems,
Virtually all muscles of the body, (striated, smooth, cardiac)
Blood, lymph vessels and heart walls
Most of the kidneys and reproductive organs
Membranes lining body cavities
Spleen
Suprarenal (adrenal) cortices (link with Kidneys)
Our heart arises out of the mesoderm in the fourth week - Penetrating Vessel
The earliest cells of our heart come from the mesoderm (Penetrating) and migrate through the primitive streak (GV4) to cluster around our head (day 18). As our body begins to fold into our fetal position during our fourth week, the cells of our heart are brought into our body through our neck and then into our chest. Our heart goes through its own process of folding: becoming first two tubes and then one tube, when it starts to beat. This can be from 21-23 days to 30 days . Of course this primitive heart beat is quite different from a mature heart - it is a primitive pump and only 2.1mm long. This is quite a “dangerous” threshold, and many babies don’t survive it. After this our heart develops rapidly and has already formed its 4 chambers by the end of the fourth week.
The Chinese see the Heart as one of our most fundamental organs. They call it the Emperor and it is intricately connected to our Brain and Heaven. Of course it is also about how we express love and create relationships with others. It is a Core organ of the Vessels, but is especially connected to the Penetrating Vessel.
We receive our nourishment through our navel - our anchor
By 8 weeks blood is flowing from our placenta through the umbilical cord. Now we receive our nourishment, our mother’s Blood and Essence, through our navel. We could say that the placenta is made up of all 8 Vessels but our navel is closely linked to the Penetrating Vessel (along with Conception and Girdle Vessels) , whose pathway lies each side of it. Our placenta acts as a form of anchoring to our mother’s body. We play with our umbilical chord and float but are attached. It represents our anchor and sense of security. Even though at birth we are separated from it, we still have a memory of our time we were attached to our mother. The memory of how we were separated also remains with us. It can be a physically or emotionally sensitive place even when we are adults.
After birth, our mother’s “Blood” can still nourish us
After birth, our mother can continue to nourish us through her milk. The Chinese consider breastmilk as a transformation of “Blood” and so breastfeeding offers a gentle way of transitioning to the outer world from being in the womb. Even if we are not breastfed, hopefully we are held against our mother’s breasts, the protective “wings” of her Heart and so we are supported to create a new relationship with her. This is why I call the Penetrating Vessel, the Vessel of Bonding and I use it to support women postnatally, whether they are breastfeeding or not, to support their new connection with their baby. If these moments were stressful for the mother, or she was unwell, then this affects her ability to bond.
How the Pathway of the Penetrating Vessel expresses all these connections.
The pathway of the Penetrating Vessel covers much of the body. Its pathway is like a crossroads in our pelvis and chest. It is the main channel which regulates the breasts, but it is also important for our pelvis. Our vital energy, our Essence is stored in our Kidneys and lower back and it passes through GV4. It is the only one of the Inner Four Vessels which has a branch in the leg. The leg branch represents how we anchor to the earth and is important to support first along with our lower back. If either, or both of these areas are not strong, then too much energy will rise up in our chest. This is the main expression of Penetrating Vessel being out of balance. We see it clearly in women during the first trimester of pregnancy (nausea) and in the menopause (hot flushes).
Mudra
I have created a mudra, hand gesture for the Penetrating Vessel, as a way to access its energies without having to work the whole pathway.
You join your thumb, which is related to Spleen and the earth, along with your middle finger which relates to your Heart and your ring finger which relates to circulating energy through your whole body (the Three Burners). Your index finger relates to Stomach (grounding) and Large Intestine (Space) and your little finger relates to the Heart. To ground more you can place your index and little fingers together. To connect more with space open them up.
How the meaning of its Chinese name – Chong expresses its nature.
The Chinese character for “Chong” has two parts. The outer part (radical) is a symbol split in two parts to the left and right side of the centre. It represents the left and right feet in a walking movement as well as an ability to circulate. This expresses the importance of its leg branches and connection to the earth and outer world along with its role in the circulation of Blood and Qi .
The inner part represents a person repeatedly trying to raise a heavy weight up from the earth. We can see this as representing our potential to become stronger through our relationship with the outer world. There is also the idea of nourishing an arid earth.
The whole character includes the idea of a meeting place: a powerful route with lots of crossings and tributaries where people can meet and continue walking. This shows how we can be enriched in our life through our interaction with other people. In the Daoist texts this indicates the transformational nature of the Chong.
Resources of the Penetrating Vessel
I am mother earth.
I invite you to be your own creation.
I am the sap of the tree, flowing through the whole tree to nourish it all -from the roots, through the trunk, to the branches and leaves. I am the trunk, the roots, the branches and leaves.
I am the Mother. I am the mother within you. I bond you to Mother earth through your legs and your roots. I nourish you through my heart and my breasts. I hold you against my body and create safety and rest. I feel at home in my body and in my place on earth and in myself.
I am the Blood which flows in every cell of your body nourishing you physically and emotionally. I am the Blood line connecting you to your ancestors. I am your menstrual blood and the milk which flows from your breasts.
I form a crossroad in your body at the level of your heart. I open out through your arms to the centre of your palm so you can connect with others.
I reach down through the centre of your body and form a crossroads at your pelvis. I move down through your legs to the earth. I reach up from your heart to the sky.
I am a long dress, skirting the earth and fastening at your heart. I am the rich red inner lining of your cloak.
I am the crossroads on your journey through life where you can open your heart to others you may meet.
Overactive patterns
I am overly anchored to the earth. I feel stuck and can’t move.
There is a fullness in my chest, my heart is heavy and can’t open. I may have issues digesting food or emotions.
I tend to overeat and surround myself with lots of possessions. I am overly attached to material comfort or to my mother. I don’t like being away from home.
Women: I have long and heavy periods.
Underactive Patterns
I have lost my connection to the earth and my trust in life. I easily scatter and my energy rises quickly up my body, escaping through my heart and causing me to feel sick and lost. I belong nowhere.
I tend to skip meals and don’t have a good appetite. My fridge is often empty. I see the lack in life. I feel I don’t have enough for myself or to share. I often feel empty. I find it hard to be affectionate with others. I dislike giving or receiving touch. I have short or infrequent periods. I have little or no contact with my mother. I don’t feel safe in my home.
Is this how you see the Penetrating Vessel?
I’d love to hear your thoughts and feedback, both on this article and over on YouTube.
There is a meditation there. Please share your comments on the video on YouTube and your thoughts on this article here!
Suzanne