Acupressure & Fitness Types
Earth & Sky Medicine – Pilot Program
‘Know Thyself’ with Astrology & Life Coaching
‘Be Thyself’ with Energy Psychology & Natural Medicine
Capricorn Earth Moon – With the energy of great effort expended to reach the top of the mountain and be of practical good to the community below.
Capricorn is the last Moon sign under the Aries Sun which has focus on the willful ego making its mark in the world. We will have eleven more opportunities during the program to look at the enigmatic archetype of Capricorn, but today we are strict in our application factoring in Aries.
What do you get when you cross the fiery Aries warrior desire to be the best with the Capricorn striving to do a Great Work – or simply be able to climb steep mountains?
Pause. That was not a rhetorical question. What answer came to you? For me it was one of my training forms: CrossFit with the slogan “Forging elite fitness”. One woman responded instantly her Aries Capricorn mix was competitive ballroom dancing. We may be spiritual beings having a physical experience but it is important for all to have the sound body that houses the sound mind and spirit.
For some, extreme training like CrossFit or Kung Fu are the right fit. For others, the martial art of choice might be gentle Judo or Tai Chi with fitness gained by steady walking or swimming. Today’s Sky Medicine exploration gives you a non-astrological way to have a clue about which camp you fall into as well as considering astrological factors.
Astrology Primer – Capricorn & Saturn
Here are the bare bones key words to help you get the structure of these two earthy archetypes.
Less on astrological archetypical theory on these Earth Moon days and more further down on concrete actions!
CAPRICORN – Cardinal Earth – Negative – Transpersonal
Saturn – 10th house
“I utilize” – The Sea Goat or Unicorn – The Consolidator
Archetype: Hermit, Father, Prime Minister
Source of Earth, self-organising influence, executive attainment, goal oriented sobriety.
Initiating Material Action
Need for structure, organisation and social accomplishment
Keynotes: authority, discipline, conservation, caution, responsibility, consistency, scapegoat, society, great work, mastery
SATURN – Social
Relates to: Capricorn and traditionally Aquarius – 10th and 11th houses
The teacher – The Way Show-er
The Compressed Force of fear and commitment
The capactity to create order, form and discipline in one’s life. “I manifest”
Function: development of self discipline. Development of self respect. Development of faith in one’s detiny. Making peace with solitude.
Keynotes: structure, boundaries, conservation, strength, direction, resilience, karma, the Shadow
E X E R C I S E: Acupressure for Energy
For optimal physical energy, use acupressure on the following key acupressure points on your feet and legs.
Take the opportunity when sitting to stimulate these points and get both earth and water meridians flowing with energy. Alternatively, squat or do a forward bend to reach the acupressure points. Squat and front bend are two vital movements we will look at in greater depth in the future.
Under the foot, you can press Ki-1 ‘Bubbling Springs’, a kidney water point, with your thumb for a surge of refreshing energy.
The next point, above the inner ankle on the calf, is Sp-6 ‘Three Yin Intersection’, a spleen earth point, often tender during hormonal times. Gentle finger acupressure here is strengthening and balancing rather than directly energizing like the first and third point in this series.
The last point on the outside calf under the knee is St-36 ‘Leg Three Miles’ which is a stomach earth point. Use your knuckles to firmly stimulate this region for increased endurance.
E X E R C I S E: Hunter Gatherer or Farmer?
You may recognize this question in the context of using Blood Type O, A, B or AB to determine diet. The premise is that Type O is more of a primal hunter gatherer which translates to the natural carnivore with higher protein and fat requirements. The other extreme is Type A as the farmer who is more of a natural vegetarian, tolerating dairy and grains better. B and AB are something of an evolutionary blend.
I personally find Metabolic Typing a better way to find therapeutic food choices but the concept of your blood type determining physiology is helpful. Many people manage to get themselves into unnatural and unbalanced dietary states that need addressing before adopting a natal blood type diet. When it comes to natural proclivity for activity and what reduces stress and induces harmony, however, it is startling how well the O vs A differentiation works!
The theory would be that primal hunter gatherers lead much more physically demanding lives and experienced more adrenaline rushes compared to agrarian types who evolved later. In this New Age, meditation and yoga are considered a universal remedy for stress and for many (type As!) it does indeed work a treat.
There remain, however, the type O folk who confess they can actively become more stressed the longer they sit cross legged or the more deeply and slowly they breath with eyes closed in meditation. What does the trick for them is climbing the mountain, chopping wood, or having a wrestling match on the mat rather than yoga.
Like basically everything in this world, the theory is pseudo-science. I invite you to be pragmatic in good Capricorn style and see what fits. Find out your blood type or just ask yourself what is the best stress release for you and do not assume the latest fashion is right for you. The elemental balance of the chart gives a good direction as well.
In addition to knowing your Mars sign for physical energy, your Saturn sign will reveal much about your style of self discipline and hard work. Even house placement can give inspiration for those who need a nudge to do physical fitness. Fifth or ninth house orientation? Get creative with a playful sport. Eleventh house might definitely want to train in groups and set clear goals. Let me know you want more insight on your natural orientation as seen in the horoscope.
Bottom line? In whatever style feels good and right for you, do care for your body. It seems the trend of starting at the heart and moving up to mind and spirit is taking a toll on many temples…the body that houses all the other good stuff.
Caring about our bones under the Capricorn Moon,
Laura