Stomach Meridian.

                                                 

Stomach

General Characteristics

Organ / Meridian Muscle Group	General Bodily Area	Associated Tissue / Functioning	Associated Bodily System
Stomach (ST)	Outside Front of Thighs / Quads	Muscles	Digestive,Metabolism

Meridian Muscle Group (MMG) Information

The Stomach MMG is a yang meridian in the lower body, traversing the anterior lateral aspect of the legs and thighs.

Stomach is balanced by Pancreas, a yin MMG that traverses the posterior medial aspect of the legs and thighs.

Kinetic Movement Pattern

Advancing

Associated Ailments

Associated Physical Concerns

Foot, low back pain, muscle cramps, muscle pain

Associated Injuries

Adductor groin stain, anterior thigh strain, shin splints, bunions, plantar fasciits, low back,upper back, shoulder adductor strain, shoulder posture, swimmers shoulder, shoulder external rotation, shoulder dislocation, surfers elbow

Physiological Concerns

Gluttony, addiction, muscle pains or injuries, asthma, allergies, inability to sit, reading problems, digestive problems, sweet cravings, bad food combining, very irregular eating habits

Associated Illness and Disease

Stomach problems, asthma, colds, heartburn, muscle pulls

Psychological Concerns

Addictive, fearful

Stomach Muscles

The following is a list of muscles associated with the Stomach meridian. Note that specific muscles are concomitant with specific meridians while some muscles are associated with several meridians. It is especially important to note that this list was created from: the exact muscles that acupuncture needles puncture through to access individual meridian points; muscles that are along the meridian pathways; muscle group agonist and antagonists; stretching experiences; trigger point theory and practice; muscle synergists.

Major Muscle Groups

Vastus lateralis, tibialis anterior, extensor digitorum longus, extensor digitorum brevis,dorsal interosseous

Associated Muscle Groups

External oblique, internal oblique, pectoralis major, platysma, vocal cords, buccinator,masseter, orbicularis oculi, orbicularis oris, frontalis, temporalis, risorius, depressor anguli oris, depressor labii inferioris, sternothyroid, omohyoid

Stomach(target) and Pancreas(bal.) Meridian Muscle Groups

Stomach Meridian

Stomach and Pancreas Meridians

Meridian Muscle Group Relationships

These are the balancing, opposing, and completing meridian muscle groups for the Stomachmeridian muscle group (MMG).

Balancing	Opposing (Superficial)	Opposing (True)	Completing
Pancreas	Kidney	Pericardium	Large Intestine

Visualizing Your Muscle Groups

There are a large number of muscles in your body. Is there a way to think about them or visualize them in a way that makes them easy to understand? Of course. Here’s how.

Think of your body as eight cylindrical tubes, four stacked on top of each other, or sixteen half tubes. In your lower and upper body, there are tubes on the front, back, outside, inside and on the four angles in between. Each of those eight cylindrical tubes contain muscles in groups that go from your feet into your trunk and head, or from your arms into your face or trunk. Well, it just so happens that each of those tubes is also exactly where the meridians are in TCM! So each major muscle group is concomitant with one meridian in TCM.

Balancing Muscle Group

Balancing muscles are located directly through the bone across from each other and have opposite directions of action. In Western anatomy, these same muscles are called agonist and antagonist of one another. Because the sixteen meridian muscle groups balance as eight pairs of muscle groups, they are called Balancing Meridian Muscle Groups. The balancing muscles are dependent on each other to make possible maximum shortening and lengthening movements, because as one side of the body shortens the other lengthens. But because both the strengthening and stretching of any muscle depends on the flexibility of its balancing muscle, the balancing muscle group is always the determining factor in developing the strength and flexibility of the muscle (assuming there is no unusual damage to the muscle group you are trying to strengthen or stretch).

The Stomach MMG is a yang meridian in the lower body, traversing the anterior lateral aspect of the legs and thighs.

Stomach is balanced by Pancreas, a yin MMG that traverses the posterior medial aspect of the legs and thighs.

The stretch length of the Stomach MMG is limited by its balancing muscle group's ability to shorten (Pancreas). Stretching the balancing muscle group increases its ability to both shorten and lengthen.

The target muscle group (Stomach) will stretch more successfully after the balancing muscle group has been stretched. If you still are not making optimal flexibility gains in the Stomach MMG, you will need to stretch and strengthen the superficial opposing muscle group (Kidney).

Aspect of Body

Lower
Body

Target and Balancing MMG

Lower
Body

Opposing Muscle Group

The muscles that are perpendicular to one another are called opposing muscle groups (to be distinguished from balancing muscle groups that are located directly through the bone across from each other and have opposite directions of action). The action of opposing muscle groups is surprising. Their level of strength and flexibility govern the proper rotation of the muscle group that you are stretching. If your target muscle being stretched (Stomach) does not increase in flexibility by stretching its balancing muscle group (Pancreas), then you'll need to stretch the opposing muscle groups.

Stretch the superficial opposing MMG (Kidney) to troubleshoot the target muscle group (Stomach). Stretch the true opposing MMG (Pericardium) to develop the high personality traits necessary for optimal Stomach functioning and development.

True Opposing MMG

Upper
Body

Target and
Superficial Opposing MMG

Lower
Body

Completing Muscle Group

Completing muscle groups are the 'top' for lower body muscle groups and the 'bottom' for upper body muscle groups. The Stomach MMG traverses the anterior lateral aspect of the legs and its completing MMG, Large Intestine, traverses the anterior lateral aspect of the arms.

Completing MMG

Upper
Body

Target MMG

Lower
Body

Energy Flow Trellis

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), energy flows from one meridian muscle pathway to the next in a very specific order. In TCM this order is called the 'energy cycle'. This order is determined by the depth of the muscles in the body and begins with the muscles associated with the gall bladder, with the next always being its balancing muscle group, in this case liver, and then on through all the rest. The cycle always includes two lower body, then two upper body meridian muscle groups, and then repeats two more of each. Ultimately all 16 have been completed.

In the energy trellis diagram, the horizontal pairs are balancing organs in Traditional Chinese Medicine, and they are also balancing muscle groups. The diagram also houses other secrets about the interrelationships of muscles, organs, and personalities. The stretches directly above and below each other are completing meridian muscle groups, the same muscle groups above and below in your body. The stretches diagonal from each other are superficial opposing meridian muscle groups. The superficial opposing muscle group's completing muscle group is the true opposing muscle group.

Stomach Personality Type

The Genius of Sobriety and Self-Expression

High and Low Personality Traits

High Psychological Traits	Low Psychological Traits
SobrietySelf-expressive, self-educated, work identifying, nonaddictive, sympathetic, potential promoting, tasteful, optimistic	AddictionAddictive, eccentric, digressive, vague, loose associations, overly frank

High Emotional Traits	Low Emotional Traits
GenerousI give gifts often.	SuggestibleI struggle with addictions.

High Spiritual Traits	Low Spiritual Traits
Belief in Higher PowerI have a sense of a higher power.	AddictionMy life centers around my addictions.

Personality Group: Thinking

Instinct	Time Reference	Awareness	Function
Fearless / Fearful	Future	Clear / Confused	Proactive

src: The Genius of Flexibility.