Dear Patient,
I want you to try something. Press your fingers along the outer side of your thighs. Just move up and down along the outer thigh, between the hip and the knee—you can tap, press, or rub in circles or in a line. Is it sore?
Or maybe do the same thing along the outer sides of the rib cage. You don’t have to press too hard. Just press or rub and see how that feels. Any sore spots there?
If so, you’re not alone. Almost all of us have tender spots along the outer thighs, or lateral rib cage, or both. And that’s because of the unique role of the Gallbladder in Traditional Chinese Medicine.
The Gallbladder is responsible for decision-making, discernment and courage. It carries out our plans in alignment with our values. Indecision, ambivalence and timidity are classic signs of imbalance in the Gallbladder system.
The Gallbladder also occupies a level of the body called the shao yang, which is a half exterior, half interior level of disease. Energetically, this is a liminal, pivotal space— between mulling things over and carrying out a decision, between deliberation and action.
So what does this have to do with sore spots on the side ribcage or outer thighs? Well, those points lie along the pathway of the Gallbladder channel.
I find the pathway of the Gallbladder channel fascinating. The first 20 points, nearly half of the points on the channel, are on the head, zigzagging back and forth across the sides. It’s almost like the Gallbaldder channel carries your thoughts from one possibility to the next when you’re in decision-making mode: yes or no, this or that, yin or yang, back and forth, back and forth as the Gallbladder rules over judgment and discernment.
On the lower extremity, we have another 10+ points down the side of the lower leg and foot, to the 4th toe. More concentrated energy here just like on the head, and here is where the Gallbladder translates our decisiveness into action.
And in the vast middle, between the head and the knee, a few more points scattered along the side ribcage and outer thigh.
And this is where we get stuck.
That void between a making decision, and taking the steps to carry it out. This is where healthy Gallbladder energy should step in to move us in the direction of courage. But because courage isn’t the easy path, we get stuck in the middle with procrastination, frustration, and avoidance.
Those sore spots along the outer thighs and ribcage? They’re a sign that your Gallbladder energy is stagnant. There’s something you’re avoiding, some unknown you’re afraid to face, or a fear that perhaps, somewhere along the way, you made the wrong decision. It happens to all of us.
So how do we move that stagnant energy? How do we connect the discernment of the head with the sure-footedness of the legs? Remember that the Gallbladder initiates action in alignment with our values. That takes courage. When you’re mired in indecision and inaction, remember your values. What matters to you? What do you care about? Trust yourself. Allow the Gallbladder to carry you forth and make your mark on the world.
Love and gratitude,
Your Acupuncturist
oh to get to the heart of the matter - balancing the fire so the decisions are not to rash and not to dilly dally. I love the gentle support of bitters to help my gall bladder get the timing of things right and I love the automatic feedback from my bowel movements about just how much bitter I need in my diet - especially as I get older. Right now I'm humming happily with Oregon grape, with that beautiful golden thread of berberine running just under the surface of the rootlets and rhizomes that I harvest to make into a delicious woody tincture - a perfect reflection of the gallbladder and liver officials!
wonderful connection about the head meridians being about all those decisions! And such a great way to describe it! I have that visualisation with me now always. Its something we check up on as a herbalist about headaches and shoulder pain as well as twisted ankles - all possible indications of gall issues.
I had to come back to this one - I seem to be having lots of issues with gallbladder channel! I'm going to google your site for gallbladder and see what else I need to be reminded of.