Haramaki: Keep Your Middle Warm To Stay Well.

Our kidneys, which are the guardians of the original energy we received when we were conceived, thus the source of the energy that animates all other organs and tissues. They are like the batteries of our body. Cold drains their energy, thereby depleting our overall reserves. When our kidneys get cold, it is like the fire going out in our system, so we always feel cold and lose our motivating drive. As the kidneys are the organs most intimately connected to our female sexual health, coldness leads to all kinds of reproductive system problems, including low libido and fertility issues.

Our vital energy (our Hara in Japanese or Lower Dantian in Chinese), located two inches below the naval and back into the centre of the abdomen. The Lower Dantian provides the driving force to circulate energy around our body. Coldness here is a sign of low vital energy and causes stagnation in our core, so whatever energy we do have does not circulate freely. This, in turn, affects our blood circulation. As a result, we feel cold, weak, tired, apathetic.

As the weather gets colder, I’m taking more and more care to keep warm in my core. I know that staying warm here is the secret to not only feeling toasty all over, but also to feeling comfortable, supported, energised, creative and strong.

One of my favourite ways of achieving this overall sense of wellbeing is wrapping my belly up with my much love ‘Haramaki’ Cotton Tubes.

Haramaki’s (translating literally as Belly Wrap) have been used for centuries in Japan. The word originally referred to a type of metal armour worn by soldiers in feudal Japan; it later became a tube of fabric, worn by old men around their belly as an unfashionable undergarment. More recently, these soft, stretchy tubes have been elevated to a fashion item in Japan, featuring bold designs to be worn on top of clothes. But simpler cotton versions are still worn under clothes for their health benefits, covering from the kidneys to lower back and hips. Different brands now available in the UK including ‘Haramaki’ by Harry Duley

Excerpt from a blog posted by Tiffany Bown on 8/12/2018  www.nurtureworksyoga.co.uk