Luo Channels: the Body's Map to Hidden Emotions
Not every story needs words.
Some are written in the body – and can be unwritten, too.
Recently, I deepened my study of the Luo Channels, an ancient system in Chinese medicine that shows us where we store unprocessed emotions. These channels are different from the main meridians. You can actually see them in spider veins, broken capillaries, areas of redness, or changes in the skin.
In Chinese Medicine, blood carries more than nutrients, it carries emotions.
When we’re born, we are completely open, connected, and present. But very quickly we learn to label, to judge, to compare. We’re taught what is acceptable to believe, and what is not. Approval becomes conditional: from family, teachers, and society.
As we all experience, thoughts arise constantly. But which one we decide to believe in, is our decision. When we do that, and transform a belief into our own truth, the body adjusts itself to match that belief, even if it’s not supportive. Emotions then flow from these beliefs, and the body channels energy (qi) to specific organs to express them.
If the emotion is fully expressed and released, there’s no problem. But when the mind overrides the body, suppressing the emotion, it has to be stored somewhere. This can happen in moments of overwhelming feeling, or slowly, over years.
Emotionally, the symptoms will depend on which channel is involved, but they often fall under five main categories: anger, fear, anxiety, worry, or sadness.
A classic example is anger. In Chinese medicine, anger is linked to the Liver. If we feel anger but believe it’s “unacceptable” to show it, we push it down. The body responds by generating heat to try to move that stuck emotion. Over time, that heat, along with the suppressed emotion, consumes the fluids of the body, especially the blood. Because blood holds emotion, this can lead to inflammation, blood pressure issues, and emotional triggers.
At this stage, the body creates extra vessels, the Luo Channels, to hold that unresolved emotional “heat” and its frequency. That’s when you might start to see visible signs like spider veins, varicose veins, bruises or discoloured patches or protruding vessels.
In time these Luo Channels can become full, unable to store more. The emotion then spills back into primary channels. To protect the organs, the body may form nodules, cysts or lumps, physical “barriers” to block the flow from reaching deeper.
Here is the key: these visible signs are not just cosmetic.
They can be clues that your body is still holding a story, one that’s been waiting for the right time, and the right conditions, to be released.
What excites me about working with the Luo Channels is the possibility of freeing a person from this emotional “storage”, allowing the body to return to clarity and presence. It’s not about digging into old wounds with words. It’s about allowing the body to release what it’s been carrying, so you can move forward without the weight of old triggers.
If you’ve noticed these signs in your body, or if you’ve been feeling caught in repeated emotional patterns, this work can offer a way back to yourself.
Sessions are available both in person and online – this medicine translates beautifully across distance.