The Metal Element Reset

Please read the information below to learn more about this Reset. Then, follow along with the practice video at the bottom of this page.

A simple, 10-minute daily technique strengthen your immune defenses, restore deep and easy breathing, and release the grief you've been holding so you can feel light again.

"The lungs teach us the rhythm of life. We take in what nourishes us, and we let go of what no longer serves. That is health."

— Janet Galipo

What the Metal Element Controls:

  • Immune Defense (Wei Qi) — Your body's protective shield against colds, viruses, wind, and cold lives in the Lung network. Strong Metal energy is strong resistance.

  • Breath and Vital Energy — The lungs govern Qi. With every breath you draw in fresh energy and distribute it to every organ and cell.

  • Letting Go and Grief — The Metal element governs how we process loss and release what we no longer need, in the body and in the heart.

  • Skin, Nose, and Boundaries — The lungs open to the skin and nose, your body's living border with the outside world.

  • The Metal element is one of the five elements, alongside Wood, Fire, Earth, and Water. It governs the lungs and large intestine, the season of autumn, and one of life's most essential rhythms: taking in what nourishes us and letting go of what doesn't.

    Autumn is the season the days begin to shorten, when energy turns inward and we begin to conserve.

    Modern science echoes what ancient healers taught. Slow, full breathing shifts your nervous system toward "rest and repair," and your airways and gut are now understood to be central to your immune defense.

    The Metal element represents this intelligence of breath, protection, and release.

  • In Chinese medicine, the lungs are called the "master of Qi." As one classical text puts it, the lung takes in clear Qi and gives off murky refuse. The lungs draw energy in from the outside world and send it downward and outward to nourish everything below. When this descending flow is strong, you feel energized, clear, and open. When it's disrupted, often by grief or chronic stress, you may experience:

    • Shortness of breath or shallow, high breathing

    • Frequent colds or a weak immune response

    • Low energy and fatigue

    • A tight chest or a heaviness you can't quite name

    • Difficulty moving on from a loss

  • The Metal element runs your body's defenses, and in Chinese medicine that protection has layers. The Metal Reset strengthens all four:

    • Wei Qi, your protective energy that guards against wind, cold, and outside pathogens

    • Your skin, the body's largest organ and its first physical barrier

    • Your microbiome, the trillions of microbes that train your immune system and keep inflammation calm

    • Your immune system in balance, with strong "warriors" to fight infection and strong "peacekeepers" to prevent over-reactive, inflammatory responses

  • Every element carries an emotion, and Metal's is grief, along with sadness, sorrow, and loss.

    The lungs are about letting go of old attachments, and when we can't let go, grief settles in and blocks the flow of Qi in the chest. This is natural and human.

    We seek nurturing, and when we lose it, through a death, a divorce, a move, or the end of a chapter, the Metal element is what helps us honor the loss and then release it. The Metal Reset creates space to do exactly that.

What is a Reset?

A Reset is not simply acupressure or acupuncture without needles. It's a comprehensive approach that combines specific acupoint stimulation with focused breathing and intention to create an immediate shift in your body's energetic patterns.

The Science Behind Resets

Modern research helps explain why these techniques work so effectively:

  1. Neurological Impact: Stimulating specific acupoints sends signals through the nervous system that can reduce pain perception. Studies show acupoint stimulation can trigger the release of endorphins and other natural pain-relieving compounds.

  2. Circulatory Effects: The physical pressure and focused breathing increase blood flow to tissues, bringing oxygen and nutrients while removing inflammatory compounds.

  3. Fascial Connection: The body's fascial network—the connective tissue that wraps around muscles, organs, and cells—responds to pressure at acupoints, helping to release tension patterns throughout the body.

  4. Autonomic Regulation: Resets help shift your nervous system from the stress response ("fight-or-flight") to the relaxation response ("rest-and-digest"), which is essential for healing.

  • Longer inhalations and exhalations help relax the body and mind

    All healing happens when we're relaxed

    Breath directs energy to where it's needed

  • Placing attention to specific body regions:

    • For the Metal Element Reset, we focus on the lungs and large intestine

    • Contact can be physical (hands on body) or energetic (focused attention)

    • This targeted focus helps direct healing energy

  • The Points of Focus are the Reset's healing intentions

    Each Elemental Reset will have it’s own 3 Points of Focus

  • Coordinated movement and breathing with specific points of Focus & Release

  • Energizes the entire system:

    • Activates meridians and healing centers throughout the body

    • Updates every cell to a new blueprint of vitality

    • Integrates the changes through three key zones: Head, Heart, and Navel

Metal Reset Supports:

  • Immune resilience

  • Lung & Colon issues

  • Skin issues

  • Grief, depression & loss

  • The Metal element is your immune command center. Here we activate four layers of defense: your Wei Qi (protective energy), your skin (your body's largest organ and first barrier), your microbiome (the trillions of microbes that train your immune system and keep inflammation in check), and your immune system itself, balancing the "warriors" that fight infection with the "peacekeepers" that prevent over-reaction.

  • The Metal element runs your body's defenses, and in Chinese medicine that protection has layers. The Metal Reset strengthens your microbiome, the trillions of microbes that train your immune system and keep inflammation calm.

  • The lungs and large intestine govern how we let go. With breath paired with intention, we move stuck grief, disappointment, and sorrow out of the body, and help transform attachment to the past into fond remembrance, so you can be present for today.

3 Acupoints

  • Lung 7 (Left-side)

    Engage the 4 shields

    Location: ~2” above wrist crease

  • Stomach 40 (Left-side)

    Sludge Removal

    Location: Mid-calf, outer side

  • Kidney 2 (Right-side)

    Clears Systemic Heat

    Location: Inner foot arch edge

The Emotional Sweep

Release Grief

For the Metal Element, you inhale to receive what nourishes you, and exhale to release grief, disappointment, and sorrow. In Chinese medicine, the exhale paired with intention is a powerful way to move stuck emotional energy out of the body.

Follow-Along Practice Video

Follow along step-by-step to practice the Metal Element Reset

How do you feel?

You just gave your body a reset. Take a breath and notice. Lighter? Calmer? A little more space in your chest? We'd love to hear how it landed for you.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • For best results, we recommend practicing the Metal Element Reset for 3 consecutive days to start. As your body becomes more balanced, you may find that 1–2 times per week is enough to maintain it. Listen to your body. It will often tell you when it needs a reset.

  • The Metal Reset can be done anytime. Many people love it first thing in the morning to start the day feeling clear and protected. It's also a wonderful one to reach for when you feel run-down or stuffy, when you're trying to fight something off, or any time grief or stress feels heavy in your chest.

  • The Reset is gentle and safe for most people. It uses light acupressure, breath, and focused attention, nothing forceful. As with any wellness practice, use comfortable pressure and go at your own pace. If you're pregnant, managing a medical condition, or have concerns about any of the points, check with your healthcare provider first. This practice is meant to support your wellbeing, not to replace medical care.

  • Tenderness at the acupoints is completely normal and actually a sign that these points need attention. It typically fades with regular practice as your energy pathways rebalance. Use firm but comfortable pressure and never push into pain. If strong tenderness lingers after several sessions, try a lighter touch.

  • Finding the exact spots takes practice, but you don't need to be perfect. Being in the general area is effective. The most reliable sign is a slight tenderness or a subtle "yes, right here" feeling when you land on the point.

  • Yes, and it's a good sign. In Chinese medicine, the Metal element governs grief and letting go, so it's common for feelings, sometimes a wave of sadness or a deep sigh, to surface as you exhale and release. Let them move through. Be gentle with yourself, breathe slowly, and know this is the practice doing exactly what it's meant to do, helping you set down what you've been carrying.

  • Many people notice a shift in their energy and clarity after just one session. For more lasting change, consistent practice over 2–3 weeks lets your body establish new patterns. The effects are cumulative, with each session building on the last. Some longstanding issues take longer, but you should feel gradual improvement along the way.

  • We're here to help. You can email your questions to janet@janetgalipo.com.

Resets Course

The Metal Element is 1 of 16 Resets You Can Learn

The Metal Element Reset is powerful on its own. But imagine having a complete toolkit of 16 resets that address pain, sleep, digestion, hormones, brain fog, inflammation, immunity, stress, and emotional balance — and knowing exactly which one your body needs on any given day.

That's what I teach in the Reset Practitioner Course.

What you get:

• 16 complete resets (6 Elemental Resets, 6 Master Point Resets, 4 Foundational Resets)

• Muscle testing — learn to ask your body what it needs

• 21-Day Reset Challenge — daily guided practice sessions after the course to build your habit

• 30-Day Group Check-In with Janet and Myriam

• Essential Oils Guide matching specific oils to each elemental reset

Upcoming Class