We are approaching the Spring Equinox, a time to get more active after a period of rest and reflection. The temperature can swing from warm to freezing, trees beginning to bud and leaves sprouting. This is a time when the earth wakes up from its slumber.
Wood is the element associated with Spring. Wood is unstoppable, moves around obstacles, and grows in spurts. A healthy tree trunk is steady and rooted, while its branches are flexible in the wind. However, if our bodies are unhealthy, we become brittle and dry.
Just like Mother Nature, our bodies need to stretch, feeling our muscles and tendons as we prepare for movement. A seasonal yoga practice will ensure we stretch out and release the fascia with long, luscious yin poses, easing into movement with tai chi as well as more active dynamic yang yoga sequences. This is a move from yin to yang, from rest to action.
I Have A Dream
With the longer daylight hours, we begin to feel more energetic with an urge to make plans and tackle projects. Not only is the sense of seeing associated with Wood, but vision is also one of its properties - the ability to look ahead and envisage great things, such as a call to action on climate change. We need to express this vision; this is a time to plan, prioritise, organise and strategise - qualities of Wood.
The liver and gallbladder meridians are the yin and yang meridians of Spring. We can think of the liver General as leader and decision-maker, while the gallbladder Official carries out the plan. When our Wood is in balance, we can both envisage and carry out the plan. Good judgment also comes into play, as it is important to test the feasibility before jumping into action, but equally we don't want to prevaricate. Clarity and objectivity are key elements.
However, if this upward rising energy is not expressed, it can turn to anger, directed outward or worse, towards ourselves as an inner critic, allowing feelings of guilt and shame. We need to counteract this emotion with courage and take initiative to move forward in our lives.
See my next blogpost to find out more about Chinese Meridians and the physical level of Wood - how the liver and gallbladder manifest in the body when they're in and out of balance, and what you can do for the optimum health of these organs.
PLAYLIST*: Springtime songs and their relevance in Chinese Medicine:
Enter One - entering a new season, coming out of hibernation
Chasing Pavements - prevaricating (imbalance in Gallbladder)
Destiny - decision-making and planning (by the Liver General)
Come to me - creativity, imagination in action (Wood)
Unfold - leaves unfurling in Springtime
Rewrite the Stars - having a strong vision and acting on it
Imagine - envisage like John Lennon
Green Garden - green is the colour of Spring
Suddenly I see - seeing is the sense associated with Spring
Shout - shouting is the sound associated with Spring
Don't look back in Anger - anger is the emotion associated with Spring
Green Eyes - green is the colour of Spring
Dream - do you have a dream, like Martin Luther King?
Purple Rain - the quality of vision, the ability to envisage
Opening - nature unfurling
On The Nature of Daylight - increasing daylight hours
NICKY AND CHRISTINE ARE CO-HOSTING A SPRINGTIME YOGA TREAT WITH TIBETAN SINGING BOWLS ON SAT 23 MARCH 2019. YOU ARE INVITED TO STAY FOR DRINKS AND NIBBLES AFTERWARDS. EMAIL NICKY@LOVEYOGABIRD.COM TO BOOK.
*Playlist available on Spotify (search Nicky Dye/LYB Spring Equinox)