Good Life Acupuncture Spring Newsletter 2009
Here it is Spring again and not a moment too soon. We have had a colder than usual winter on the west coast, so those daffodils are a welcome sight for sure! It has been a busy time for me with the practice, teaching and caring for my ailing mother who passed away peacefully in October, so I took a bit of time off from writing the seasonal newsletters but now I’m back, full of good qi and great ideas for you! Here’s how you can have a healthy body, mind and spirit this Spring.
Body: Spring is the time of year ruled by the wood element, which relates to the liver and the gallbladder meridians and organs. Besides being responsible for the smooth flow of qi, the liver and gallbladder control the tendons, which connect muscle to bone. This means that stretching in the form of yoga or my latest pursuit, karate helps to stimulate the liver energy. The wood element controlling the liver is expansive in nature and hates to be constrained or kept from expressing itself. So like a tree, it needs to be able to stretch, just like our tendons, which is why sitting around doing nothing or watching tv ( a primo qi stagnator!) can lead to a common syndrome called “liver qi stagnation”. When qi is stagnated, pain and many different kinds of conditions can develop so that’s a good reason to work on keeping your qi flowing smoothly. Here are two tips to help your body this Spring: Get into a daily discipline of stretching. Start slow, breathe deep and take a class to learn proper alignment techniques. Lighten up on heavy foods, especially greasy or fried ones (including chips!) and give your liver a break from all the work of digesting those fats.
Mind: There are emotions related to each element and the emotion of anger is related to the liver. Anger needn’t be look on as a “negative” emotion any more than other emotions but when it is expressed in an unhealthy way with blaming, name calling and violence, anger can be unproductive and harmful. Usually people become angry when something “touches a nerve” and literally triggers an old hurt, resentment or fear, which translates into anger. Then instead of addressing the original hurt or issue, the emotion gets “superimposed” on the present situation. We’ve all done it. Right? Since none of us is perfect it is in our best interest and the best interest of those we love for us to deal with our unfinished business. Here are my tips for a healthy mind this Spring: Make a counselling appointment and speak to a professional about anything that you think might be holding you back from being totally happy in your life. Even if you have never done this before or even if you only go once, you will be amazed how much your perspective will broaden from letting yourself speak freely. The other tip is one I have been doing for many years, and that is to keep a journal. It does take some discipline but for mental health there are few things that can compare for developing insight.
Spirit: In the more esoteric teachings of Chinese Medicine the liver energy is expressed as the “hun”, a term referring to the spirit of the liver energy. The liver energy is particularly related to clear direction, discernment, capacity for justice, staying on one’s path, imagining possibilities and moving towards goals. Doesn’t that sound like a shopping list for having the life you want? Really, we all know deep down that we make our own way in life. One of my dear late mother’s favourite sayings was simply, “Nothing’s for nothing”. Over the years, my interpretation of her wisdom is that nothing happens without meaning or purpose as well as nothing is gained without vision and movement towards it. All that being said, what does your spirit really want? Are you living the life you want? Here are my tips to nurturing your spirit this Spring: Let your heart guide you to a pursuit that makes your heart feel good. Give your time and energy in an area that you are drawn to like coaching a sports team, volunteering a service or time to charity, visiting the aged in care homes or playing music for them, planting a garden or helping someone else enjoy a garden. Giving feeds the spirit. Let yours open this Spring like the flowers!
Metta (in loving kindness)
Rebekah
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