Welcome to Spring time energy! This is the real New Year for me as I shake out the winter aches and tap into the rising sap of creative life force. Spring is a powerful and sometimes violent time of year. Life is explosive! Here are some thoughts on ways we can navigate the shift.
The Meridian pair for this time of year is the Liver/Gallbladder in the Chinese Medicine system.
Liver is associated with the Wood Element (Think about the stability and flexibility of a rooted tree filed with sap that can yield and respond with fluidity to outside pressure).
The Liver is called the general of the army and it governs detoxification…if the chi is imbalanced we will see a lot of frustration and anger and equally if we are marinating in anger often, we will deplete our liver chi. When our Liver chi is balanced we have smooth emotional transitions and a sense of energized ease.This is the time of year to lay off the booze and add in bitter greens and more fresh earthy foods. Our friend Lexa Keane of Sacred Circle Herbal recommends using an herbal tonic for about a week to support the liver. Yes, you can get the good stuff from her if you aren’t yet your own herbalist:) (more about Lexa and her products here!)
The postures to favor this time of year are hip openers to liberate and stir the primal energy of the second chakra and core work focusing on bandhas to direct that unbridled sexual force into refined creative energy in our lives.The Chakra most associated with this meridian pair is Manipura (the naval chakra) which governs our will. It is very important to consider your reactivity as all this energy gets moving. The force of Spring is, as I said, explosive and when circumstances block our rising pulsation we can get very aggressive. Meditating on compassion and loving kindness can temper the intensity of this season.
Remember that each season has its own beauty and that through our conscious choices we sow the seeds of our future seasons. As always, movement, meditation, inquiry, creativity, and community are central to our practice of awakening in the Mission Yoga family.
XO,
KJ