Spring Awakening
Spring is the season of expansion and growth. It's energy moves upward and outward. In Chinese Medicine, it's the season that relates to the Element of Wood and the Liver, which is known as "The General" because it can get bossy and is busy with over five hundred functions in the body. One of those functions is the smooth and free flow of our energy and emotions. Which is huge because so many of us feel stuck these days.
We can use the three free therapies, Movement + Food + Rest as our medicine. When the energy of the Liver is moving well we feel happy, balanced and content. For this reason, the archetype of a healthy Liver in Chinese Medicine is the 'Free and Easy Wanderer'. When the Liver energy is blocked or out of balance we can feel depressed, frustrated, irritable and prone to anger.
A note on Being Free and Easy...
The concept of being 'Free and Easy' might conjure up images of the free loving 70's. I like to think of this archetype more as a reflection of our internal state. Do you hang on to things? Are you tense and irritable? Or are you tolerant and open, and able bend like bamboo to the stresses around you with resilience and ease?
Below are three of my favorite tips to help you expand into the energy of Spring and unleash your Free and Easy Wanderer:
MOVE
1. SUPPLE SPINE
You might have heard the saying from movement pioneer Joseph Pilates, 'You're only as young as your spine is flexible.' I wholeheartedly agree and find this one of the keys to freedom of movement in the whole body. Here's a simple way to free up the spine. Start first by establishing a basic structure of all the directions the spine can move and then break free of that structure, moving from 'scales' to free 'jazz'.
EAT
2. EAT SPRING
These super foods embody the energy of spring, helping us to clear, lighten up and expand.
I love sprouts and I eat them a lot this time of year because they mirror the energy of Spring; the energy of potential, growth and expansion upwards and outwards. The sprouting process makes the grains or beans more easy to digest and increases the bio-availability of micro-nutrients like vitamin B, C and E, Calcium, Magnesium and Iron, and macro-nutrients like Protein and Fibre.
Nettles are particularly good if you suffer from seasonal spring allergies and get overwhelmed by all that expansive popping going on around you. They're also a great herb for inflammation and joint pain. I use the leaves to make a tea and put them anywhere that I would use dark greens from salads to omelettes.
Dandelions are common medicine that grow everywhere all over the world. These 'weeds' are natures detoxifiers. Rich in micronutrients, the leaves are gently cleansing and great for bloating, edema or PMS symptoms, and the roots can be used to increase bile production to improve digestion and support the Gallbladder.
REST
3. OPEN THE GILLS
This restorative side stretch is a great way to release tension in the side body, open up the subtle energy channels of the Liver, relax the intercostal and quadratus lumborum muscles, and deepen the capacity of your breath.