Oh Spring how we love you! The promise of warmer brighter days after the hibernation of winter. New growth everywhere you look, and even within ourselves we can feel renewed motivation and a pull to start taking action.
With the brighter days comes the need to clean the house, air it out after months of it being closed up. Persians even celebrate their New Year on the first day of spring.
Iranians today continue the practice of "khooneh tekouni" which means shaking of the house. It's to cleanse the house, rid it of bad luck from last year and start a new year afresh.
Sunday 15th September, Amanda from Auricfields Kinesiology held her Spring Wood Element Retreat. A beautiful day learning all things to do with the element, and taking home some tools to help keep us in balance, a really lovely yoga, Qi gong session and mind mapping session. And today, Amanda is sharing her knowledge of Spring with our community.
Spring is governed by Wood. Wood represents the energy of growth, of change and renewal. It is the movement of upward and forward energy. Seeds start to sprout, flowers bloom, the sun comes out and there is a sense of rebirth in the air and new beginnings being planted. It is a time to plant seeds for a future harvest, to tackle ideas, make plans and get organised.
A sense of renewal may give us the vision and inspiration to bring our goals and creative energy into fruition.
Amanda tells us that "there may be an energy build up from winter that still needs to be released. Some impatience, irritability, anger may be bubbling up within you still? The sound of the wood element is “shouting”, so maybe a good shout out is needed to release and get back into balance."
The liver and gallbladder can be about detoxification and spring-cleaning of systems and life.
Planning, transformation, having the courage to live your hearts desires – your destiny.
Things to do to action this energy:
- Take a risk and try something new that you’ve been processing in winter
- Hydrate the body with water and lemon. Lemon can nourish the liver
- Do a liver cleanse or detox, fast.
- Move the body. The liver needs movement.
- Spring clean- let go of things, stuff, create balance and order again
- Deal with Anger. Once dealt with it can be transformational.
Pimped up Water
Spring facts:
Sense: Vision – not only seeing with our eyes but envisioning possibilities through the mind’s eye
Colour: Green - represented by nature and the plant kingdom. Symbolising new growth. Green means go, life, youth and hope.
Sound: Shout. Let it out! Release built up frustration “what about me”!!
Emotion: Anger – too much anger weakens the gallbladder and liver. Out of control anger can be negative but it can also fuel action and transformation
Taste: Sour
Wood types: tiger and rabbit people
Climate: Windy
Responsible for: making decisions, plans and strategies, follow through
Spiritual meaning: finding your true path
Personality when balanced: achiever, goal oriented, visionary, leader
Personality unbalanced: Loves to be in control, irritable, out of flow
Spring Detox Smoothie
Liver (Yin)
- Peak time 1am-3am
- The liver has over 500 functions. Most important are the synthesis of amino acid and cholesterol, metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins and fats, production of bile which assists in small intestine digestion. It also breaks down insulin and toxic substances so they can be discreted
- Supports almost every organ in the body
- Stores and regulates blood, menstruation cycles and Qi
- Houses the ethereal soul – responsible for planning and finding a clear path
- Problems in this area: digestive issues, blood sugar issues, high cholesterol, poor fat absorption, sluggish metabolism and immune system. Allergic responses of the skin or eczema. Sleep issues
- Negative emotion: irrational frustration, aggression, anger, rage, constant inner struggle, difficulty in making decisions
- Positive emotion: adaptable, happy, able to plan and make decisions, feeling empowered
Gall bladder (Yang)
- Peak time 11pm-1am
- Main function is to collect bile from the liver, store & secrete bile
- Controls the sinews, tendons and ligaments in the limbs, which helps with movement and flexibility
- Controls decisiveness and a lot of our mental functions
- Helps to break down fats
- Problems in this area: eye issues, tendon and ligament issues, sleep issues, poor nails, problems with movement, gall bladder issues or gallstones
- Negative emotion: holding on too tight, not letting yourself to just be, feeling grief about the men in your life, irritation, depression, feel like a failure, a victim, self-sabotage opportunites
- Positive emotion: Let it be, be yourself, feeling accepted, feeling love
If you enjoyed this post, you may also enjoy some of our Spring inspired Recipes:
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