Spring is considered the Wood Phase or Element of the Seasons. The Chinese word for Spring is Chūn. Spring is a season of Yang (the sun), the element is Wood or growth, and it brings life (depicted by grass in the Chinese character). Check out the “brush strokes” and depiction below (from Wikipedia).
The ancient Chinese believed that energy of humans and universe are connected. We should be living in harmony with the natural cycles of the earth. Spring often has wild weather fluctuations throughout. Nature is arousing from an often deep, long sleep over the winter. This is a time of growth, flowering, and vitality.
It is recommended that during the Spring, when even your skin pores open, one should go to bed when night comes and arise early in the morning. Morning is the time to get outside, to breathe the fresh air, and to exercise your muscles, tendons, and bones. Doing so allows you to flourish along with earth’s now flourishing atmosphere.
Spring is the time to become more active and focus on our goals and our future. It’s a great time to start those projects you’ve been thinking about over the winter. It’s also a great time to detoxify and strengthen our bodies. Let’s “reboot” our energy, expand our vision, focus and horizons, and develop some new perspectives. While nature is rebuilding and growing, so should we!
Focus during the Spring is on the Liver and Gallbladder. The Liver meridian starts on the inside edge of the big toe, up the inside of the leg, then the lower abdomen, where it circles around the stomach and enters the Liver and Gallbladder. From there It travels up continues through the rib cage through the throat up to the crown of the head.The Liver mainly processes and filters toxic wastes from the body and bloodstream. It also produces many of the alkaline enzymes that are vital to our immune response and other important functions in the body.
If you constantly pollute your body because of a poor diet, alcohol, drugs, and stress, you overload your Liver with acid waste and cause congestion because of the build-up of toxic debris. Unfortunately, most of us do carry around stress, anger, or other negative emotions in our body which, of course, can cause serious damage. When Yang Qi rises from the Dantian in the lower abdomen to the chest, it “stimulates the Liver with fresh vitality.” Due to inactivity during the winter, the Liver can accumulate both stagnant blood and metabolic waste. Unfortunately, this accumulation can obstruct the flow of both Qi and blood in the body.
Spring is the time to nourish the Liver because it has such a strong influence on us. It affects our communication,our emotions, the functioning of our muscles, and the circulation and flow of our blood and Qi. Stagnant Qi and Blood in the Liver can also cause serious physical, mental, and emotional symptoms. One may experience muscle pain, trembling, problems with balance, headaches, neck pain, visual problems, digestive problems, to name just a few. Other emotional and mental problems may even manifest as frustration, irritability, anger and even rage.
So what happens when a normal emotion gets “stuck” or stagnates,so to speak. Let’s use anger for an example. What happens if you try to repress it? It can come out inappropriately, or even become prolonged or chronic? You may have met someone who seems chronically angry! This can be a sign of stagnant Liver Qi. Even though this can happen to both genders, results are not always the same. A lot depends on whether the man or woman tends to be more Yang or Yin. Makes sense when you think about it!
As we talked about in the blog of Yin Yang Duality, Yang is more active and Yin is more receptive (very brief description). If someone who is more Yang (fire) has stagnated Liver Qi, it may flare up as Liver Fire. This can result in ulcers, muscle spasms, heart disease, high blood pressure, for example. On the other hand, a Yin oriented person with stagnated Liver Qi may experience insomnia, anxiety, or varicose veins.
So how do we remedy or treat these situations? Acupuncture, acupressure, herbs, meditation, Tai Chi, and Qigong can bring fresh Qi and vital energy to and throughout the body’s meridians and storage centers. In addition, a more active lifestyle, better and cleaner diet (including eliminating or at least decreasing drugs and alcohol) and, of course, decreasing our stress is vital!
Spring Qigong (like all seasonal Qigongs) change with the season. In Spring, Qigong movements are more expansive, external, and robust to expel stagnant energy from the muscles and to increase blood circulation. Movement and breathing help supply fresh, smoothly flowing blood and Qi to the body.
Whether you practice Qigong and/or Tai Chi, Spring is the time to make your movements a bit more expansive, breathing a bit slower and deeper, and gather and absorb all the energy that the earth has to offer. As always, remember the quality of your movements (be they Qigong or Tai Chi) is much more important than the quantity!
Final comments of interest: the Ancient Chinese believed that when the weather of the four seasons are “normal” (meaning hot in the Summer, cool in the Fall, etc.), man (or humans more correctly) will not get sick. However, when they become “abnormal”, damage is not only done to the earth, but to man (humans) as well!
Very thought provoking considering our "unusual” weather these last years!
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