Embrace the energy of Spring’s free-flowing forward movement with these 5 helpful tips!
Springtime is all about revitalization, new growth, and rebirth. The weather changes from the cold and dark days of Winter to the longer and warmer days of Spring. Just like the plants around us move their nutrients from their deep roots outwards to their leaves and buds in order to elicit new growth, our bodies too experience this shift. Winter is a time of conserving our energy and resources, whereas Springtime moves us out of that slumber and into a place of expansion and free-flowing forward movement. The Huang Di Nei Jing, the most important classic of Chinese Medicine and Taoism, gives simple lifestyle strategies for how we can live in harmony with the seasons. Read on to learn the how you can embrace the energy of Spring’s free-flowing forward movement with these 5 helpful tips!
Go to bed early and rise early
Go for a walk in the morning
Exercise and stretch more frequently
Wear loose-fitting clothing
Practice a calm state of mind
GO TO BED EARLY AND RISE EARLY
Spring energy is all about getting up and moving! The birds are rising early and filling the air with their song. Flowers are beginning to bloom. Growth is taking place at a rapid pace. Everything in nature all of a sudden seems keen on shaking off the frost of winter in order to take on a more productive role. By rising early, we are matching this energy of forward movement and expansion, by getting our day off to a productive and early start.
In order to get a full night’s rest with these rise-and-shine mornings, it is important to follow the sunset’s lead and go to bed at a reasonable hour. Spring is not the time to pull an all-nighter.
GO FOR A WALK IN THE MORNING
Walking outside in the morning, even if its just for 15 minutes, allows us to absorb the fresh and invigorating spring energy. I recommend using this as a time to leave your devices at home and focus on the sights, smells, and sounds around you. Notice the birds chirping and try to notice the different sounds they are making. Look at the flowers that are beginning to bloom around you in your neighborhood. See if you can spot the new buds sprouting on the bare branches of the trees. Smell the scent of the fresh grass, the fragrant flowers, or the rain from the night before on the still-damp earth.
EXERCISE AND STRETCH MORE FREQUENTLY
With this shifting of the seasonal energy to a more active state, so too should we shift our physical activity to a more active state. According to the theory of Chinese Medicine, Springtime is associated with the Liver. This not only means the physical Liver, but also the functions and states they ascribed to the Liver. The Liver is associated with free-flow and uninhibited movement. When a person is experiencing a blockage, either physical or emotional, this obstructs the Liver’s ability to support the free flow of energy in the body. This is why exercising, especially during the Springtime and Liver time, is so important - it helps us to keep our bodies moving, which discourages stagnation.
The Liver is also associated with the tendons and muscles. Now is the time to incorporate more stretching into your daily routine to loosen up the tendons and muscles which may have tightened up during the less-active winter months. By stretching, we are also helping to shift any tight or stagnant areas in our bodies, thereby supporting the free-flow of energy.
WEAR LOOSE-FITTING CLOTHING
As it was said above, the Liver is associated with free-flow and uninhibited movement. Therefore, the Huang Di Nei Jing suggests that we support the Liver’s free-flow by wearing clothes that are comfortable, easy to move in, and do not constrain us. Keep it easy-breezy!
PRACTICE A CALM STATE OF MIND
Not only do we want to keep things moving smoothly through exercise, stretching, and the clothes we wear, but we also want to practice a mental state of calm openness. The Huang Di Nei Jing states that “Spring is the season of the Liver, and indulgence in anger, frustration, depression, sadness, or any excess emotion can injure the Liver.” Therefore, with the season’s focus on free-flowing forward movement, it is important to practice equanimity, which is a calm state of mind, especially during difficult situations. This does not mean that we won’t experience anger or frustration arising in us, however, the practice is to become aware of the emotion and let it go. Doing so allows us to move through our emotions as opposed to being constrained by them.
So there you have it! Embrace Spring’s energy by setting with the sun and rising with the birds, appreciating nature’s rebirth with a morning walk, helping things flow with exercise and stretching, keeping it easy-breezy with loose clothing, and practicing equanimity.
