The Energetics of Spring

According to TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine), Spring is the quintessential time of creating, cleansing, activity and movement, growth and renewal. Sounds good to me!

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As Spring bursts forth, energy wants to move — As Spring bursts forth, energy wants to *move*

TCM

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine every season is related to a corresponding element and organ system. The season of spring corresponds to the wood element and Liver energy in Chinese Medicine.

The wood element in the cycle of the five elements is where manifestation begins to form from deep seeds full of potential. Energy has been latent throughout the winter, buried deep in the earth, and now as spring bursts forth, energy wants to move. Sometimes this means there's more physical energy available to start a new project or plan a new goal.

This energetic change can also trigger a desire to alter your diet or lifestyle as you move from the heavier and denser season of winter. Check out my 30 Day Spring Detox for more.

Because energy wants to move this time of year there can be a feeling of stagnation if there isn't enough change or movement in our lives. In particular, liver energy can become stagnated with stress (especially emotional stress), intoxicants, and too much rich or denatured food. When the Liver is stagnant we may experience problems with our emotional life, menstrual cycles, eyes, and tendons.

So lighten your diet and lifestyle this time of year and watch as the transformational nature of this season changes you!

Springtime Invites you to Find Clarity

The spring and the liver organ system are related to vision (physically and metaphorically). So this time of year is a wonderful time to find clarity around your direction and future plans. Use this time to move forward on your goals; create a vision board or take some time to reflect on what you'd like to create in the next 6-12 months.

Express yourself creatively and use your imagination this time of year to cultivate emotional balance and release stuck emotional patterns.

Food Preparation for Spring

During the springtime, you can eat a little more raw food and cook food for a shorter time at higher temperatures. Examples are light steaming or a high temperature sauté. But if there are signs of digestive weakness and/or bowel troubles use caution when adding raw food.

If your body and mind are fairly balanced and healthy you can adjust your diet for the season by eating a cleansing diet that contains lighter meals and less food. Include more green foods like sprouts and limit salty foods which are contractive. This will help to cleanse the heaviness of a wintertime diet which usually contains heavier denser foods.

During the spring include more "sweet" and "pungent" foods. These flavours help to emphasise the natural spring energy of rising and expansion. Sweet foods include complex carbs (whole grains, legumes, seeds), young beets, carrots, and sprouts. Pungent foods include basil, fennel, marjoram, rosemary, caraway, dill, bay leaf. Try this delicious salad recipe using seasonal greens

Movement

In light of the yang energy that spring brings, it’s a great time to shake things up with some heat building movement that will stimulate your metabolism and release any stagnant energy from the winter months.

Here are some ways to give your movement practice a shake-up!

Add some high-intensity intervals into your movement (try this month’s new class “HIIT Pilates”)
Increase your daily movement by adding in another walk, the longer days will help!
Add a short core workout to one of your online classes
Trying something new will challenge your body and keep it guessing!
Be sure to open up the meridians mentioned above with a yin yoga session. It’s not all about pushing, take some time to pull back, release and surrender too!