Happy Spring Equinox!
Celebrating the arrival of Spring! Spring equinox is a day that can help us appreciate the balance in life. Light & dark are equal, yin & yang, masculine & feminine. It's a beautiful time to notice the significant changes in nature, we may still have grey clouds and raindrops but you will notice a pop of colour in the hedgerows, magnolia in bloom and gorgeous daffodils shining in all their glory as the energy of Spring doesn't hold back and bursts itsway out of the Winter slumber.
As we now move away from the winter hibernation we feel our energy levels start to return, our mind feels less fuzzy and we are ready to get moving towards the things we want to do, or manifest. Enjoy moving towards the sun with growth and expansion, winter is for introspection and yielding, spring is planting seeds of intention and moving forwards with a spring in our step!
Spring time not only puts a little pep in our step you may start to recognise that your 'organising' mind has kick started, this time of year is the perfect time to declutter, your house, your mailbox, your google photos folder. It's as if it feels like the right time to shed the things that have been taking up space in our houses and minds to either create space for the new or allow us to live life without having to fill the gaps. This organisation and motivation can be associated to the Liver & Gallbladder meridians which help us with decision making & helps us take control and plan things, be mindful though, it's a fine line with enjoying the process of creating plans and trusting the process, or becoming out of balance when things aren't going your way and you've got to take over. This will create frustration & agitation. Sound familiar?! We all like things done in our own way but when we become hardened in our opinion there isn't room for other ideas, different perspective & constructive opinions. Remember spring offers balance, so notice where you feel rigid in life and a little uptight, notice when there is ease and flow. Can we welcome in more creative ideas to help us move forwards with more awareness.
YOGA -
Yoga always offers us a chance to experience expansion, not only when we physically move the body but it opens our minds. We can gain a lot of clarity with our thoughts and behaviors in a posture (we really like the ones, were good at, the difficult ones not so much). A mind that is connected to the body helps us overcome challenges in life, because, we are open. Within winter we naturally feel retraction, the body wants to slow down so we adapt our practice to slow, steady, restorative, Yin or maybe just meditation and lots of naps!
Within spring we start to feel more energetic and flowing practices or sequences that encourage movement can harness this vitality that comes with spring, new life, rebirth and an opportunity to be playful with your personal growth. Practices & postures that can help invite the energy of spring can be shoulder mobility, heart openers, backbends, energetic flows, posture's working with the solar plexus (core) and acupressure points related to the Liver meridian & gall bladder meridian in TCM. (Side bends and foot/ankle work) How could you create more balance in your practice? Do you need to find more moments of calm in your busy life? Do you need a boost of motivation? Your yoga practice encompasses all the qualities of spring, balance, harmony & interconnectedness.
Postures:
Warrior 3
Toe stretch
Revolved Triangle
Pigeon pose
Camel
Seated side bend
Extended side angle
Butterfly with compression for L3 (Liver 3)
Reclined twist
Wide leg forward fold
Rabbit pose
The energies and philosophies that are connected to Spring invite movement, we want to stretch, weave, flow, shake to reawaken the body and mind. Practices that support eye sight (candle gazing) or using Drishti in postures can be a great way to enhance focus and clarity.
Just think about moving towards something you want achieve, you have to create a plan, a pathway, see the vision clearly and move forwards. That's Spring!
TCM -
The Liver and Gall Bladder Meridians are connected to the element of wood in Traditional Chinese Medicine. They make up the Land of Hun, Hun can represent our wandering mind, like a spirit that manifests our ideas, creates our dreams, visualisations and daydreams. It can of course, over think, over analyse and fantasize scenarios that aren't real. Interesting that in the moments where you slow down, take a break or even give yourself chance to be 'BORED' you can find a lot of clarity and have light bulb moments. This is because the Hun & Liver meridian are allowed space to flow and move instead of feeling overwhelmed and stuck because of your never ending to do lists. You'll notice how busy life is, there are lots of things going on each day, plates to spin, deadlines, responsibilities, places to be, people to see, the school run, invoices, admin etc. Can our mental capacity cope with all of these at once? Reading the list might highlight how many things you're doing on a daily basis and this is probably 1st place in your priority list and your health and wellbeing are coming 2nd (or 5th, or 10th!!).
The Liver & Gall Bladder are associated with decision making, the Liver Meridian controls planning. When we are able to allocate time to each job AND make time for ourselves then things aren't so overwhelming, life is balanced. It's important to have structure because we know where we stand, our mind like routine (especially babies) and we can find a pace that is as fast or as little as we make. If we notice things start becoming too much to handle the Liver Meridian can be out of balance creating anger, frustration, agitation and little patience. We might also get to the point where we have outbursts or feel like we are going to explode!! This is highlighting you are out of balance and you need to change something. When the liver meridian is out of balance is can high light itself as headaches (especially one sided, aches and pains in the muscles, stiff joints, blurred vision, dry eyes and feeling uptight and either emotionally angry or uselessness.
How can we create balance? If you attend classes with me you'll soon notice how often im reminding students to feel their way into a postures rather than over thinking what it should look like. To help us find more of a connection to our sense of self we need to let our ego and guard down and experience it from a place of honesty. Sometimes we can be so hard on ourselves and guilty because we cant do 'all of the things' this is not only related to a yoga posture it's everything in life, you have to find confidence in voicing what you are feeling, what you want to do and more importantly what you don't want to. This can reflect into our friendships, our job roles, our relationships, our hobbies and more.
If you come back to the planning mind you have to remind yourself that you call the shots, if you are overworking, are being bombarded with negativity, if you are being leaned on to much, if you can't complete a deadline, if you are saying "yes" when you really mean "no" you need to see that this will become detrimental to your emotional & physical state. To create balance here you need to start making choices and decisions that support your wellbeing, health and mental state. Even if it's hard you will find a new pathway and new found inner confidence that will not only uplift your spirit but enhance your inner strength.
Another imbalance of the Liver meridian is depression, anxiety, panic attacks, and low libido.
A good point to work with:
Liver Channel: LV3 – Located on the top of the foot and between the second and first toes, this point treats headaches, is used to balance emotional energy, regulate menstruation and reduce high blood pressure.
LETS SUMMARISE -
Spring is the season of new life, new beginnings, clarity & growth. We have to take time to recognise if this is something that makes us feel excited or nervous. Take a little bit of time to be with your thoughts and your to do lists and notice how much time you are giving to yourself and how many things you are taking on board in work or otherwise that are tipping the scales to an unhealthy level where your self care isn't where it should be. This is the time of year where you start to make decisions that help you move forwards. You also want to let your ideas and creativity flourish, pick up an old hobbie, listen to music, get to a yoga class! Decluttering can be really helpful in helping you to shift and release old things that you no longer need and make way for the new!
Helpful tips:
Declutter your space, physically & mentally.
Write down how you're feeling and strike off the things you CANNOT control.
Open the windows wide and let fresh air sweep through your space.
Walk in nature as often as possible.
Find time to connect to a hobby you love.
Create or read more often.
Notice the friendships/relationships that are overbearing/uplifting.
Allocate an hour in your day to do very little (I was going to say nothing but I might be pushing my luck!)
Don't fill the diary
Move the body, swimming, pilates, running, yoga, tai chi, any exercise is great!
Simplify work spaces, tidy the paper or organise into files.
Being organised makes life a hell of a lot easier.
Sending you all so much love this Spring! Id love to hear your feelings and thoughts about this blog, did anything resonate with you?
Vx