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The eyes are the flower of the Liver. Every organ has a sense organ, or “flower,” as the ancient Chinese texts so beautifully express the energetic connections between body, mind and spirit. Blurry vision, dry eyes, or itchy eyes – these physical symptoms all point to the Liver Organ System. Because Classical Chinese medicine maintains…
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The Gallbladder meridian tends to have blocks that restrict the flow of energy (Qi). When Qi (“chee”) flow is restricted, we feel pain, tension, or restricted movement in the area of the blockage. Similar to traffic backing up at a site of road construction, Qi can back up within a blocked Gallbladder meridian. And just…
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The Wood Element is a time of explosive growth. Spring is the season of the Wood Element. We use the same energy that seeds use to sprout up through the hard dirt towards the sun, to move ourselves toward our goals and dreams. That energy is “Wood energy.” Wood energy is forceful and moves up…
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We are on the brink of spring in the northern hemisphere. Just like the return of the robins, we have the return of the call to cleanse blasting us from every direction. Spring is traditionally a cleansing time for many cultures, timed with the melting snow, the rushing rivers, the movement of sap in the trees…
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Flowing Qi is happy Qi! Qi changes with the seasons. In the winter, even though there is much stillness, Qi still flows. Winter Qi moves quietly and is located more deeply within our interior. This is similar to way that the energy of trees is held in the roots during winter. Spring has arrived! And with it comes…
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From the seeds and roots held steady in winter, new growth emerges in spring. I’ve been around for decades and witnessed this event many times. However, it wasn’t until Khadro pointed out that the seeds we plant in our Water Element (which correspond to Winter) will grow in the Wood Element (which correspond to Spring), that I really…
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As the bursting of spring comes closer, I am wondering about beginnings. Spring is the mark of new things, of beginnings, the time of birth. And yet birth only marks a moment in a cycle that begins in the dark, the still silence of the unknown, the unseen, the formless. We meet our new sprouts,…
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A Yin & Yang Balancing Act The Wood element of Spring gets plenty of attention here in the west! In general, western culture worships the Wood element to such an extreme that many of us live with a Wood imbalance. We’ve been living with it so long that it can seem “normal.” When the Wood…
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Spring is upon us. As the flowers risk it all to open to the Sun, we can do the same by simply following the call of our hearts. After a Winter of incubation, may the seeds of your heart’s desires bloom fully.
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As the snow and ice melt around us, plants that have been hibernating all Winter begin pushing through dirt, rock, cement, and pavement, to start the cycle of regeneration again. This action of pushing up through the hard soil and reaching for the sun relates to the Wood element in Chinese Medicine. Trees and perennials…
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