Dear Montpelier,
This warmth feels tropical after all the days of scraping ice off thewindshield and feeling the cold hit our nose. You may notice a surprising irritability coming with the warmth and sunny days. There are more warm days in the forecast, which will most likely mean boosts of energy with an accompanying irritability. What is up with that?
If we think of our emotions as an aspect of our watery nature, we freeze up emotionally in the winter. Many people get the winter blues and can feel stuck and depressed. As most of you can probably relate, depression usually "thaws" with anger. Anger is a passionate emotion that gets us back in the driver's seat of living and taking things into our own hands. Although highly stigmatized by our society and then coming out in destructive ways, anger well worked with is a wonderful tool. All of our emotions are, as long as we understand how they best can serve us and allow ourselves to feel and express them in ways that are safe for ourselves and others. Anger can give us the oomph to pull ourselves out of a depression. The spring pulling itself out of the winter, the new plant shoots pushing up out of the ground.
From a Chinese Medicine perspective, the liver is associated withspringtime. When the liver is experiencing stagnation, we can feel anger and irritability. In the winter, our energy retreats into our bodies and we draw from the deeper resources of our kidneys to keep warm in the cold times. When spring begins the winter thaw, our energy comes up from the depth of our kidneys, and the first thing we feel is the stagnation of our liver. The stagnation is a result of getting less exercise when it is is cold out, squeezing our muscles tight against the cold when we are outside, and breathing stagnant indoor air. That liver stagnation is what we are experiencing as irritability and possibly even anger. It is our own emotional and physical thaw.
We can help the liver stagnation move into a smooth flow with exercise,creative expression, acupuncture, herbs and certain dietary choices. This is not the time for a long hot bath with candles, but rather a shorter shower followed by getting a bunch of errands done, preferably involving walking and being away from the home. The liver and spring are both an aspect of the wood element, so being in nature and consciously interacting with trees is incredibly helpful for moving the liver. Put your hands on the roots of a tree and feel the irritability slipping down into the ground. Stretch your arms up to the sky and feel yourself fill with sunlight and the oxygen all the trees are offering you. Massage and yoga are also great for moving the liver and getting sluggish lymph to flow.
As far as dietary choices go, greens and sour foods are really good forthe spring time, or spring time like weeks in the middle of winter! Vinegars and sourkrauts, pickles, and salads are all good choices. Add lemon to your water and dandelion to your tea collection. Dandelion and nettle teas are great for getting the system moving. If your digestion has become stagnant, then orange peel tea with ginger will be helpful. And for emotional stagnation, rosebud or rose petal are also good calls. Rosehip, raspberry leaf and clover are other good ways to go.
Acupuncture's mode of action is to circulate energy through our bodies. It is agreat way to move what is stuck and work with our livers. We also have Heiner's herbal formula called Ease Pearls here at the clinic. It is specific for moving the liver and helps to handle stress, irritability, anger, muscle pains, cramps and PMS. Enjoy the sunshine and warmth, and when the sun goes down, come in and get a treatment.
We are open Fridays from 8 AM- 8 PM.
See you soon!
Lara :)
