HI all,
Ugghhh I do not want to write this email. I feel stuck, lazy, and kind of pissed about it too. I am going to do an acupuncture experiment right now. I'm going to give myself a treatment and see what happens.I'll be right back.
****Insert: Wood Horary Treatment (Liver 1, Gallbladder 41) and added Liver 14, Gallbladder 2 and and DU 20 (for any curious acupuncturists out there)****
OK, much better. I can catch a deep breath now and so I will just start writing. What is a Horary treatment you might ask?
If you are only going to get acupuncture a few times a year for "tune ups" as some people call them, these Horary treatments are those times. In these treatments, we do the elemental point on the elemental meridian at the peak of that element's season (and at that element's time of day if you are really hard core). Around the Winter and Summer Solstice for Water and Fire respectively, around the Spring and Autumn Equinoxes for Wood and Earth respectively, and sometime when things get really stark in November for the Metal element. Usually the week leading up to and after those holidays are good times to do the treatment. Last Saturday was the Spring Equinox so I have been doing Wood Horary's on mostly everyone and just realized that I really needed it too!
Spring used to be the time I would get really depressed. The light was so bright, the birds so loud, I felt so exposed and I just totally was not ready to take off layers and get in the game. I no longer get depressed and I quite love the spring actually, but this year I do feel a slight taste of that paradox of energy rising and resisting. Apparently this manifests for me these days as a tight chest, trouble taking a deep breath, lots of sighs, cramps, and being very easily and thoroughly agitated. That treatment just opened my chest right up. My eyes watered unemotionally (always a sign for me that Qi is moving) and somehow I now have a bit more clarity to start writing after procrastinating on this email for days!
The Liver meridian runs from the big toe up though the groin and chest and the Gallbladder meridian runs from the "ring toe" right though the hips, zigzagging its way up the side of the body and the head, ending at the outer corner of each eye. During the treatment just now, I felt a bubbling in my inner thigh and a relaxation through my hips that reminded me that this spring season requires ALOT more stretching and moving than in winter.
The Qi of Wood likes to move! Its tendency is to go up and out and when it meets with any perceived obstacles, its innate momentum creates a stagnation that manifests in certain kinds of pain and moodiness, usually NOT subtle. It is so important to keep these meridians and organs free and easy flowing to allow life to flow through us in all the ways, all the way.
Stretches that open the sides of the body, the hips, and the diaphragm (like triangle pose, pigeon pose, fish pose, and breath of fire in the yogic tradition) are great for this time. Also, stretching the jaw and mouth as well as keeping the scalp and hair loose is important. The classic Chinese medical texts prescribe for the springtime "walking briskly with arms loose and hair down" and many of the herbal formulas that help with freeing Wood Qi are based on a formula called "free and easy wanderer." You get the point...
This is the season of resurrection after all. It's quite a thing to transition back from the dead of winter so be gentle with yourself and others (I'm reminding myself). Easter and Passover are the celebrations of Freedom, and as we know from the history of these holidays; it don't come easy. Recognizing the places we have faced and overcome obstacles and recognizing that in each other cultivates a healthy esteem and solidarity. Life is not for the faint of heart; and we are all doing it, step by step.
Please join me next Saturday and Kidada on the 17th to explore more about the Wood Element in the:
Seasonal Health Series | Spring
Sat April 4th, 4-5 PM with Sarah Chase Natan
Sat April 17th, 4-5:30 PM with Kidada Fields
Explore the Five Elements in real time through the year. We began with the Metal element in Autumn, dove into Water in Winter, and are emerging now in Spring to learn how to align in health with all that the seasons offer.
Part I : Sat April 3rd 4pm-5pm: Sarah will review the five element tradition, explore the virtues and themes of the Wood element and its organ associations, and offer some basic Qigong exercises and herbal support for the spring months.
Part II: Sat April 17th 4pm - Kidada will teach how to locate, apply pressure and use moxabustion (heat therapy) and/or essential oils on choice Acupoints along the Liver & Gallbladder meridians.
Tickets are $25
See you there! Until then, may the path be clear and open before you.
With Love on this Full Moon,
Sarah Natan MAcOM
founder of BAP
