
One of the things I love about Chinese Medicine is that it doesn’t focus on “being sick” or that “something is wrong with you”. Instead, it focuses on whether one is in or out of balance. Chinese medicine offers what many other healing modalities don’t, looking at the whole being: body, mind and spirit. Are they in alignment? Are they in flow? If not in balance, where and why? How can we work together to get your whole being back into balance?
We can look at the Lunar New Year as a way to get back into alignment. Let’s start by looking at the overall themes for the year.
Wood in Chinese medicine is the element of nature associated with the Liver and the Gallbladder. As well as acknowledging all the western physiological responses of these organs, we also associate it with representing growth, flexibility, and the free flow of Qi in the body, emotional regulation, decisiveness, courage and detoxification.
The Snake symbolizes transformation; embodying being able to change what seems to be your norm now into what you would like your life to be. It’s important to be able to adapt to change, work on hearing your intuition, and listening to the heart and the gut as they always know what one needs. Oh, yes, and then following it, as it’s usually not what the mind wants to ruminate on!
The year of the Wood Snake emphasizes the importance of nurturing the organs and cultivating a sense of inner peace and balance. Listening to the body’s wisdom and cultivating inner awareness is the means to open all possibilities for transformation.
Ways to help balance the body during this year include eating whole foods, A LOT of cooked vegetables, especially leafy greens. Avoiding coffee, inflammatory foods, GMO foods, processed sugars, dairy, and excessive alcohol. Herbal remedies are helpful to keep the liver and gallbladder healthy. Really it depends on your body type, but dandelion and milk thistle do tend to work for most people. Acupuncture is my favorite modality to regulate Qi flow, balance the flow through the meridians, increase circulation, decrease inflammation and generally put the body into balance so it can heal itself.
Healing the mind and spirit are often intertwined: meditation, mindfulness, deep breathing, Qigong, yoga can help calm the mind, cultivate inner peace, and healthily change how the body reacts to stress. Practices that help in emotional release, healthy ways to process emotions, and heal old wounding conditioning include therapy, coaching, journaling, engaging in creative activities, and qigong. It’s important to set realistic goals, avoid overcommitting and prioritize self-care. To embrace balance and transformation, one should cultivate flexibility. Be open to new experiences and be willing to adapt to unexpected situations.
May the year of the wood snake aid you into transforming into who your souls want you to BE.
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