This post is actually an email that I usually send out sometime in April to my clients here in the North. This year there is so much discombobulation - energetically and emotionally - that I have not yet been able to pinpoint when “it” is occurring!
Regardless, the Liver energy is one that is affected very directly by STRESS at any time of year, and in any latitude of the planet, so this will be relevant, and I hope helpful, for whenever you need it, wherever you are…
Dear you ~
I'm sorry. These are not my best days, they do not bring out the best in me. I get frustrated, irritable, critical. I take that out on you, and those around you. I feel anxious, and sometimes down. I get blah and tired. Sometimes I make your eyes hurt, or your head, or your neck, or your ribs. I wake you up in the middle of the night around 1, or 2, or 3. I want you to know it's not your fault. It's not you, it's me.
Every year around this time I just seem to lose it. It's a transition time. It is almost My Time, but not quite. The days are getting longer, and brighter, and better. It is warmer, a bit. It is windy, a lot. It is almost time for the Wood energy of Spring to burst forth with buds and blades and beautiful green. So where is it?! Not here, yet... So instead of Spring Time, we have Liver Time - or the stagnated start of it.
The good news is - it will pass. In a day, or two, or a week, or two, we will flow out of this together into the energy of a new Spring. And my energy, the energy that allows the Qi to flow through our body and allows a Flow in our lives, will stretch and move and flourish again. And the energy that gets irritated and frustrated when stuck will be released into the potential for this strength of spirit:
And for this flexibility:
And for this beauty:
Pretty cool, hey?
So here are a few things you can do to help us get there:
Stretch - anything, anywhere, anytime.
Move - especially in a wandering, unstructured way while doing something you enjoy. Especially outdoors, with bonus points for gazing upon and touching trees as you go. (Hug the trees! Stay 6 feet away from the people!)
Eat - leafy greens, sprouts, broccoli and cauliflower. Lemon, lime & grapefruit. Kitchen spices - oregano, rosemary, thyme, basil, marjoram, bay, dill, caraway, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom.
Breathe - deeply.
Acupuncture - soothes the Liver, moves the qi, relieves pain and balances moods. (I can give tele-health consults for self-acupressure as well!)
Massage - necks and shoulders.
Grow - anything involving dirt and green things.
And the wood of Spring will grow from the water of Winter,
and we will grow a-new.
With love,
Your Liver
(Ambassador of Spring, wood, green, wind, the eyes, the tendons & ligaments, the hours of 1-3 am, the gallbladder, anger, sour flavours and the flow of qi and our lives)
Anni Elliston R.TCMP.
Registered Acupuncturist & Chinese Herbalist
PHOTO CREDITS:
http://www.onlyinyourstate.com/georgia/ultimate-overnight-stay-ga/
https://www.theygetaround.com/the-ultimate-guide-to-cherry-blossoms-in-china-over-10-cities-listed/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/ireena_1/6349891801/in/faves-8591374@N04/