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The Tao of Health
Conscious Connections
Jumping Into Spring
It’s Spring, we know it by what we see and feel around us. The feeling of Spring typically is one of excitement with the return of the light and the promise of Summer.
And there’s another level of ‘feeling’ we need to be aware of too, a feeling that will help you to improve and maintain your health in Spring; that is: the feeling of how you feel in your body right now, and each day as we move further into Spring energy.
(Click on this image for a delightful
animation.)
Feeling Jumpy
On tips of branches
Buds burst with tiny flowers,
Spring is here!
- Lao Xian
With the arrival of Spring lots of people are jumping-with-joy; but there’s another kind of ‘jumpiness’ that comes with the arrival of spring that’s nothing to be happy about. I’m referring to the feeling of restlessness and ‘jumpiness’ that can affect one’s health in the form of restless leg, insomnia and other Liver-related discomforts.
It starts with the surge of Spring or ‘Liver’ energy (which began trickling in here in the Pacific Northwest in mid-January).
Some people are predisposed to this ‘nervy’ or ‘jumpy’ discomfort, and in Spring it gets worse. Others of us start to feel the ‘jumpy’ energy of Spring as a hyper-energetic feeling that gets us into the garden, taking trips, going out for a run, planning projects, or perhaps a bit of ‘road-rage.’
How we feel depends on the health of our nervous system, which is governed by the Liver, which is the most dynamic organ in Spring.
How that burst of energy makes you feel depends on the health of your nervous system, which is governed by the Liver, and the function of the Liver is the main body dynamic in Spring.
A Five Element Perspective
In addition to the ‘jumpy’ discomforts of Spring like restless leg and insomnia, some people have skin problems that flare up. Why? Because there’s a very close relationship between the Liver and Lungs in Spring; what Oriental Medicine and Five Element Theory describe as ‘Wood’ overwhelming ‘Metal’ energy.
Normally ‘Metal’ regulates ‘Wood,’ like a metal ax being able to chop into a wooden tree. But in Spring, the height of Wood energy, if your Lungs are weak they can be overwhelmed by the heat being generated by the Liver. Simply speaking, this means if your Liver is not balanced it has to work to harder, this generates heat, and because the Lungs are a very sensitive organ they are affected by this extra heat in the body. As a result the Lungs become vulnerable to problems like asthma and hay fever.
Skin ailments also enter into the picture in Spring because the health of the skin is directly related to the health of the Lungs. So if an overheated Liver in Spring weakens the Lungs, the skin also becomes vulnerable to flareups like hives and psoriasis.
How you treat your Liver in Spring plays a great role in how comfortable you’re going to feel.
How To Stay Healthy in Spring
The short answer is: “Work on your Liver.” What does that mean? Do Chi Kung, watch your diet, get acupuncture; if you take Chinese medical herbs, don’t miss doses, stick with it because you’ll feel completely different — as those who take them well know.
Watching your diet is a way to have a major effect on your health throughout the year - and throughout your life. According to Eastern thinking there are specific dietary choices to be aware of each season to keep your organs balanced and your overall health good.
In Spring, we’re all well advised to steer clear of fried, fatty and oily foods which tend to clog up the Liver. (Ironically, these are the kinds of food you may crave in Spring because Liver energy is so active.)
Be Aware of Cravings
Which foods overburden your Liver depends on your constitution. It’s important to recognize which foods you crave — at any time of year — and be moderate-to-stingy in how much of them you eat because craving indicates an imbalance in the organ.
Craving a particular food is not usually a sign of something your body ‘needs’; more likely it’s a sign of something you should stay away from. The craving is a reaction to a need for balance, and satisfying a food craving tends to further undermine the health of the organ related to the particular taste you’re craving.
Craving a particular food is not usually a sign of something your body ‘needs’; more likely it’s a sign of something you should stay away from.
Don’t Get Overwhelmed
So if you’re feeling jumpy, clogged up, or generally out of sorts and haven’t tried Oriental Medicine up until now, it’s something to consider. And keep in mind that how you treat your Liver in Spring plays a great role in how comfortable you’re going to feel in your body.
The Liver works overtime all year because of the toxins we eat, breathe, and drink; now on top of that you have all of this ‘forcing out’ energy in Spring. Knowing this, it becomes obvious that it’s important to keep your Liver balanced. So stay on top of it ... it will snowball over you if you don’t.