SPRING REFLECTIONS
by Doren Day, L. Ac.
Spring is springing up all over the place! Can you feel the energy rising? Maybe you are getting ready to start some new projects. Or maybe you just feel that impatience to get winter over with and get things MOVING into the warmer months.
In Five Element Acupuncture, Spring is associated with the element of Wood. The Wood element in us encompasses our ability to plan for the future, to make decisions, be creative and get things moving. The emotion associated with Wood, Anger, happens when the way we need to move is blocked.
When our Wood energy is strong we have the vision to see the plan to lead us forward. We have quick, clear decision-making skills that bring that plan into action. We have the creativity to be flexible where needed and the power to push through when the going gets tough.
Think of an acorn buried in the earth all winter. Now it is Spring and it is time for that acorn to sprout up. It needs the strength and sense of direction to push upwards, through soil, rocks or whatever else might be in the way. It needs a clear plan of how to develop – it is going to be an oak, not a tomato plant. It will make many changes along the way and face many challenges, but to be an oak it must never lose "sight" of that purpose.
What if our Wood energy is suffering? Maybe we have a vision of who/where we want to be, but we don’t have the decision-making skills to get ourselves there. We get bogged down in the details. That would be like the new sprout saying "Do I put out thick bark now, or should I grow higher first, or should I make bigger leaves?" Another possibility is that we might lose our vision of the future, becoming hopeless that we’ll even grow to our full stature. We might bend our will too easily like a tree whose trunk had had to bend around an obstacle.
Spring is an exciting time of new growth in nature and in us. If we can stay in tune and ride the rising energy, we can use it well. Spring is a great time for getting acupuncture treatment to help fine tune your balance!
Some Ideas to Support the Wood Element:
- Get outside and MOVE! Brisk walks can help the body and the mind as well.
- Get the big picture. Do some long-range planning, dreaming and visioning for the future.
- Let your creativity sprout up. Open up some time for a creative project of your own.
- Grow something. Plant something and observe how it grows. What can you learn for your own life?
- Eat fresh, green food. Try sprouts, salads, leafy green vegetables or asparagus.
- Get organized. Set up systems that help you with your daily decision making. Delegate!
