How to prepare your body for spring, and welcome change? As the trees regain their leaves, the Japanese plum trees are in bloom, the birds share their most beautiful concerts, the animals come out of hibernation? Renewal is in evidence! I share with you here 10 Chinese medicine tips to gently awaken your body with food and plants, exercises, and health gestures to take care of yourself.
10 Chinese medicine tips to welcome spring time
While in the West the arrival of spring is celebrated on March 21st, the Chinese energy calendar places the equinoxes at the heart of the seasons. Thus, spring begins at the beginning of February, to allow doctors and therapists to act ahead of the season. They help to synchronise your body with its external environment and are very active in prevention.
After the winter slows down, nature starts moving again and so does our body. Green is its colour, which soothes the nervous system and our eyes. Spring corresponds to the element wood, which symbolises an energy of movement and activation. Thus, dynamism and creativity come back, with a desire for a great spring cleaning, or to start new projects… It is the yang energy that increases, while the yin, which is very present in winter, decreases.
1. Preventing energy overflows with shiatsu and kinesiology
As positive and enjoyable as it may be, it is important to manage this rapid rise in energy within us. This is why it is recommended to do a seasonal body mind and energy balancing with a shiatsu or kinesiology therapist.
This helps to keep your body healthy, prevent exhaustion, and prevent symptoms and illnesses. This will bring you harmony, comfort and anticipation of the disorders linked to the change of season. Moreover, spring is the element of wood that needs to be nourished.
Dans une séance, nous faisons ensemble un bilan de l’ensemble des aspects de votre vie, qui déterminent votre santé global. Cela me permet d’identifier ou se trouve la cause de votre problématique: corps, psycho-émotionnel, énergétique. Ensuite, je procède à un rééquilibrage de la circulations d’énergie dans les méridiens. Cela a pour conséquence de renforcer vos organes, vos muscles et vos tendons et favoriser l’homoéstasie. Il s’agit du processus naturel de votre corps à s’harmoniser seul.
Si c’est physique (os, muscle, peau, sang, lymphe, organes), 1h est généralement suffisant, sinon, 2h sont nécessaire pour agir en profondeur et sur le long terme. A la suite de la séance, vous recevez des conseils adaptés, que ce soit par l’alimentation, des exercices physiques (brain gym), ou d’autres pratiques favorisant votre santé (méditation, danse).
2. Adopt an attitude of temperance to prepare for spring.
It is necessary to adopt a temperance attitude in order to regulate the energy itself. Indeed, an increase of yang energy in the body in excess or in weakness, can be at the origin of certain symptoms. This is not insignificant for our health. It is important to carefully observe the signs of dysfunction such as :
- An increase in anger, irritation, frustration
- Headaches (headache)
- Joint pain
- Digestive problems, spasms, nausea
- Fatigue, depression
- Difficulty making choices
- Tendinites
- Ligament and muscle dislocations,
- Blood circulation problems: varicose veins, haemorrhoids, poor coagulation.
- Premenstrual pain (the liver becomes unbalanced: lacking material due to the loss of blood, it tries to preserve itself by keeping it. This creates tension, cramps, chest pains).
If you notice several of these signs, your liver and gallbladder may be out of balance. However, it is strongly advised to consult a kinesiology and shiatsu practitioner as soon as the first symptoms appear. This will help you avoid physical ailments and health concerns. Don’t hesitate to talk to me, I will give you professional advice and suggest that you consult if necessary.
3. Taking care of your liver: the organ of the spring season
Spring is associated with the pair of organs viscera liver and gall bladder. The liver is an important organ in the human body. It is located on the right, behind the rib cage, under the diaphragm (under the right breast). It is also very sensitive to anger and impatience, but when it functions well it facilitates creativity and dynamism.
The role of the liver
- Purification, filtration of the blood (sorting out what is toxic for the body)
- Processing and storage of substances absorbed by the digestive tract
- Manufacture of bile, and most proteins.
- Important role in the metabolism of proteins (transformation into amino acids, produces alumina), carbohydrates (regulation of glycaemia) and fats (production of lipoproteins which allow the transport of fats), destroys and transforms what is toxic for the body.
4. Accepting change to make your choices easier
Gallbladder: viscera associated with the meridian of the liver.
The gallbladder works in conjunction with the liver and supplements it with yang energy. It is the gallbladder that stores bile and gives the liver Qi to circulate it. An imbalance causes:
- Dizziness, headaches
- Bitter taste in the mouth
- Pain at the outer corner of the eyelid.
- Sciatica, cervical stiffness,
- Breast swelling
- Lack of self-confidence, jealousy,
- High-pitched ringing in the ears, migraines,
- Joint pains, triglycerides.
From a psychosomatic point of view, the gallbladder is related to choices. Thus, a weak gallbladder can lead to difficulties in making good choices for oneself and others. As a result, taking action becomes complicated. This sometimes results in ankle problems and tendonitis on the physical level. Because what works in one direction works in the other: a worry of choice in one’s life can also disturb the balance of the gallbladder.
4. Express your creativity
Practicing conscious walking or meditating in nature helps to create a sense of calm within you. Thus, the serene mind, you also encourage the development of your creativity. By nourishing your inspiration, you will facilitate your expression, and the implementation of your spring projects will then seem simpler.
Take the time to practice creative writing, do some journaling, write your dreams. Or take the time to think about where you’re going, what you’re planning, so that you stay aligned and don’t get lost in the vibrant energy of spring.
5. Taking care of your skin
Body
It’s a good time to exfoliate your skin and cleans dead cells to get ready for spring! While the body skin tolerates dry exfoliation with a special brush or glove, the face is not so good. So, if you want to try dry exfoliation, choose a soft brush, otherwise a glove may also work to remove dead cells. My advice is to exfoliate your skin only once a week, that’s enough. Use coffee grounds, sugar or salt to exfoliate your body skin after perspiring in a sauna or hammam, or taking a bath. Be careful though, as too much heat is not good for blood and lymph circulation.
Face
Your face needs more delicacy when exfoliating, so as not to accelerate the appearance of wrinkles. Indeed, repeated movements have an impact on the features of our face, just like our expressions. For sensitive skin, a glove is very good. Next, moisturising your skin is very important, depending on your skin type. It is also important to protect your skin from the first exposure to the sun to avoid small sunburns or brown spots later on. Also, remember to drink enough water to moisturise from the inside!
Dancing with the wind of change
6. Feeding to prepare for spring
Cook lukewarm, steamed, stewed or stir-fried with as little oil as possible (fat depletes the liver). And as always, favour seasonal, locally produced vegetables. It doesn’t make sense to take food from halfway around the world. I often say that nature is well done and the land where we live produces everything we need for harmonious health. If you supplement with foods from further afield, stay moderate and reasoned.
- Favour green foods such as green vegetables, sprouts and germinated seeds, watercress, cruciferous (cabbage), seaweed, green tea (antioxidants).
- Avoid fats, cold cuts, dairy products (our: alcohol and cannabis which reduces
- Include walnuts in your diet (rich in L-arginine, glutathione and omega 3 fatty acids) to help purify the liver and oxygenate the blood.
- Avocado (protects the liver from toxic damage).
- The black radish, artichokes (detoxifies the liver) -> Be careful with detox… and not at the beginning of spring at the risk of tiring the liver instead of cleansing it!
- Turmeric improves the production of bile, reduces the congestion of the hepatic ducts and improves the functioning of the gall bladder.
- Sour foods: lemon, grapefruit, vinegar, sorrel, tomato.
- Spicy food: coriander, ginger, basil, dill, fennel, bay leaf, rocket, asparagus (strengthens the metal that feeds the wood).
- Don’t forget cereals and legumes (spelt, bulgur…).
7. Prepare for spring by practicing Do-In.
Do-in is an excellent body practice of the soft gymnastic type coming from shiatsu. Consisting in self-massage, acupressure, gentle stretching, that allows the meridians of the seasons to be gently balanced.
It also includes a whole philosophical approach. As well as a learning of preventive gestures to be responsible for one’s health. It can be practiced outdoors or indoors. The online do-in courses are very well practiced online because there is no need to correct postures unlike other practices
8. Go for a walking in nature, meditate
In fact, it is not because the energy goes up that the lungs have recovered all their energy. Weakened by a drop in yin energy, it is important to support them to prepare for spring. Favour walking in nature, gentle sports and creative body practices such as dance, qi gong, do-in, rather than launching yourself into a big marathon at the arrival of spring.
The body needs energy to manage the transition and prepare for the season change. The advantage of taking your time is that you will oxygenate yourself by spending time close to the trees, and soothe yourself with the tannin secretion from the trees. And the body needs it after being locked up indoors a lot in the winter.
My advice is also to do meditation to synchronize yourself with the harmony of spring. Indeed, the sound vibrations are very powerful and offer accelerated care for body and mind. You can try our new moon sound meditations to take care of your liver and gallbladder.
9. Preparing for spring with medicinal plants
- Juice of half a lemon in warm water in the morning (21 days)
Nothing better to cleanse the liver and have a radiant skin! Plus, it’s excellent for preventing sore throats. You can also add fresh mint to refresh the liver. It is a good combination with lemon, which tones the liver. Contrary to preconceived ideas, lemon is acid to the taste, but basic for the body and therefore very good for the stomach.
- Birch sap for the liver (herbal tea leaves are just as good),
- Burdock herbal tea (excellent for the skin),
- Aloe vera and dandelion for digestion.
10. Clean your living space to welcome spring.
A good living environment is really important for one’s health, it is important not to neglect it. Tidy up, clean, air: take advantage of the return of good weather to clear out and dust! Moreover, we are more effective at making conscious decisions that are beneficial to us when it is tidy around us. All the more so if you feel like launching new projects. It is important to leave physical space to facilitate the creation of mental space!
- Open the windows wide every morning
- Sort through your cupboards: donate, recycle, exchange, sell… what you no longer need.
- Take out a windbreaker and keep a scarf: in spring, the wind can play tricks on you.
- Tidy, to see more clearly.
- Make an energetic purification of your house (sage, mugwort).
If you feel heaviness, presence, or that your living space is not pleasant, it may not be energetically healthy. For example, there may be electromagnetic disturbances, faults, watercourses… Or there may be memories of the history of the place within the walls. This is what geobiology determines and corrects. Associated with Feng Shui it is particularly effective.
If you want a complete purification of your house, don’t venture there blindly! Believe in my experience, it is not without danger. Don’t hesitate to call on us, we have several formulas.
NOTE: our private home sound meditation hypnosis evenings include an energetic cleaning of the premises!
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