As we age, this often flips. Our bodies become colder, and we tend to become “hot headed” and anxious. A well-balanced constitution that we are always seeking to cultivate is “water above, fire below.” Water energy creates a cool, calm mind, as the brain corresponds to the kidney chi of the water element. And the fire relates to the passion in our hearts as well as the fire of digestion in the small intestine.

In this high time of year, when the sun is at its peak and the days are bright and long, we connect to our innate sense of joy.

Joy and peace are the virtues of balanced heart chi. The practices that stimulate the meridians of the heart and small intestine, the organ pair that are running the strongest in the early summer, will create an ample energy flow. Breathwork and specific physical practices will shift us out of anxiety and into a calm peaceful heart that expresses joy.

If you’re feeling anxious these days, you’re not alone. This is the time of year that many of us yearn for, as it’s so beautiful - It’s warm and bright, everything blooming, so why anxious?

“A flexible body creates a flexible mind”. There’s a lot of truth to this, but not just by stretching our muscles - we need a long slow breath to stretch the mind open past our limited thinking.

The sprouting energy of the wood element in the spring is rising and blooms into the flowering energy of the fire element in the early summer. With this excitement and beauty, comes the shadow side of anxiety and overwhelm.

Does this ever happen to you? You’re inspired to create something, but once you start, all kinds of resistance rise up! I find that when I’m excited to create something new, it's the beginning stage that’s invigorating. Then when I actually have to make it happen I become anxious. Will this work? Do I know what I’m doing? What will people think??

While I was studying the Yoga Sutras, which are the foundational teachings of yoga, I had a hard time grasping them as they are like little wisps of wisdom that are tricky to wrap the mind around. A pond that I often walk to became the live illustration of these Sutras. The Yoga Sutras are the basis of mindfulness teachings. They dissect the mind and how it works so we can observe the nature of our thoughts and emotions from an objective standpoint. Thus, I named this pond NOM: The Nature of Our Mind.

Truth be told, I suffer from impatience. Yes, I know, I’m a yogi, and a yoga teacher - shouldn’t I be mellow and patient all of the time? Oh the SHOULDS of being a yogi! I hide my impatience…well maybe not now, as I’m sharing this with you, but I certainly keep it tucked away. It’s not a characteristic I’m proud of, so I continuously work on it.

Springtime is when the energy is alive and stirring. We see the buds on the trees and flowers blossoming, animals coming out again, soon to be performing their mating rituals. The mind starts to move faster in the spring. From winter stillness to inspiration and action, manifestation is the energy of the season. To find the stable point in the midst of this inspirational energy is the middle ground, which is the path of the Buddha. This stability is like a strong tree that’s deeply rooted and sways with the wind.

According to traditional Chinese medicine, the five elemental paradigm we work with in the Meridian Flow practice relates to how the sun is positioned to the earth. This isn’t as far out as it sounds. The sun is our main source of energy. We are subject to the sun’s energy and feel it differently in each season. 

Have you ever tried visualizing your FUTURE SELF as the best version of your potential? This is a classic Taoist meditation that’s very effective at the end of winter moving into spring.

Spring is around the corner and we all want to move with that springy grace and ease. The problem is too many of us are prohibited from our chronic pain, which then leads to anxiety.

Living with constant aches and limited movement shrinks our enthusiasm for enjoying the warmer weather and leads to a downward spiral of less movement and more anxiety.

As we shift from winter into spring, our meditations from the winter stillness reveal the sprouts of inspiration that want to come forth. One of the best tools to still the mind in meditation is the ancient qigong practice of YI Qi Li, guiding energy with consciousness. The meridian pathways, which are the energy channels of the organs, give us a simple map to guide our Qi (energy).

When we observe how the natural world’s energy resides in us currently, we might find a seed of inspiration that wants to grow. The seeds deep in the ground that have been dormant for the past few months during the winter stillness are starting to wriggle and sprout. They may not be visible to the naked eye yet, but there’s an inkling that something is emerging.

Now that we are in the second half of winter, passing the midway point between the winter solstice and the spring equinox known as Imbolc, on February 2, we can feel a subtle shift of energy. It’s when the deep winter thaw starts to happen. This time is also known as a “quickening”, being the action of bringing someone or something to life. It’s exciting, even as the winter resides here in the northeast for a couple more months, we are on the other side of the cold dark days.

According to Chinese medicine, balancing fire and water energy, or chi (Qi), is the root of health, which is achieved when our energy is running smoothly and efficiently. Balancing our yin and yang energy creates homeostasis, where healing can occur on an energetic level, which often brings the emotional and physical issues back into balance.

For many of us, the winter is when our chronic joint pain increases. We sit a lot in the winter, which makes our muscles atrophy and become too weak to support our joints. If we don’t strengthen the muscles around the joints, the weight of the bones and extra body weight is too much to be supported by weak muscles and therefore creates pain.

According to traditional Chinese medicine, we focus on different parts of the body throughout the year. We work with the energy of the season that corresponds to the energies in the body. Certain parts of the body are prone to the development of disease in different seasons. The most successful way to stay healthy and in balance is to coexist in our environment.

To embody the season of winter, rather than resisting it, we honor stillness. It’s necessary. Author and life coach Martha Beck’s mantra is, ‘My name is Stillness’. Try it, repeat that out loud or quietly and see how it lands.

Many qigong movements circulate in an infinity pattern. In Chinese medicine, it’s said our healthy energy circulates in this pattern both internally and externally. The infinity symbol is known to create a strong energy field around us. Qigong is the movement practice of Chinese medicine which recognizes that our energy mirrors the cosmos.