Can Qigong and Yoga help you to get the most out of every season? In this article find out how you can lean into the upward rising energy of spring to help you plant seeds and make plans and why sometimes we can feel so frustrated at this time of year.
For many years, I found myself inclined to agree with T.S. Eliot's proclamation that 'April is the cruellest month'. It's not that I find April particularly cruel, and I’m always happy to welcome spring's longer, brighter days, but I do find spring a challenging season. It promises so much and sometimes it is easy to be carried away by that promise only to feel disappointed. If we look to nature, however, we can make sense of this. Seedling and saplings use a great deal of energy to sprout: they can be resilient but they are also delicate and fragile. If we think of our plans and intentions in this way - as things that need to be well rooted and then nurtured, we might find that our plans have a greater chance of taking root.
It turns out, I'm not alone in finding spring a challenge. 'Spring fever' is a phenomenon that is not only recorded by poets but also researched by scientists. Practicing Qigong has given me another framework within which to understand fluctuating moods in spring.
In Qigong and Chinese Medicine, the season of spring associated with the element of wood, sees an upsurge of energy. The sap is very literally rising and in this system what happens in the macrocosm of nature is reflected in the microcosm of the human body. So we too are susceptible to flare ups of anger and frustration; to stagnation of our 'qi' or energy. The season however offers us the ideal opportunity to plant seeds - both literally and metaphorically and to develop our plans and goals for the year ahead. In the same way as we wouldn't overwhelm seedlings, we shouldn't overwhelm our plans, but rather allow, gentle, slow and timely growth so that they can come to fruition.
The organs associated with the element of wood and the season of spring are the liver and gallbladder and the sense organ is the eyes. Qi or energy rises like a slow tide coming up from winter storage in the lower abdomen and it moves into the chest where it stimulates the liver with fresh vitality. The liver is said to control the smooth and harmonious flow of ‘qi’ and blood.
The energy associated with spring and wood energy is the energy of expansion. It supports us to develop a vision, make decisions and propels the seed forward into direction and growth. If you imagine a seed, the energy of spring is the energy it takes the seed to grow from its potential into a sapling. We can take our cue from nature and harness this energy, and our potential into growing and developing our visions and goals, into solid plans as we lay foundations for our dreams and goals to become a reality.
If this spring, you are feeling a little angry or frustrated, know that it is natural, but find a way that you can channel that frustration positively and perhaps use the anger and frustration to change things for the better. The function of the liver in the body is to facilitate the elimination of toxins and this is also perhaps a good way of thinking about how we can support the energy of these organs in spring. It is a good time to think about your daily rhythms and perhaps find a routine that works well for you.
The season of spring and element of wood are also associated with creativity and growth. So, perhaps this is the perfect time to think about ways in which you would like your creativity to grow and develop over the coming months. What does ‘growth’ mean to you and what direction do you want to head in? It can take time to come to what feels like the right decision and there are many reasons that we can prevaricate: fear of failure, of heading in the wrong direction, of missing out. It is worth considering however, that not making a decision can also leave you feeling stuck and mired. So spend some time getting clear on what feels right and then take that first step with the courage of a seedling popping out from under the earth. And then growing. Being clear on your direction can help you, in the same way as the seed grows towards the sun.
It is also, the perfect opportunity to harness the upsurge of energy. In qigong, the archetype associated with the season is that of the warrior. Those of you that practice yoga, will be familiar with the warrior poses. This April, might be the perfect opportunity to consider what it might mean to be a ‘warrior’. Most likely, none of us wants to go to war, but the archetype of the warrior, invites us to think about what we would guard, what we stand for and what we would challenge and change. The warrior does not need to be associated with aggression. Yoga’s warrior poses are named after ‘Virabhadra’ - a fierce form of the Hindu God Shiva, who, enraged by an insult and later the immolation of his consort, throws down one of his matted locks on the ground, from which arises the fierce and vengeful Virabhadra. This warrior is certainly fierce and wild, but is standing up for a righteous cause.
The word virya, meaning manliness in Sanskrit also gives us the pose virasana or hero’s pose. Virya is the root word for virility in English - often celebrated in spring alongside, the more feminine Celtic versions of worshipping the goddess Ostara - from which we derive oestrogen. In Buddhism virya refers to energy, or persistence and enthusiasm. Bear with me… all this wordplay is getting us somewhere. At the heart of all these words and traditions from across different cultures and history, is this feeling of abounding energy in spring - an energy that can sometimes feel so uncontained it can give us headaches!
So perhaps, what it boils down to, is to enquire into how to manage our energy? It can certainly feel like we have more of it in spring and we can work to cultivate our energy but in the end, we also need to be disciplined in how we use our energy. And perhaps, this is the lesson of spring: we plant and nurture our seeds and tend them. We increase our clarity and make plans and then warrior-like, we assiduously guard them and our direction. If we scatter our energy too much, we may feel depleted, but using our energy well, will allow us not only to blossom but to see our plans and our visions come to fruition.