Hooray! We have made it through to Spring and life is looking up!

I never cease to be blown away by how resilient we are. It has been a bleak few months, yet it has only taken a ray of sunshine and a burst of yellow daffodils to put a smile back on our faces.

One of the main impacts I have noticed in clinic of this 3rd lockdown is a general feeling of stagnation. This not surprising, we haven’t been able to do very much! We haven’t been able to see friends or loved ones, go on holiday, go to the gym, visit the coast and so on…. these restrictions, whilst necessary, have resulted in a feeling of both physical and emotional ‘stuckness’. But this is about to change!

Even if you have to remain in lockdown for a few more weeks, nature is about to step in and help you move again.

This is because in Traditional Chinese Medicine every season is linked to a specific organ, and Spring is linked to the Liver, which in turn is responsible for moving energy in the body.

Spring is the season synonymous with movement, where new life bursts forth: green shoots appear, the days get longer and the sun gains warmth. But as well as creating movement in nature, Spring also creates movement in your body through the impact it has on your Liver energy.

This can make you feel so much better, because when the Liver is able to distribute energy evenly and effectively throughout the body as it should, you will feel emotionally and physically well.

By contrast if the Liver energy is constrained in any way it can result in physical and emotional symptoms. In particular, the emotions of anger, stress and frustration are associated with the Liver which is why you might have been feeling a little on edge recently! Physically a stagnation of Liver energy can result in symptoms such as migraine or tiredness.

Therefore, by supporting your Liver energy and getting things moving again, Spring is going to help you feel better.

You can maximise this effect further, and help release any feelings of stagnation, by adding the following exercises to your daily routine:

BREATHE!   Every morning when you get up sit or stand at an open window and take 10 deep, slow breaths – the optimum length of your breath should be 5 seconds, and you should ideally breathe through your nose.

Do this several times a day, regardless whether you feel tired or not. Breath brings energy into the body and helps energy to move

SHAKE!   After you have taken your 10 breaths, shake your arms, hands, feet and body for 3-5 minutes – don’t worry what you look like, instead focus on how good it feels!

MASSAGE!   If you feel muzzy headed, massage the GB channel on the head (which is the partner to the Liver) to help energy flow to your head more freely – it feels fantastic and lifts your mood.