Spring Smarts Somatic Seasonals
Below are the practices we'll be doing during the course of the Spring. The dates you see recommended by each section are in sync with the Coherence Calendar. You can use any/all of the resources below any time of the year. What's reflected in the protocol here is a rhythm that will present you with an opportunity to move through the seasonal cycle in harmony with your nature...
springBODY CONNECTIONS -- Below is a list of cues to use through the Spring to promote better overall spinal joint mobility, muscle and tendon flexibility and extremity joint integrity. Since we are dealing with the Wood element, rooting is a motivating force. Whatever does not have strong roots, does not grow. The ideas you ponder need to be grounded for your mind to bring them to fruition. Use these checks to fine tune your metabolism and express new body images as if you were teaching a small child in you for the first time.
Quick screen for a rooted body -- Moshe Feldenkrais' work has given us an easy way to see if our inner balance is intact. Simply hold both arms straight out in front of you with your eyes closed. Now elevate one arm 45 degrees. Hold this position 20 seconds. Now lower the raised arm until you think its even with the other arm. Open your eyes. If your inner balance is normal, the raised arm should not quite make it all the way back. That is due to the false vertical the closed eyes project to the inner balance. Make sure to repeat the exercise with the other arm. Try it sitting or when lying down to note the shifting feedback. So if you find the arms are balanced your neck righting reflexes are using old, obsolete information. Then you can do this more external check to update yourself ......
Entraining Window: Week 1 & 2: MAR 23rd to APR 7th
Manual rooting exercise -- This is for those coffee achievers who need two or three jabs at the snooze bar every morning. Spring is an action movie. The Kwa sqwat is an excellent morning grounding routine. The kwa is the term the Chinese use to describe the hip flexor region, which will be overprotective in the maladaptive pattern described above. Keeping your eyes open with a soft gaze, extend both arms and reach forward as you lower yourself as if to sit down. Your knees should remain in their position as only the hip region needs to move back and down. Hold yourself up when you feel a good stretch for 20 seconds. Stand up and repeat 3 to 5 times. Office visits will focus on the how well the tissues around the extremity joint spaces of the hips, shoulders, ribs, collar bones and jaw respond to the new conditions.
Entraining Window: Week 3 & 4: APR 8th to APR 22nd
springBRAIN CONNECTIONS--- The general recommendations for a balanced Wood element is based on the guidelines of Elson Haas' "Staying Healthy with the Seasons" and my clinical observations. The early time change in March will call on your thyroid and liver to reset your insulin-glucagon axis. If you used the foods from the Spring Foward clusters you gave yourself the best chance for take off.
Organ Rehab- Here's some more to go on. The spring is a time for allergies, skin rashes and irritated tissues. The tongue and nasal passages are feeding grounds for a stagnant system. Another good hygeine move is to spend extra time brushing your tongue, especially way in the back where the candida hangs out. Use some liquid cholorophyll as a rinse before bedtime. It is vital to have a good portal circulation to quell the histamine beastie. For those with sluggish thyroids, avoid leafy greens like broccoli and spinach. Also skip eating oranges, almonds, and tomatoes til mid to late spring. For the the rest of the equation, dandelion greens are a great detox for the liver, especially if your on medication. Other important foods are aerobic promoting sources of B6 (red cabbage, avacado, and oatmeal), growth sources of B1 (cauliflower, water chestnuts and sunflower seeds), antioxidant sources of Vitamin C (grapefruit, lemons and red bell peppers), some pH balancing phosphorus (artichokes, lentils and apples) and some beta-carotene (asparagus, cantaloupe and apricots).
Entraining Window: Week 5 & 6: APR 23rd to MAY 7th
Herbal Help - The following herbal teas for the Spring cycle: sassafras root (for skin, joints, stomach and bowel tonic), and peppermint (for sinus congestion, headaches, and rheumatism). Two teaspoons per cup a day is enough to help stimulate the body. Use them as builders, not symptom chasers. Use the new moons to play with these chemical tools. Remember there's no substitute for flexible breathing rhythms.
Entraining Window: Week 7 & 8: MAY 8th to MAY 22nd
springMIND CONNECTIONS--- The Chinese symbolize the Wood element's emotional map around the skills of openness and kindness. It is an opportunity to unclutter the external world while we make room for new experiences in our lives.
Spring Desk Cleaning - Try any of the following activities to EASE yourself into swing of spring...
(a) Take a walk by the ocean once or twice a week. The salty air is great for the irritated nasal passages and upper respiratory system. (b) Sharpen up with hand eye games like a simple catch, frisbee, stereograms or kite flying. Or you can bounce back with foot-eye games like hopscotch, jump rope or trampoline work.
(c) Clean out a desk drawer, a closet shelf, the glove compartment of your car. Take credit for the edit.
Entraining Window: Week 9 & 10: MAY 23rd to JUN 7th
Friendly Scents Oasis- Aromas are mind triggering events. As you step into spring, begin this experiment. Find something you really like the smell of and put it in your car, by your desk and in the bathroom. These places are then transformed into virtual oasis' for you and it will unhook the histamine response often experienced in the heavy mildew of early spring as life renews itself with the yolk of rebirth everywhere.
Entraining Window: Week 11 & 12: JUN 7th to JUN 21st
