The Wood Element represents growth, flexibility, and the flow of energy. The Liver and Gallbladder are the organs associated with this element. One of their jobs is to make sure our qi flow is smooth and everything within us is getting the qi it needs to maintain harmony. They are busy making decisions about where, when, how, how much qi is going out. This isn't limited to the inner physical body. It extends to the planning, development, creativity in our lives. 

To simplify the message: we stress this Organ System by overdoing, overthinking, over-emoting, overeating, and over-stimulating ourselves! We all know we can help maintain the flow of qi by maintaining balance and harmony in life, but it's difficult in a culture that supports overachieving at all costs!

Practices of mindful movement help. 

 Warmups targeting the Wood Element emphasize the importance of flexibility in the connective tissues, including ligaments and tendons - the tissue of the Wood Element. This flexibility...

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, our organs are not simply part of our physical makeup. 

They are integral to our being on earth.

Spring is the season that highlights the Liver and Gallbladder.

The Liver is significant in allowing qi to flow through the body unimpeded. That's one of its main jobs. Anger, frustration, and similar emotions affect this part of its job and we find ourselves feeling stagnant. Not only in the tasks at hand but internally. There are many ways in which stagnation appears in the body - from a simple bout of constipation to the long haul of clogged arteries.

This is a very simplistic example, but you get the idea.

The paired yang meridian to the Liver is the Gallbladder. It also helps in regulating Qi flow through the body. It does this by helping us make decisions, to have the courage to move through difficulty - without force.

Various factors can damage the gallbladder and liver. These factors include:

Emotional stress: Chronic or excessive emotiona...

Beginning from this month's eNewsletter:

Fall

The season is fall. Fall is a time when we begin to feel that sense of quieting. The weather becomes cooler. Animals are storing food for winter. Plants are letting go of what is above the earth and preparing to draw down into the earth. While many may look “dead” above the earth, down below they thrive, just like burrowing animals. It’s a time to draw inward. A time to reflect. All of the aliveness around us does this. And we do too. It's a time to reflect and notice.

Body Tissue: Skin

The Lung Organ System shows up in the skin. Whether you’re in the season and notice the need to apply more moisturizer or drink more water - or in the Metal Phase of your life, like me - you may notice the skin changes: drier, drab.

It’s our container so as we move through life, it can tell us a lot about us. The skin protects us, gives us a boundary, and it is the tissue we feel everything with. So, it’s our connection to the outside. But it’s als...