12/18/2015
Wintertime: Gaining Perspective on Our Fears, Connecting to our Power
By Laura Rose, L.Ac., M.Ac., CYT www.SilverSpringMDAcupuncture.com
As wintertime sets in the rhythm of mother nature gets slower, animals begin to hunker down and the air seems quieter. It is a universal time for rest and quiet reflection. It is a time to give our bodies, minds and hearts a chance to re-build.
In Chinese medicine, each season corresponds to an emotion and an element in nature. Wintertime is related to the emotion of Fear and on the flip side, Courage, Strength and Power. The Element of Winter is Water. You can imagine the power of a tsunami, the stillness of a lake or the trickling of a stream. Such strength, rhythm, and composure is within each one of us if we can connect with it. When we see a river that is almost all drained of water from a drought it can be related to our own feeling of lack of resources within us-- thus leading to fear. When we cultivate, store and nourish the resources within us, we are left with the feeling of safety, contentment and strength. We can learn to slow down and act from this place of contentment and personal power instead of from a feeling of lack, scarcity or fear.
Sometimes what our bodies and minds need most is to be quiet, to be still and to rest. It is in these moments we get a chance to reflect on our emotions, see under the surface of what is happening and can perhaps even see things from a new and different perspective. By stilling ourselves, we can create a space between our thoughts and our reactions to those thoughts. This space can allow for clarity in our actions and decisions. This space can allow us to connect to our own power and strength instead of acting in the heat of the moment or in a “fight-flight” response. This space allows the energy that is being constantly used up by our habit pattern of unconsciously reacting to our thoughts to be freed up. Suddenly we feel less tired and less run down. This newly freed energy can now become nourishing energy instead of draining energy.
This is one way to nourish ourselves and make our Water Element strong and abundant. This practice of taking a few deep breaths, closing your eyes to mentally slow down your thoughts and your bodily reactions to those thoughts. You will start to feel tension release in your body, your breath slow down and the mind begin to calm. This is the place to take your next action from. Acupuncture and Yoga are both forms of medicine that can help to create this awareness of our bodily reactions to our thoughts. This awareness creates more conscious living, and this in turn creates health and joy. I encourage you to create joy and health in your life, and to nourish and connect with your own strength and power through this practice of creating space and awareness within.
