Spring Health Care Tips

By Ivy Xie-McIsaac, E-RYT200, YACEP

​The liver corresponds to the element Wood and the season Spring.

The liver regulates blood circulation and acts like a cleaner to clear the toxins out of the body. When we are resting or sleeping, the liver is filtering, detoxifying and storing the blood. When we are active, the liver exports the blood. Part of the functions of the liver include clearing harmful substances in the blood, resisting infections by producing immune factors and removing bacteria from the bloodstream. When the liver works well, we will have a clean internal environment. The free flow of Qi (life force) in the Liver meridian will ensure the free flow of blood.
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Sleeping too late (after 11pm) or getting up too early (before 3am) as well as alcohol use will over stimulate the functioning of the liver and cause severe imbalance in its function. An imbalance in liver function will cause a person to anger easily.

For the body, spring is time to change a heavy diet to a lighter diet, by eating even more vegetables. Spring is also the best time to detox. Lemon juice plus honey helps to cleanse the inside of the body. We can also spend some time to clean the house to create a nice environment.

Walking in nature or gardening helps us to be grounded. In Spring, the wind is the main cause of disease and known as the Evil wind(邪气) as the cold from winter is still in the air. A Chinese proverb tells us “In spring, it’s better to overdress rather than underdress even if the weather looks warm.” (春捂)

A direct experience can give us improper perception. In the story of The Blind Men and an Elephant, all the blind men believe they know what they are touching, but they don’t know they are touching an elephant. Traditional Chinese Medicine emphasizes to look at the full picture and find the root of the disease instead of treating only where the symptoms appear.

The liver’s opening is the eyes. An eye problem can be a liver problem manifested in the eyes. When we know the cause of the symptom then we can be healed faster.

Wishingtree Yoga is offering a 50hr Yin Yoga Teacher Training starting June 10, 2019.