February - sprouting time

With some delay, I provide you with a new format of my monthly energy updates starting from this month.

With February 5th started off the first month of Spring according to the ancient cinese classics. It is a time of great expectations, of awaiting for the potential to take form, the period of being an embryo "in the womb". The ground is getting ready, the seeds and buds swell by longer days and warmer waether. But the potential is still enclosed inside of them. It is a potential to which we need to tender and care for correctly, according to the Nature's pace, to make it develop into a whole new being.

So accordingly, for us, it is time for each human being to renew himself /herself, a chance to conceive a part of us that has not yet been formed but yearns to become. This month it is all about preparing the ground. How best to flow with these energies in February?

I outline some simple but effective ideas that anyone can follow. They are focused on Body, Mind and Spirit.

BODY FOCUS: FIRST STEPS IN DETOX

If you'd have read my energy updates for December and January, you would remember I do not advocate doing detox during those Winter months. February is the first month after the Winter break when we can and should take the first steps in detoxing our bodies. The increasing energies in the Nature will assist you with shifting some accumulations and habits.

Take a look at my plan for February:

1. Gradual elimination of heavier foods

- from today take one thing out of your diet which you know you need a break from (e.g. wine, coffee, cigarettes, chocolate, fried foods, red meat, etc). Anything you have recently overdone on or food that is considered "heavier" to digest;

- after one week take a second food out of your diet (the more you are attached to some food the more your body will need a break from it now);

- following another week take out the third food and then the week after the fourth food. By the end of the month you will be in a much better shape and your body will hardly notice you cutting out all those foods.

Breaking off physical habits helps us breaking free from mental and behavioural ones as well. Plus, we give our senses a pause so that they have a heightened perception and help us awake from the winter lethargy.

2. Gradual addition of lighter foods

- from today drink at least 1L of herbal tea/decoction a day. Make it into a thermos and drink throughout the day (the body needs hydration and warmth to sprout this month);

- the next week, continue with at least 1L of herbal tea a day and start your days with a glass of warm water and a half of a lemon juice on an empty stomach (lemon is an alcaline acid but it is related to Wood/Spring element and moves the energy);

- the third week, continue with the previous and add just one raw vegetable (saying "one" as too much raw in cold whether is still too cooling) a day to your diet

- the fourth week, continue with the herbal tea, water with lemon juice, a raw veg a day and add fresh sprouts once a day to your diet. Sprouts are easily done at home and gives you just the right affinity to the season.

By the end of the month you will feel so much lighter and the passage of the change in season will be a smooth ride for you.

The herbal decoction I have prepared for myself for February consists of: Nettle, Horsetail, Parsley seeds, Fern root and Ginger root. It is a perfect start for the prep ground in February: gently detoxing but still warming and nourishing.

This month is good for giving your body some stretches, especially reaching up and bending the lumbar back.

MIND FOCUS: OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW

February is probably the last chance to review the previous year cycle before the energy moves full on into a new life cycle.

Set yourself this month for reviewing the last year. What have you actually done during the last year, month by month? Was it time well spent? Do you feel completed, satisfied? Are there any issues, projects, relationships needing closing off. Put the dots on the "i's" and crosses on "t's" on the last year projects or those that are near their completion.

Once you've dealt with your review and closures, take some seeds (e.g. tomato, beans, sun flowers, calendula flowers, etc) and sow the seeds in a pot by the indoor window with the intention to grow one new specific project or intention. Each time you water it, look and care for it, remember the project/intention in mind. Are you giving it the right amount of attention? Before the end of the month speak about this project with at least one person. Speaking about the ideas and plans is like exchanging seeds, one can grow a more abundant garden.

SPIRIT FOCUS: RECONNECT TO YOUR ESSENCE

"When five organs are able to submit to the heart without resistance, then however powerful the rising of the will, the behaviour does not deviate. (...) the vital spirits thrive and the Qi are not scattered. (...) then there is perfect order. (...) then the spirits. With the spirits (...) in doing there is nothing that is not accomplished." (Huainanzi ch.7)

In other words, if your body follows the Hearts/Spirits it will lead you to accomplishment.

Coming out of Winter lethargy in February we are loaded with the will power to go forward. Let's be mindful of the Heart and Spirit connection in conceiving plans for the new life cycle. Check that your plans and intentions find a resonance with your Heart.

There may be some emotions or states of being that cloud the "music" of the Heart. Identify at least one such emotion/state during this month. It can be worry, anxiety, anger, frustration, procrastination, it can be chronic tiredness, poor health, depression, victimhood, state of poverty, or the so called "sacred cows" in your life. Challenge them. Why do these states repeat? Repeated emotional states are energies imprisoned by that emotion. Acupuncture can assist you in changing your emotional state by working with the body's energy points and liberating by that a lot of vital energy.

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One way to settle the emotional turmoil and hear your Heart is to join me in weekly on-line meditations on Mondays at 9.30pm (CET). Click below to register for a link:

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January - balance of willpower

January is the third month of Winter and believe it or not but coming to February we will feel a real turn round in the energy around us. I somehow sense that this year Spring will come early. Until then, January's energy proceeds from that of December and is encouraging us to rest, especially now after a busy festive season. In January we still have that low time in which not much is happening in Nature, so follow it and rest and recharge your batteries (aka Kidney energy). In Celtic tradition the January's full moon is called "Stay Home Moon". So, let's not overdo on work or travel but rather rest, sleep and take care of our inner selves.

Rest is not intended to mean sitting on a couch but rather taking certain actions for the body, mind and spirit to have an off time. So, going for a walk or a run, go for a skiing weekend or a day at hot springs or a walk by the seaside, whilst at home take a bath, an afternoon nap or take up meditation (click here https://www.dorotao.com/clinic-contact to register for weekly on-line meditation at DoroTao). January continues to be a month of action intertwined with inaction, to which I will come back in a moment.

As I have mentioned in my last year's energy update (https://www.dorotao.com/post/the-third-month-of-winter-rebirth), December is the darkest month of the year. January, on the other hand, is the coldest month of the year. So, we must continue to keep warm. A chilled body is a fertile ground for viruses and catarrh. So, keep on cooking hot soups and stews and oven bake or fry foods. Use ginger, cinnamon, cloves, cayenne pepper, black pepper, garlic, onions and black tea, among others. Also exercise and movement will keep your body's circulation going and therefore warm it up.

This brings me to underline that the Winter energy is about balancing the extremes, of which I talked about in my December 2021 post: https://www.dorotao.com/post/the-second-month-of-winter-watch-out-for-extremes. Winter is associated with Water element, which is very versatile element and can change from a solid form of ice into a gassy steam in just a few minutes, passing through a liquid state in the interim. That adaptability is precisely the quality which we need to cultivate in Winter time. Water adapts as a matter of a physical terrestrial law. Us humans, although 60% water made, we have consciousness and free will to decide when to adapt and when to be constant, unchanged.

The resulting effect is that when we are not in balance ourselves, we may get it "wrong" for ourselves, meaning it may cause us illness. If we are influenced too easily by the external circumstances we may sway from our healthy resolutions or actions. On the other hand, we can become so fixed over many issues and for an extended period of time that we become calcified, immobile and therefore brittle. Balancing Water energy is not as much about finding a golden middle as being able to be fluid and change from one extreme to another as necessary.

It is also about a state of mind, meaning the believes we cherish about our personal will power. In our modern day culture, a strong willpower is so highly awarded and considered a desired virture. Most of us believe that a strong and constant willpower is a positive thing, right? Actually what I have found out is that the highly strung people, even those who apparently are always positive and on the go, consume constantly their willpower (Kidney energy) to maintain such state. Since we are born to experience all kinds of states, highs and lows, active and passive, positive and negative, using our willpower to constantly steer off unpleasant feelings can waste our energy, energy related to Water element and therefore our Kidneys. I have had clinical verifications of this.

It is not to say we should not strive for positivity but when arduous or less pleasant situations arise, to accept those moments for what they are. Use the willpower to get through them like an earthworm who must eat and digest the earth in order to plough and move on. At the end of the process you will come out stronger and wiser for it. In fact, it will be a new you who comes out at the end of a "worm's" tunnel. And the gained ability to get through or around smoothly what life presents you with is what will make your willpower even stronger.

You can also think of drops of water. Water first accumulates into a sufficient size before falling down. There is a moment of pause and accumulation first and the action later.

This is what I feel will help you all get through January and the time that comes at the end of Winter. Check on your willpower: be your own best judge and observe where you use it too much, where you push yourself relentlessly. There you need to pause to reflect. On the other hand: where do you not use it enough? Are there things suspended that wait to be completed or projects you desire to create that need your willpower to move them ahead?

If you need help in assessing your willpower, and therefore your Water element and Kidney energy, book yourself for a consultation and an appointment at DoroTao. Click below for contact details.

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November - last orders for letting go

The 7th of November will mark the beginning of Winter according to the classic Su Wen text. Depending on where you live in the northern hemisphere you may feel it more or less wintery around you. Here in the central Italy it definitely does not feel wintery yet; feeling yet that autumnal stillness, the leaves have just began to turn yellow and the air is still smelling of fungus. All that seems like a little extension to Autumn energy as in reality, the beginnings and endings of seasons are never clear cut.

If you remember my October update, Autumn is related to Lungs and Large Intestine. Being at the far end of the Autumn there is more emphasis on Colon and clearing out activity. Think about your garden or a park near you or a tree growing near your house. It is at the end of Autumn that we need to clear out lots of dead leaves fallen to the ground.

Analogically, the end side of Autumn season is the best time to consider what we still want, or better, need to let go of before the Wintery withdrawal and accumulation season initiates. At least here in Italy we seem to have those last chances to clear out things or energy from our homes, bodies, minds and emotions.

So let's start with your body. Is your body moving smoothly or have you had your rheumatisms, headaches, constipations, extra-weight, swellings, candida in your body recently? If those symptoms have come up in the Autumn months that is clearly an indication that cleansing is necessary. It is the best time to help your Colon in clearing out by cutting down or cutting out the foods that slow down your peristalsis: glutinous grains and meat in particular. Adding, however, extra fibre from fruits, veggies and pulses. It is ideal time to help your Colon with probiotics too, remembering that you can get it from fermented foods too!

How about your mind? Are you able to get clarity at work and in other activities? If you struggle with too many thoughts that keep you awake at night you need to sit still more often and teach your mind to let go of habitual mental unrest. In the morning, plan your day consciously according to your priorities. Focusing on what is necessary to do at hand and sweep away cluttering and unproductive thoughts. Make a conscious effort to address that which is necessary. Face head on your obligations, including bills or payments, handle and resolve difficult issues with friends and family, etc. Putting things aside will hold and block the energy so resolving them will release a lot of energy which you will notice in your affairs moving ahead.

Or perhaps you have noticed that after relaxing Summer months you got back into the stressful whirl of work and life that has by now created in you feelings of anger, frustration, withdrawal, lack of enthusiasm, even fear of not not making it. Although we all have our own dynamics to work on, this period of late Autumn is a perfect time to just let go of painful feelings irrespectively of where they originate from. The energy that is out there right now is so helpful in doing just that: detach from all those destructive emotions that only stop you from experiencing life fully.

To add to this Autumnal energy we are astrologically in between two Eclipses (the Solar and the Lunar between the 25th October and 7th November), the energy of which will continue afterwards for a while. It powers the energy of introspection and reset, which is perfect for clearing the old and setting the new, clean plate for time to come; be it in your life or in your habits that ultimately create your health and wellbeing.

To start with take one habit, physical, mental or emotional that has been around for too long or you got rather tired of. Make a conscious effort to change your attitude towards it; let go of the need to repeat it. All along remember: habits cannot make who you are, put yourself in charge of your habits!

If you don't know where to start, you can book an appointment to get some help from ancient traditional diagnosis and treatment; click on the button below to proceed.

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