Self-care ideas for transitioning into spring

Happy Spring! This time of year is all about helping our bodies transition out of winter, and I hope you enjoy these self-help and food ideas to make this transition easier.

In Chinese Medicine, the season of spring is related to the liver system. From a TCM perspective, the liver has many tasks and is particularly active at this time of year because it is responsible for transitioning our bodies from winter to spring. It facilitates moving us from a time during which our energy naturally moved inward, to a time when we are more active, and our focus directed more outward.
 
Liver functions include:

• Regulating the smooth flow of Qi - stagnation can cause problems ranging from headaches to digestive complaints to menstrual irregularities

• Governing the spine, joints, muscles, ligaments, and tendons - imbalances lead to tension, pain, poor flexibility and joint problems

• Regulating our mood - when liver energy is depleted or stagnates, we struggle with irritability, anger, depression, and frustration

• Governing the eyes - imbalances create vision problems, floaters and dryness

You may notice some of the problems associated with liver imbalances more acutely during spring, because of the added demands on your body to shift out winter’s quiet, more inward energy into spring’s forward momentum. And if you’ve had a tough winter with extra stress, increased fatigue and being sick more than usual, then this transition becomes more challenging.

If this is the case, it becomes even more important to give your body some extra support, and you would benefit from coming for a series of acupuncture sessions, and adding some extra self-care to your routine:

• Detox your liver: Reduce or eliminate alcohol or drugs that are toxic to your liver. Drink milk thistle tea which gently detoxes your liver.

• Stretch: Start or recommit to a healthy stretching routine. Try yoga, Tai Chi, Qi Gong, or other exercises that move, loosen and flex your joints.

• Exercise your eyes: Massage your face, especially around your eyes. Roll your eyes and move them in figure 8s. Practice focusing on distant objects and then focusing on close objects in quick succession. Put time limits on your computer sessions.

• Observe and engage with your emotions: Journal, meditate or get counseling. If you struggle with anger, create a healthy anger management plan, and find activities that refocus your anger in healthy ways. Put limits on stressful situations.

• Eat light: Overeating taxes your liver.

• Eat greens: Sprouts, wheatgrass, spinach, kale and dandelions are particularly good food in the spring.

• Season your food with pungent spices: basil, fennel, marjoram, rosemary, caraway, dill and bay leaf are excellent for spring cooking.

• Prepare for spring allergies: get some acupuncture to lessen the severity of spring allergies. For a discussion on how acupuncture treats allergies, see my recent blog post Acupuncture for Allergies. 

If you would like some support to make transition into spring more graceful, and feel like some "spring health cleaning" is in order, then I’d love to help you, and look forward to seeing you in the clinic.