Spring Equinox has Happened!

Here on the Northern Continent we are on the upward swing towards more daylight hours, warming temperatures and the start of our growing season.  For thousands of years, the Spring Equinox has been honored around the world. Many cultures affiliate this date with fertility and rebirth. Eggs are a recurring motif within many spring celebrations, including the Easter tradition of egg hunts. In Mexico, at the Teotihuacán archeological site, people celebrate the changing season by visiting and climbing the Pyramid of the Sun.

Celebrating and honoring the new beginnings during this time of transition

Many of us already have either religious or symbolic rituals associated with this shift in our year.  If you do not, or are looking to add some new ones, here are a few things to consider adding:

 

  1. Take time to offer gratitude to the reawakening of life, and to honor the patterns of our natural world.
  2. Celebrate the foods of the season with meals and gatherings with family and friends.
  3. Celebrate the warmer and longer days with more outdoor celebrations - through hikes, gatherings, picnics, or other meals.
  4. Take cues from the plants and animals that reawaken in this time of year. Their vibrancy and growth, after a time of rest, can be an inspiration for your own time of reflection and growth. This is a time that many people use for “spring cleanings” and resets.

In Chinese Medicine, spring is the element of Wood.  The stage of development associated with the Wood Element is birth, the climate is wind, the color is green, the emotion is anger, and the corresponding organs are the Liver and Gallbladder.

 

The Liver is associated with anger when it’s out of balance, and expansion when in balance. When we’re not aligned with what we’re doing, and not allowed to feel growth and expansion, we feel stuck. This makes the Liver energy feel stuck. When the Liver feels stuck, it stops our Liver Qi flowing smoothly throughout our body leading to feelings of stress, frustration, and anger, as well as physical symptoms like tight neck and shoulders, PMS, menstrual problems, and even digestive problems. 

 

While anger is a normal and natural emotion, when it swings out of balance we find ourselves holding on to our anger due to repeated patterns or being unable to let things go. Use this Springtime to reflect on what triggers anger in you, what you are holding on to, what feels like a valid response and how to let go of some of those situations or people who make you angry.  Don’t sit in anger and frustration! Move through it! If we don’t, it keeps us stuck and doesn’t let us move on, grow and expand to better things in life! 

 

Our flaring up of allergies and hay fever at this time are also a sign of Liver energy.  Supporting the Liver with both herbs, clean food helps decrease our allergy symptoms.

Things to do during Spring!

MOVE! 

The Liver needs movement to remain healthy.  This means anything.  Walking, biking, yoga.  All of it.

EAT! 

Look around at what is starting to grow right now.  Nettles, chickweed, dandelion greens, microgreens, bitter greens. Bitter greens help to smooth and move the Liver Qi. Add them to everything from salads to smoothies.

PROCESS!  Figure out what is making you feel stuck or angry (or both!) and get support in moving through it.  Action, counseling, walking and talking with a friend, dancing, meditation, prayer, journaling, poetry, anything that allows you to take any steps forward are helpful.

Now is the time to try to embody the ascending and expansive quality of spring. It’s a time for birth and new beginnings, so it’s a perfect time to start thinking about what you’d like to embody more of, and where you want to grow and expand on a physical, mental, and spiritual level.

If this interests you, stay tuned!  Even though I have been quiet, I have been planning all sorts of fun things to come!  I am hoping to have some brand new offerings regarding the seasons and elements by Summer Solstice!

The Year of the Water Tiger

Chinese New Year happened on February 1st this year.  The Year of the Water Tiger forecast is below.  I usually put this on my page but this year I have been so behind that I did not.

 

I have inserted a clipping of the summary of what we are in for as well as included the link to the full forecast from one of the best Chinese Astrology writers out there.  I love to read these to get a pulse on the energy of the upcoming year.

 

"To sum up the year of the Water Tiger in two words it is DRAMATIC and UNPREDICTABLE, you know, more so than usual.  I honestly have no clue how it's going to go, but it's going to be wild!  

 

The last Water Tiger Year (1962) was packed with Drama; we saw the first human in space, the most extensive worldwide nuclear testing of any year (178 nukes detonated!), massive floods like the North Sea Flood or the great flood of Hamburg, major Civil Rights riots, and the Cuban Missile Crisis, which brought us to the brink of nuclear war...    

 

With all the possibilities this year, we will need a lot of forgiveness towards ourselves and each other.  So, give people a lot of territory to roam.  Give your heart a lot of territory to roam.  Choose kindness, and when forming opinions, opt for collective wellbeing, err on the side of most compassionate.”

 

If you have some time to sit and read and enjoy that type of thing, this is worth your time to ponder.  http://www.tigersplayastrology.com/tigers-play

 

Finally,

I am excited to start a new program on April 18th! 

Join me and reset your second brain! On April 18th we are starting a whole body healing program. This program comes packed with inspiration, education and guidance and is supported with products that jump start this to happen from the ground floor up. 

 

So many of us deal with:

Chronic inflammation

Poor sleep

Difficulty paying attention

Brain fog

Pain

Cravings

Irritability, anger, sadness

Digestive issues such as bloating,
heartburn, pain, constipation, diarrhea (or all!)

Stress, worry and anxiety

Chronic anxiety, feelings of sadness and overwhelm

High blood sugars, high blood pressure

Bulging midline

Hormonal swinging with irritability and difficult periods

 

Who even knows where to begin?

There are so many overlapping issues that we don't know where to start.  When I say “ground floor up”, I am referring to rebalancing and rebuilding your gut microbiome.  The program starts with a month, but the reality is, many of us need longer than that to repopulate and rebalance the gut and shift the hormonal signaling that is getting us off track.  You will not be alone.

 

Our gut is not only responsible for digesting and assimilating our food (both the “good” food and the “bad” food) but our gut microbiome directly influences our thoughts, moods and behaviors. The gut and the brain have a bidirectional line of communication. Loop in the hormonal pathways and we have a complex and amazing system.

 

The products used for “Project Repopulation” contain a broad range of targeted prebiotics, probiotics, phytobiotics and postbiotics.  These beneficial bacteria work to not only repopulate and “crowd out” the bad bacteria and reset the offline systems but they help to reestablish the correct hormonal signaling and neurotransmitter communication.  Doing this helps with gut health (obviously!) but what that means for you is: better mood, improved sleep, decrease in inflammation, improved stress resiliency….the list could go on!

 

What you get:

  • Education in bite size pieces
  • Research to support the science behind why working from the ground floor up is so important
  • Recipes
  • Weekly videos
  • Group support (Access to both a private Facebook group as well as a larger one)
  • One on one support as needed. 
  • Weekly meditation/energetic acupuncture group session
  • Fun, resources and community!

 

What you need to know:

For those of you who know me, know that I am not big on drastic changes (unless it is called for and even then we go at an individual pace).  This is no different.  There is definitely a structure to this program, but we have enough flexibility that we can start exactly where you are.  The key is to decrease inflammation and get you on track to discover the root of problems and re-establish new lifestyle habits that lead to long term health.

 

Project Repopulation focuses on 3 areas: 
Eat. Move. Sleep. 

EAT - Intermittent Fasting is a part of this program.  There is so much research regarding the benefits of Intermittent Fasting (and I will give it to you!) but it often feels kind of intimidating. Don’t worry!  There is flexibility within this.  We will start where you are.  There are also different levels of fasting that are helpful for men and women.  I am aware of these differences.

 

MOVE - We need to move our bodies!  The better you feel, the easier this gets!

 

SLEEP - Sleep is the other foundational part (aside from the gut).  If you aren’t sleeping, there is so much that becomes offline.  And, there are so many people who ARE. NOT. SLEEPING. 

 

The results from utilizing this program (even with slow starts or slip ups!) are inspiring.  I know.  I ran my own independent research study with a few participants prior to offering this. I do not like to recommend and back things that do not work or only kind of work.  I had to test it. I funded it, so it was small, but the changes these few people saw were unexpected. Even for me, who was obviously hoping for the best.  Some of the things that were seen were: Improved sleep, decreased cravings, less overeating, ability to stop eating after dinner and at night, improved ability to handle life and stress and less irritability.  This is only after a month.  This is with partial compliance and ingrained habits.  I am excited to continue to help this shift and see even more of what is in store for them.  Join us.

 

What to do now:

Email me at info@littleowlmedicine.com to get a link for purchasing the products, information and access to the Facebook groups and to answer any questions that you may have.

 

Get ready to feel better and to have a supportive group to cheer you on!

And…..

The kid version is set to start May 1st!!!   Stay tuned to how supporting the gut microbiome can be helpful for our kids!

Stay tuned for more! 

Enjoy spring this year.  After two years of the pandemic, we are moving towards the endemic phase.  Move with this transition and nourish that Liver!

1724 Northeast 42nd Avenue, Portland, OR, USA
503-312-4223

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