Hope
Our lives can look so darn beautiful online, on paper, on FB, IG, etc. but let’s face it: life is super super messy. And the beautiful, happy moments can often take agonizing WORK. As much as I don’t want to, I will disappoint people and others will disappoint me. I’ll have unreasonable expectations of others and others will blame me unjustly. I will do my best to be strict with myself and lenient with others and will fail over and over. The clouds can cover the sun and we can feel cloaked in darkness. We are savage and we are kind. We are greedy and we are generous. We are arrogant and we are humble. We walk through valleys and peaks through these vacillating states of being and states of life, often coming to the same conclusions: life grows, adapts and changes, and we are not separate from that. If we keep choosing a path that brings peace and harmony to ourselves, to others and to all of life then we enter the flow of a river that leads to true and real love. We can’t climb the mountain in one day but each step MATTERS, each small change MATTERS, and pretty soon we get to enjoy a pretty nice view from our climb. ️
Some of us are still hibernating (and reflecting) through the end of these winter months. Each season, as our natural environment shifts, so does the strength of Qi within different organs and meridians. We are still in winter, a yin time when we draw inward, when our Kidney energy is at its height.
Kidney energy correlates to the water element, adaptability, our willpower, and our ability to be still and take comfort in the unknown. Each organ in Chinese medicine is linked to an emotion, and the emotion of the Kidneys is fear. Many of us experience fear as we begin a new year or new endeavor, as we set out towards our new goals. Fear is a healthy and appropriate emotion. By strengthening our Kidney energy, we restore our body’s ability to handle fear effectively, gaining comfort in the unknown and reserving fear for necessary and appropriate situations.
Our Kidneys house our "battery pack", life force, known as “Jing” or “Essence.” The strength of our Essence stems from our constitutions – i.e. what we inherited from our parents – as well as the quality of food and Qi that we consume. Winter is the time for bone broths and fortifying soups.
Set aside time to spend alone to draw inward for reflection and contemplation. Be truly alone - turn off all screens and sit with yourself. Before we know it Spring will be here and so will its energy of rebirth and activity. Reflect on how you've showed up for yourself this winter, forgive your missteps with inner resolve, and write down three concrete ways to care for yourself in the days ahead.
Self-care and reflection strengthens your inner reserves providing clarity for a clear path forward as we slowly move into Spring. It allows you to be more available for your community. After you have nourished yourself, take the time to spend time with friends and loved ones. Honor the shorter days by spending time cherishing and celebrating positive memories and finding strength together to face any lingering challenges.
I hope to see you at one of my deeper offerings in the coming months. The Winter Revival workshop is especially designed to nourish Kidney, Heart and Yin energy in the body. The 3-Day Pangu Journey can help peel away layers of stagnancy in body and mind/heart, opening layers of consciousness, and unveiling one’s kindest, most sincere and benevolent nature. The intensity of 3 days is by design as each practice will build on the one before, and bring us into spring with more ease and purpose.
#reallife #lightanddark #loveyou #hereweare #smile #momenttomoment #stepbystep
Love for the journey,
Anisha