Looking to start some deep, structural changes within yourself? A personal transformation that goes beyond outward appearances? Those changes that aren’t just superficial but a deep transformation in the way you think, the habits you have, the way you feel, act and behave? It might be easier make these changes in tune with the natural rhythm of mother nature.
Autumn in Traditional Chinese Medicine is related to the element of Metal and the Lung (Fei). Our lungs take in air and expel the impure within us. It is natural that our lungs let go of the old just as the trees drop their leaves and the crops are harvested. It is a natural time of letting go of those parts that are no longer useful to us.
But even more importantly, Autumn isn’t just a time of letting go. Trees will drop their acorns, chestnuts and fir cones – the very seeds for next year. Ripened berries dangling off plants hold within them all the potential for next years crop. Plants will rely on Autumn winds to spread their seeds. In a sense, there is a Yin to the Yang – the old is let go but at the same time the seed containing all the potential of the parents is made ready for Spring.
If you want to start changing yourself on a deep structural level, Autumn may be the perfect time to begin. Forget waiting for New Years. Autumn is the start of the process where we seek to let go of old habits, old ways of thinking and old beliefs and patterns that no longer serve us.
Winter then, is where the real, profound and deep changes occur. In nature, winter is where everything is rested and made ready for the full force of Spring to take hold. Without Winter, Spring could not be. During Winter, the earth is nourished with rain. It takes in all the dropped leaves and withered crops and begins to compost them, using them to renew the earth. Winter in Chinese Medicine is related to the Kidneys (Shen) which hold our life essence (Jing). Working on ourselves during the Winter is when we can take advantage of the deepest Yin time of the year to start shifting our consciousness and habits. In a metaphorical sense, we can use the dying of old habits and begin replacing them with new ones. Change during winter is never really a superficial change. It is a change that takes place at the root of our being.
Spring is when the work of Autumn and Winter starts to bloom. The green shoots of plants appear, the days get warmer and from the seemingly barren soils of Winter, nature shoots forth. In Spring, the work that we put in during Autumn and Winter allows us to express the ‘new’ us. It’s not really a new us though, it’s just a different us, one built from what preceeded us. Summer is the fullest expression of Yang and by this time we will nearly have come full circle.
As the seasons rotate, what was once us, becomes more of a distant memory. There is always an ‘us’ being let go, nurtured, springing forth and blooming. We can use the natural flow of nature’s cycles to enhance this change within us.
Acupuncture can help with transformation in many ways. The very nature of acupuncture is transformation. There is an inherent recognition with Chinese Medicine Theory that energy is never really ‘gotten rid of’, but it is transformed from one thing to another. Releasing blockages, dealing with trauma, helping with discipline and our own energy are all things acupuncture can help with, particularly if we are looking for that deep, profound change within us that will allow us live our lives to the fullest of our potential.
