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Southside Shiatsu Spring Equinox 2010 Newsletter:
Dear friends,
Spring is a time of welcoming back the warming energies of the sun. It is a time of thaw when energy pushes up and out of the darkness, awakening in a spreading green dream. Strong wind stirs emotion. Trees fill with sap and keep the earth from being washed away by chaotic floods as the snow melt and rain mix.
The liver and gall bladder speak the loudest in spring and desire order. In the absence of that order, they can erupt through the skin in hot, red irritation. They can heat the brain as their energies rise up and through the shoulders wrapping around the ears and eyes. The liver can wreak utter havoc if it is not anchored by the cooling, yin blood that the liver filters and stores. Like the blustery wind of spring, the liver can begin to blow an internal wind that can lead to tremors, seizures and strokes.
All imbalances of the liver/gallbladder begin with stagnation. The liver/gallbladder can easily become clogged by fat, chemicals, intoxicants and processed foods. Excessive eating can easily disrupt the complex network of biochemical processes. The liver is responsible for the smooth flow of qi in the body, and also rules the tendons and the eyes. Red, irritated eyes, headaches, and joint pain can all be caused by liver qi stagnation.
In spring eat less. Eat fresh. Eat local spring greens. Cut back on meat, cheese, eggs and all deep fried foods. It is a great time to bring raw and sprouted food back into the mix; food full of the energy, and the live enzymes that spring brings as a gift of cleansing and renewal.
Spring is an ideal season to cleanse the body.
Cooling, bitter spring greens are excellent allies. The bitter flavor helps to stimulate bile production and improves overall digestion. Dandelion greens, watercress, and blue violet leaves can all be added to a salad.
Spirulina can be added to a raspberry/strawberry smoothie as an excellent builder of liver blood.
Organic apple-cider vinegar is an excellent remedy for a stagnant liver. Add one tablespoon of apple-cider vinegar to an 8 oz. glass of room temperature water. A teaspoon of honey can be added as well to help the medicine go down.
Here is an excellent spring tonic that was shared with me by my herbal teacher, Gina McGarry:
Take a Quart Jar and pack it full of one handful of Cleavers (Gallium aparine), one handful of Chickweed (Stellaria media),and one handful of Nettles ( Urtica dioica)...use gloves when handling stinging nettles. Cover the herbs with Organic Apple-Cider vinegar and let sit for an hour. Then top off the jar with vinegar and seal tightly. Let this sit for two weeks and then strain out the spring tonic and add one tablespoon to 8 oz. of water daily. It also makes an excellent salad dressing when added to olive oil and freshly squeezed lemon.
And, of course, Shiatsu is a great ally in helping to harmonize the energies of the liver/gallbladder.
Southside Shiatsu continues to offer package deals and a sliding fee scale to try and be more economically accessible.
This spring Southside Shiatsu is participating in the:
6th Annual Ceremonia Chalchiutlicue & Environmental Justice Summit
May 21-23, 2010
http://www.chalchiutlicue.org/
Please visit the massage chair during this weekend at Powderhorn Park.
In health,
David Miller
Southside Shiatsu
612 245-9834
*See previous newsletters here.