Growing Healthy with the Energy of Spring

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Poison creek runs through our backyard. It is a diurnal creek fed from the snowmelt of the Wasatch mountains. In the spring I find myself standing on the bridge mesmerized by the ever rising level of swirling muddy water.

I watch the thin red roots of the willows that line the bank grow longer and deeper. There’s an old cottonwood tree there, too. Its roots are much more impressive being wide and deep to anchor the large tree.

The energy or the quality of nature that is significant this time of year is growth of roots. The seeds have woken up, the tender sprouts are there, but they need to establish a good root to thrive.

Since nature has this quality of roots and we are of nature, how does this manifest in you?

It begins with our feet. The bottom of our feet have a special aspect to them. There are no capillaries, just arteries and veins. It’s a special spot where the body releases heat through the blood, but also pumps the blood back up to the heart. It is a unique place where the energy moves down and up simultaneously. The unity of opposites, an important concept in Eastern medicine.

According to the Eastern principles of the Five Elements, Earth energy or Qi moves down to help grow roots and give us ground. Liver energy/Qi moves up towards the light. The light energy of spring is powerful after the dark of winter to promote growth and change.

How do you create root?

Since this is an embodied medicine, we look to our body for the answer. We create root with standing poses in yoga. We massage our feet. We do walking meditations. We walk barefoot on the ground.

How can we balance the energy that moves up with the energy that moves down?

Connect to the ground with the heat that comes out of your feet. Feel your feet from the inside. Can you feel the heat emanating from the soles of your feet? This is the interface between your energy system and earth. If your feet are cold, does this mean you are not grounded? Not connected? Maybe. Maybe you don’t feel connected or safe. Maybe your cold feet is a sign of fear.

Notice how you are connecting and rooting in your life. Feel the balance of energy moving both up and down: Liver energy rising and Earth energy grounding. You are rooted, you are grounded, and now you can grow with the light of spring.

Feel renewed in the balance that you have created with rooting as the growth of spring runs through you.