Put some Spring in your Step with Shiatsu!

Hello, Gary here again-welcome to the latest of my quarterly seasonal blogs dealing with the seasons from a Shiatsu perspective. Hopefully many of you reading this will have read the “Winter” article, will have re-charged well and are now ready to spring forward with zest as the sun warms us and everything around. For those of you who don’t feel fully in tune with the season change yet, why not try a Shiatsu session to give you that much needed boost and get you back on track.

And so to Spring………….Spring is a time for new growth, regeneration and cleansing. It is the time of the Liver and Gall Bladder meridians, (the so-called wood meridians).

• It is therefore a good time for a de-tox and eating fresh, new green vegetables (green is the colour associated with these meridians).
• Liver meridian has links with muscles and the reproductive system and is said to control the tendons in the body, storing the blood as we rest and then supplying it to the tendons as we become active, so why not incorporate some gentle stretches into your day (the makko-ho yoga stretches relate directly to the meridians-I can show you these in an individual session if you wish).
• As seeds sprout and the sun’s warmth promotes new growth, this is a great time for enhancing the liver meridian energy flow with outdoor activities. These “Wood” meridians have a direct relationship with the flow of energy (Ki) and blood throughout the body and so disharmony here will potentially result in symptoms such as physical stiffness, frustration, anger, migraines, IBS and depression. Such stagnation as we term it in the Shiatsu world, is eminently treatable with Shiatsu, itself but also regular Tai chi/Chi kung classes can be extremely beneficial.
• Liver meridian also opens into the eyes so be gentle with your eyes this Spring-don’t spend too long at the computer keyboard and consider using eye-baths.
• Liver and Gall Bladder meridians both relate to decision–making so if you are going round and round in ever decreasing circles over an issue it could be time for that Shiatsu session!
• The taste associated with Liver and Gall Bladder meridians is sour i.e sour tasting foods help to improve meridian function. This does not mean you should overdose on sour foods-just small changes result in best results e.g. just squeeze a lemon over salads or into your glass of filtered water.

Well, hopefully some useful ideas here to help put spring into your step. If you have any specific queries feel free to contact me either at garyr.moore@talktalk.net or on 01603 614735 or via the clinic on 01603 528704.