Learn about qualities of the Wood Element of Chinese medicine, including movement practices for spring, the Chinese herbal formula Xiao Yao San 逍遙散, and some western herbs too!
(Scroll below for the article, or visit https://blog.mountainroseherbs.com/spring-tcm-formula-for-moving-liver-qi )
With Poppies popping, Elders flowering, and Sycamores leafing, we welcome spring. May you also cultivate healthy rest, movement, connection, nutrition, and creativity as we move through the winds of change.
AAPI HAVEN │ In the wake of recent hate crimes against Asian Americans, I'm offering $10 off all of my services for Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) folks only, for the month of April. The recent events have shaken me on both a personal and professional level. I hope to support my community however I can. If my rates are still inaccessible to you, then contact me, and let's chat.
Speak up to support the AAPI community. Speak out against racism and acts of hatred. Add your voice to the voices of others, on social media, and in your conversations: violence against the AAPI community, and in general, is absolutely unacceptable. Racism in general, and against AAPI, is not tolerated.
Here's some anti- racism resources:
ONLINE CONSULTS │ I continue treating patients with acupuncture/ cupping in person, as I have all pandemic. Even as our worlds gradually re- open, I will continue offering online consultations:
INTERPLAY FOCUS SESSIONS │ InterPlay is an active, creative way to unlock our bodies' wisdom. In focus sessions, I support you in exploring a topic through embodied improvisational movement, vocalization, and story- telling. I welcome you with a $10 discount through April--- just mention this newsletter. Other InterPlay offerings:
CLASSES │ I've been teaching a lot online recently, and having so much fun! I'm happy to collaborate with you or your organization with my diverse toolkit of ancient Chinese medicine, western herbal, yoga, creative improvisational, and mindfulness practices. Just ask! Here's a menu of past classes, for ideas.
MEDIA │ I started posting weekly "in the clinic this week..." reflections on social media, usually every Tuesday. Visit my Instagram/ Facebook pages to better understand how else Acupuncture can support you... and enjoy my spring flower photos/ videos. Listen to some new podcasts on my podcasts page, too.
GIFTING BIPOC │ If you'd like to make a gift to a BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) person for my services, then please visit this page. You can make a donation on PayPal (please indicate it's for a BIPOC gift), or purchase a gift card via Square for a specific person. Please reference my services & fees on this page. Thank you for supporting our larger community.
WILDERNESS STEWARDSHIP │ As golden poppies and other flowers burst into bloom, please enjoy our public lands--- and recreate responsibly. Social distancing and mask wearing are still important, as are other Covid- safety and Leave No Trace principles. Thank you for helping take care of all of us, including Mama Earth!
Enjoy the beauty + power of spring,
Jiling
Jiling Lin, L.Ac. 林基玲
acupuncture . herbs . yoga
JilingLin.com | 575.342.1050
Moon poetry, acupressure, herbal, and yoga glimmers:
Be informed + inspired:
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(April 2021 Newsletter)
Happy Spring Equinox!
Elderflowers are budding, baby Sycamore leaves are popping out of their winter coats, our tomato plants inch taller everyday, and bees and hummingbirds swarm incandescent aromatic blue Rosemary flowers.
What plants are growing around you right now?
Spring is associated with the element of Wood, in Chinese medicine. Wood governs the Liver and Gallbladder meridians, anger, compassion, dreams, vision, wind, goals, decisions, and aligned forward momentum.
What does spring feel like in your body?
Eat fresh wild spring greens, such as baby dandelion, plantain, dock, chickweed, chives, mallow, and garlic mustard.
Move your body. Release stagnant qi/ energy from sheltering in place. Enjoy a nourishing regular movement practice, such as simple walking, and/or breath- integrated practices like yoga, qigong, and dance.
What are your greatest visions?
Nourish life, or 養生 (yang shen), through healthy rest, movement, connection, nutrition, and creative expression. And of course, come in for acupuncture + herbs! 😍
How are you actively moving your dreams into reality, every single day?
Enjoy these FREE offerings to inspire your spring:
🍃 Embodying Elements: Spring Equinox
🍃 Interplay info session
🍃 Insight Timer meditations
🍃 Community Resources
Move your dreams into reality with the Wood element of Chinese Medicine. Align your visions and actions through improvisational movement, sound, and storytelling. Join us for this FREE Spring Equinox Interplay journey, on Saturday, March 20 at 1 PM PST! Register here:
Embody somatic skills + learn creative tools for optimized joyful living! Join our free session on March 6 at 4 PM PST to learn more about us. Email me to sign up!
Enjoy these free meditations, and join me for upcoming weekly donation- based yoga/ meditation classes through Insight Timer!
Lokha samastha sukhino bhavantu
May all beings be happy.
Happy spring!
Jiling
Jiling Lin, L.Ac. 林基玲
acupuncture . herbs . yoga
JilingLin.com | 575.342.1050
Moon poetry, acupressure, herbal, and yoga glimmers:
Be informed + inspired:
💮Join my monthly newsletter!
Join us next Saturday, March 6, for a free Interplay Life Practice Program info session!
Enjoy this Mountain Rose Herbs interview! Bevin asks me about my clinical practice, herbal work, and more. I hope you find some golden jewels in here. Podcast coming soon. I'd love to hear what you find most interesting, and/ or wish to hear more about. Contact me anytime! Find acupuncture/ herbs clinic info on JilingLin.com, along with upcoming events.
How do you express and process past experiences? How do you vision and plan future possibilities?
Journaling is an embodied practice that connects mind and body by bringing pen to paper. This releases stored thoughts, memories, dreams, ideas, and more. The hidden potential of your subconscious finds a path into the world.
This may be a cathartic release: let it out, let it go.
Or, surprising new insights may emerge: organize your thoughts, create action items, then move your dreams into reality.
If you are already journaling, then how can you enliven your practice? What areas of your journaling practice feel dead or outdated? How can you breathe fresh air into this area of your life?
If you are not currently journaling, then try it. Set the stage (see below), then commit to at least a month of daily writing. With so much stimulus in our daily lives, journaling offers solace, an opportunity to rest, reflect, and dream.
Create a daily journaling ritual by setting the stage, then committing to it:
Choose a dedicated journal that feels good, and a smooth-flowing pen or pencil.
Journal at the same time each day (I like first thing in the morning)
Journal at the same location each day
Stream of consciousness
Julia Cameron’s “The Artist’s Way” book calls for three pages of daily stream-of-consciousness writing, first thing in the morning, every morning. This is an integral process in Cameron’s process of sparking creativity, and living an expressive life.
I commit to one paragraph, but usually fill at least one page. Do what feels best for you. If your time is limited, then simply commit to laying pen to paper for a few minutes each morning.
Doodling
Stream-of-consciousness writing may include not only text, but also doodles. Sometimes, our thoughts are so unformed that no words arise; only shapes or colors come out. Have colors on hand to simply make marks: small blots, large splotches, lines that go nowhere but everywhere… experiment, and feel into it. I love crayons: they make immediate marks, and are easy to use. Again, find what feels best for you.
Prompts
If absolutely nothing comes to mind when sitting down to write, then here are some simple daily prompts:
List three things that you are grateful for in this moment.
List three things that you are grateful for that are coming (visioning the future).
List three things that I saw/ heard/ felt yesterday (observational exercise)
List three goals for today
Daily gratitude connects us with what is important to us, and a sense of connection and pleasure for what we have. It is particularly helpful to bring life into perspective during rough times: this life is a gift, and there is much to be thankful for.
Manifestation includes clearly visualizing what we want, so that we can first internally mobilize our resources, before outward action/ transformation can occur. Listing “future gratitude” and daily goals can help set this in motion.
The Journal
I made a 4x5 leather cover out of recycled leather scraps. I make and insert 120 pages of fresh pages into my cover about 3 times a year. This creates a travel-friendly book that’s small and portable, and feels good: the natural oils of my hands lubricates the leather, which is shiny from daily use and years of love. I have used the same journal since 2008, and have stacks of inner booklets.
When I feel moody, I may freehand pages of purging words and doodles with large crayons, then rip and/ or burn it.
Create a daily ritual, then give it space to breathe. Adjust each day as necessary, but keep the basic structure: write everyday. Draw everyday. Choose one ritual activity that helps you intentionally clear the old and welcome the new to create more beauty, spaciousness, and joy in your life, and all the lives that you affect in your one wild and precious life.
Entering 2021
What were my highlights from 2020?
What challenged me, in 2020?
What are my yearly, quarterly, monthly, weekly, and daily goals in 2021?
How do I track and hold myself accountable for my goals?
What is my life Purpose?
Am I walking in alignment with my Purpose?
How do my actions align with my intentions?
Happy New Year.
