February Self-Healing Tips

February is one day longer this year. That means, other than that the Summer Olympics happen and that we vote for President in November, that we have one extra day to practice our February self-healing. It also means that winter is 1 day longer this year. Extra time to go inward. Extra time to meditate. Extra time to cultivate the energy of the Kidneys.

We are in the Element of Water, a time for giving extra attention to the Kidney and Bladder. For a nutritional tip this month, I am going way back to the most important piece of Chinese nutritional advice I can give you. Drink Water.

How often do you drink water in a day? Do you do it mindlessly or lovingly to your body? Do you do it with reverence and curiosity? - How does it feel to drink this sip of water? What does this water feel like in my mouth? going down my throat?... what happens to the water in my body? Can I feel it hydrating and nourishing my cells all the way down to my feet?

Try this: Drink 2 good sized glasses of good quality water just BEFORE any workout - especially tai chi and yoga. This is very important to do BEFORE, not during or after, your workout. This will hydrate your body and support the flow of the fluid systems and lymph. It also protects against pathogenic heat in the body, which can get created when we don't have enough fluids and yin. When we drink water before we train, the training becomes a wringing out of the body flushing the fluid systems and hydrating cells. As you meditate on drinking water and feel the water nourishing your body, notice how the quality of the water is important, as it becomes a part of you.

The Bladder meridian is all about the flow of energy through the body. Master Zi has described it as being like the main highway through town. So, how's the back-up on your 405 lately? You can gauge it by how you feel. Do you feel like you are stuck in rush-hour traffic on Friday after work? Or do you feel like you are driving at 2am by the light of the full moon? If I had a choice in it, I would personally strive for the open road. The Bladder meridian gets especially congested down the length of the back, on either side of the spine, and down the back of the legs. Bladder 37 is a major point of congestion that is very important to work through in order to support the back so that it can release.

To find Bladder 37, Yin Men, or Gate of Abundance, feel around the back of the thigh, in the belly of the medial (or inner) hamstring muscle to a full, sore point about halfway down the leg. You can massage this point daily on both legs before stretching the hamstrings, or in between stretches. Runner stretch is an excellent stretch to open this area up. For extra efficacy in working your BL 37, try massaging it while sitting in an Epsom salt bath (using the fluidity of water to restore flow to Water). Another option is to roll up a towel and to sit on the floor with 1 leg out in front of you and to place the towel under BL 37. Then roll the leg back and forth over the towel, massaging the point until the muscle begins to open up. In either case, don't forget to breathe.