Winter, The Time For Peace.
Peace, quiet, gentleness and wisdom are the dominant virtues of the kidneys according to Taoist philosophy and Traditional Chinese Medicine. Winter is the season the kidneys are most dominant, so giving the kidneys extra care at this time is helpful.
The kidneys store our essence or jing and is what makes up our human strength, resistance and vitality. It is a very precious substance and should be guarded and not wasted. In Qi Gong we practice the cultivation of energy for the organs with a major emphasis on the kidneys as it is so crucial to overall health and wellness. We do this through practices of kidney breathing and packing. There are also other practices of bone breathing as the kidney jing produces bone marrow, the brain and spinal cord. A simple meditation for building kidney qi is to simply breathe and expand the kidney area or add holding the breath in the kidneys and repeating the mantra “peace, peace, peace”. The color for the kidneys is blue so imagine blue water wrapping around stones. Energy flows where attention goes so keep your mind on your kidneys when practicing the cultivation of enhancing kidney qi.
The opening or sense for the kidneys is the ears or hearing. The kidneys love silence and nature sounds. The next walk you take in the forest, listen for running water and pull that calm sound in through your ears and down to into your kidneys. In your mind’s eye, wrap your kidneys with blue water light.
As the kidneys are yearning for calm and silence at this time year, now would be a good time to learn the Taoist Meditations of the Six Healing Sounds and The Inner Smile. Meditation can be hard for some people but these meditations take the monkey mind on a journey of the organ system and help cultivate more qi deep into the organs themselves. These are beautiful meditations that will teach you the principles of Chinese Medicine and the balancing of the 5 elements of Fire, Metal, Wood, Earth and Water.
The kidneys and adrenals are restored by the acts of rest and sleep. It can be hard to get rest at this time of year with all the festivities and engagements. I have been using the aid of the Bach Flower Remedies for many years now to get me through busy and challenging times. I would love to share this subtle yet powerful work with you. My consults are half an hour, where I will do a short meditation with you and I will dowse the perfect Bach Flower remedy for you. Perhaps you have heard of the Rescue Remedy, well this is using the same flower essences but choosing the perfect ones to support your specific needs at given time.
The kidneys are the water element. When water turns to ice we feel shock and fear. When the water runs freely we feel calm and peaceful. So keep those kidneys warm this winter and find inner peace by starting your meditation practice to build your kidney qi and learn to move like water through your Gyrotonic or Pilates practices. Flow like the river and flow with life….