The Water element
The season for the water element is winter.
The organs for water energy are the bladder, which is a yang organ, and the kidneys, which are yin organs. The bladder meridian runs along either side of the spine and is particularly useful when treating back problems. If you are in water, the water will gently support your body. The bladder meridian works in the same way. The water energy in the bladder meridian supports your spine and helps to keep you upright.
Think a little deeper about water energy. Are you tired? Is your sleep disturbed or too short? A negative emotion for water energy is fear, so are you a fearful type of person? If this is starting to resonate with you, then you may need to consider the water element and how you can fortify it.
Rest and relaxation replenish water energy
The Wood Element
After rest comes movement. Springtime is when water energy is transformed into wood energy. Nature is waking up after the darkness and long nights of the winter. The time of day for wood energy is the Early morning.
This brings us to another aspect of wood energy. If you are getting up to go on vacation somewhere exciting, it feels different from getting up to go to work.
You know that if you are going to work, you will be there to work. If you are getting up to do your own thing, you will normally feel enthusiastic about it.
Vision and control are both aspects of wood energy. If somebody is exerting an influence that prevents you from seeing your visions through, this can lead to anger. Enough anger may lead to an explosion. Anger is a negative aspect of wood energy..
Working on tight deadlines can frustrate wood energy.
In tai chi, if turning the waist is a problem, think about the wood energy. Do you have an internal conflict in which you cannot decide which movement should be next? Can you “see” into the form so that you know where you are going with it? Turning and decision-making are required in the form. If they are your weakness, think about your wood energy.
The Fire Element:-
After springtime, we therefore have the season of maximum yang energy: summer. Fruit swells and ripens on the trees. The migrating birds have arrived and are nesting. The leaves on the trees have grown and are absorbing energy from the sun. Nature is in its most active, or yang, phase.
After the growth and vision of the wood energy in the springtime, there follows a need to express that energy. Without self expression (fire), the power of the wood energy cannot be released, which means that the energy can become “stuck” in anger and frustration.
The time of day for fire energy is midday. The organs of fire energy are the heart and small intestine. In Taoism, the heart is the center of love and happiness ..
Creativity is linked to fire energy.
practice tai chi, do you have a passion for what you are doing, or are you just going through the motions? Can you express your inner self with the form? Are you actually enjoying it? If you are passionate about what you are doing, you must be enjoying it. This is an expression of fire energy within the form. If you find that you are no longer in that
state, maybe you need to look at different ways of expressing yourself within the form—release some of that fire energy! Remember that fire is the most active energy in the five-element cycle, which, if utilized, will allow you to take great steps forward.
The Earth Element:-
The time of day for earth energy is mid to late afternoon. It is a time when you have finished your midday meal and it would feel great just to lie down in a hammock and rest for a while—if only!
The feeling of earth energy is one of “groundless.” It is the opposite of the head-in-the-clouds type of feeling that you may experience if you live in your imagination. If your earth energy is healthy, there is a feeling of being in contact with your own body and with the planet Earth. The organs of earth energy are the spleen
and stomach. In energetic terms, they rule digestion, not just of food, but also of information and ideas. The creative aspect of fire is being assimilated into the body by the earth energy.
Earth energy has control over your muscles, especially those in your legs. tai chi, we need strong legs
If your body is doing one thing and your mind is jumping from one thing to the next, it is probably because you do not
Feel grounded. This means that you need to review your connection to the earth energy.
Our feet and legs connect us to earth energy.
The Metal Element:-
As the year comes to a close and late summer turns to fall, the trees start to let go of their leaves, animals go into hibernation, and birds fly, or have flown, south for the winter. Nature is getting ready to hibernate, or to close down, for a while. The weather becomes cooler as yin starts to become stronger than yang. This is the time of year for metal energy.
It is the time of day when we relax and get ready for bed. We usually have some kind of ritual before going to sleep, whether it be using the bathroom and putting on our bedclothes or saying a quick prayer before settling. These are all aspects of metal energy.
Another aspect of metal energy is division. Just as a knife cuts things into pieces, so metal energy cuts and divides
things into smaller chunks. Metal energy can become lost in the past or in grieving for that which has gone. Just as death brings grief and memories of the past, the onset of fall and winter can bring sadness over the memory of the glorious days of summer.
The organs of metal energy are the lungs and large intestine. The lungs are the devices that give us chi from the air, while the large intestine eliminates waste.
Metal energy is said to rule our boundaries. Skin is also ruled by metal energy.
Common challenges posed by the metal element are losing your breath during training, overanalyzing the form instead of just doing it, and worrying too much about the last mistake. Despite being a very challenging element, the clarity that it brings when you meet the challenge is undeniable.
Winter is the season for metal.
Grief is an expression of metal energy.
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