Spring Rising

The energy of spring moves upwards and outwards. You can see it all around you. Just as the Golden Wattle puts on a big show in the bush, the greens in your garden are suddenly bursting up and out, this is the time of year when grass grows most fiercely and often when we get heavy rains. The season change feels early this year – mid-August rather than mid-September. This early change will provide some challenges for a few of us, and be a welcome blessing for others. If your energy has stayed strong over winter, you will rise with this energy – yesterday my daughter was doing cartwheels on the grass for the joy of it. If your energy is a little depleted over winter, this season will challenge you in some way.

The impact of all that energy trying to rise up and out when you are still feeling a little cold and challenged could be liver stagnation. The liver keeps the energy of the body moving smoothly. If the energy does not move smoothly we can suffer constipation, pains moving around our body, asthma (the breath not going out freely) and sometimes depression or those feeling-flat emotional states that can be annoying and hard to shift. For me, I find it harder to be ‘present in my body’ as the energy goes a bit haywire.

Tune into your eating desires at this time of year and see what they say. I crave greens and want to eat lighter and do not want too much rich food (meat, dairy, cakes, over-eating). There are a few key things you can do to help your liver:

· Stop eating 2-3 hours before going to bed so nights are for rest and repairing.

· Stop at 80% full – overeating puts pressure on your liver and gall bladder.

· Eat as much leafy greens as you can. (At this time of year, in addition to the kales, lettuces and other greens, I eat the tops of my daikon radish, parsnips, carrots turnips – as I am desperate for all that green stuff).

· Barley soup is a classic spring meal, make it with plenty of greens. This recipe is cooling though, so don’t have it just before one of those classic returns to winter weather – check your weather ap.

· Miso soups made with leafy greens, stock and mushrooms are perfect at this time.

· Try a mung bean soup with celery, carrot, mushrooms and leak.

· We keep coriander going in our garden and it goes wild at this time of year – try a nice pesto on vegetables. We also eat our stored basil pesto from summer.

· Increase the balance of vegetables to grains in your diet at this time of year.

· Incorporate the sour taste in your diet 3-4 times a week: Granny smith apple, lemon juice, umeboshi plum (available at IGA), sour plum and cherry. If you do not like the sour taste: it probably means you need it. Sauerkraut is perfect – in fact, try all of your fermented preserves as they help the liver.

Overall, think light not heavy and think green. Keep your emotional state patient and compassionate. Try to get moving, and be outdoors more so you can enjoy these first signs of the energy rising after the long winter.