Recovery

Recovery

Jing, also known as Kidney essence is what our reserves are made of. Each one of us is given our allotted Kidney essence from our parents at the time of conception. When born we supplement this energy reservoir with Qi in the form of oxygen, rest, sleep and food. 

Kidney essence helps us to grow, develop and reproduce, within body mind and spirit and is what provides a juicy ripeness to our health, wellness and longevity. Our watery reservoir which becomes dry and depleted when we:

• Overwork

• Over exercise/activity

• Poor Diet, irregular eating habits

• Lack of sleep

• Chronic Stress

• Severe illness

• Long term drug/alcohol abuse

Kidney essence is stored in our Kidneys. This being Winter and the time of the Water element, it felt poignant to bring to light the importance of Recovery to support our kidney energy.

The water element controls the storage and movement of fluids, a vital life force that keeps the body luscious and lithe and gives us our bounce and abundant energy. 

You can see a wealth of Kidney essence overflowing in children. Sadly as we age, so do our reserves, we become dry, brittle and rigid in mind and body.  When our reservoir is plentiful we are abundant in bone marrow and grey matter putting off premature ageing, greying of hair and weakened teeth and bones.

Reserving our essence is up to us, we can think of it like a bank account, what is going in, (food, rest, sleep, time off) and how much is going out (overwork, chronic stress etc)

Live Fully Without Depletion

It’s not so much around how we deal with or remove stressors from our lives but how do we provide a foundation that serves our full and abundant life? How can we live our dreams, move on intentions and goals if our pond is empty? Think of submerging our beings regularly into Yin nourishing habits to quench our empty vessels, to replete and refill. and keeping us supple and nibble throughout the doing times. 

To live life fully, in various endeavours we need plenty of determination and drive from which we need bucketloads of strength, fortitude and backbone to persevere.  This is all very Yang in energy. These can only be completed whilst supporting our Kidney essence and our bountiful Yin energy. Below are some ideas that can restorative nourishing ideas that can help support and fill depleted reservoir yin energy this winter

Quality Rest

• Nap after lunch - allow for digestion and rest

• Guided meditation or body scan - make time for during the winter for restorative rest

• Avoid late nights and screen free time to relax - earlier bedtimes supports better quality of sleep

• Days off, to do nothing - no plans, chores or lists, read a book, potter, just be

• Receive nourishing bodywork - massage, reflexology, somatic support all add to quality rest

• Acupuncture - supports our mind body health and nourished our yin energy, attuning you to the season of winter

Quality Foods

• Eat warm regular meals - Breakfast Lunch and Dinner - especially in Winter

• Favour wet foods - fruits, steamed or boiled veg, leafy greens, soups and stews, support the water element

• Lots of Water to drink - preferable herbal teas or warm water

• Bone Broth and Seaweed, royal jelly, pollen, walnuts almonds, egg, chicken, nettle, oysters- not necessarily together, these have a direct energetic impact on the kidneys

• Avoid or reduce caffeine, alcohol, tobacco, refined sugar, processed foods and excess salt

• Avoid eating late at night

Quality Breathing

• Breathing deeply into the lower belly/back (our kidneys are located here)

• Spend some time in Childs pose, deepening your breathing into your lower back, exhale with a sigh

• Moving meditation such as Yin Yoga, Tai Chi, Qi Gong,

• Regular gentle soft and relaxing movement, walking, swimming, cycling, outdoors in nature if possible

• Seasonal Breath & Movement Class - taught by myself every Sunday at 10am

To Be Yang, We Must Be Drenched In Yin.

Our emphasis should be on building Yin and our capacity to recover. With a strong ability to recover we are able to make decisions from strength. If you wish to explore this further write two headings with Replete (Yin) and the other Deplete (Yang). Under each column, write what actions have helped you to replete your energy and what actions have depleted your energy. This list acts just like a bank balance, if you find yourself in the red it might be time to refill the reserves.

If you would like to know more about supporting your vital life force at this time of year please don’t hesitate to get in contact. As mentioned above therapies such a in person acupuncture appointments and online seasonal breath and movement class are great ways to support mind and body creating a balance of yin and yang energy so you feel more like you.