[Xmas Day 6] How To Find Balance in Heightened Emotions For The Rest of The Year
On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me..
Hello, friends of Yours,Yan
đ On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love sent to me..JOY
Joy - an emotional state of heightened happiness.Â
I am often described a person of extremes.
I am either too serious or too fun. I am either all in or all out. I either stick to a routine to the tee or just ditch it all the way completely.Â
Finding balance has never been quite my forte in my 20s to early 30s. I am always rushing, hushing and pushing - the typical go-go energy we see so often in the modern society.Â
But of late, something has shifted in me that I came to truly embrace the art of practicing balance. And it has changed my lifeâs perspectives in so many ways, I am still processing it.Â
I am not sure if any of you have heard or are interested in spirituality/esoteric/mysticism but this has always been a deepest part of who I am.Â
Over the years, I discovered that the rush-hush-push energy is a masculine form of energy, while the opposite of flow-receive-creation is a feminine form of energy.Â
What continues to fascinate me is that nature works in systems of extremes too - the yin/yang, masculine/feminine, light/dark, day/night, sun/moon. You get the idea.Â
Natural systems has its own self-regulation to keep things going in life. Even chaos and destruction comes with birth and growth. Even when a species become extinct, cycles of life will recalibrate to deal with this loss, albeit with painful âside effectsâ that may affect other players in this system.Â
Remember a year ago, when I had a painful year of emotional heartbreak and the recurrence of my lower back pain, that I couldnât get out of bed, or perform basic activities of living?Â
I now am able to do more than just that!
What had helped me get out of bed and the emotional heart break?Â
Thanks to a daily practice of 20-min of Qigong, alongside with acupuncture and nutritional changes during those few months, had helped restore my energy flow along the meridian lines that affected my lower back.
A Bit of Confession & Revelation
Just when I thought I would jumped for joy (the other extreme emotional state), instead, I felt an inner sense of balance, harmony like never before. Not only do I feel stronger and lighter, I also feel more in-tuned with whoever I am now, and an indescribable awakening sensation, perhaps for the 4th time in my life.
I have always been a spiritually connected person, I supposed, since my cancer diagnosis 15 years ago, so this isnât a new feeling for me. ( I have my fair share of battling with this spiritual side of me but thatâs a story for another day).
Now, instead of fighting this renewed âinner connectionâ, I now allow myself to embrace it. You can say tapping into the feminine / yin of me.Â
And just when I do, things around me start to shift.Â
Synchronicity happens, doors that are meant for me open, and doors that arenât not meant for me were just shut closed, no matter how hard I try to fight back.Â
For some reason, I started to go back to my roots as an Asian Chinese, and became really fascinated once more, with Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), its philosophy, theories and Qigong.
Doors to this pursuit open up , sufficient resources and time came my way effortlessly, enabling me to attend online workshops and classes. I even bought some second-hand classical books in Mandarin and took some time for my brain to get reacquainted with reading Mandarin!
It is as if the Universe/God/Source/Higher Power is really having my back towards this path â a path I once found but ran away.Â
Can We Be Overjoyed and Fall Sick?
TCM believes that our emotional states have an influence with specific organs, and each of these organs correlates to the 5 elements ( Earth, Wood, Fire, Water, and Metal). Hence, if you do visit a TCM physician, he/she will tend to look out for the patientâs emotional state too.Â
It is not that the emotional state is a direct cause of an ailment, but that the emotional levels can have an impact on how the organ systems are âtalkingâ to each other, hence throw the bodyâs energy system off-balance.Â
According to the Su-Wen ç´ ĺ text, âthe five yin-organs of the human body produce 5 kinds of essential qi, which brings forth joy, anger, grief, worry and fear.âÂ
Each of these emotions are tied to a specific organ:
Joy - Heart (Fire),
Anger - Liver (Wood),
Grief - Lung (Metal),
Worry - Spleen (Earth),
Fear - Kidney (Water)
Of course, we are humans and itâs normal to have emotions, else we are just A.I. robots. But in TCM, we look out for extreme states of emotions, which can tip the energetic balance of the body off, and thus open the doors to illnesses and diseases.Â
Take Joy for example, in TCM, too much joy is also known as overly excitement or agitation. Since joy is related to the heart-fire, too much joy can result in symptoms such as heart palpitations, insomnia and repeated agitation (when the joy wears off).Â
Whatâs even more fascinating is that TCM, like many ancient medicine practices, do not suppress the symptoms of illnesses and diseases with quick-fix drugs but instead work to harmonize the energy flow in the body by removing blockages.Â
In this holiday season, let us go have more fun and joy in the moment.Â
Laugh, sing, dance.Â
But perhaps, remember to take small moments to calibrate your emotions.Â
Too much of a good thing can also be harmful.Â
Guess thatâs why they call it the Post-holiday blues?Â
đ DAY 6 GIFT FOR YOUR HEALTH AND WELL-BEING
Do you have 180 seconds to spare?
I like to invite you to intentionally practice Box Breathing once a day.
It is a simple way to restore our emotional and nervous system to healthy equilibrium, whether you feel stressed, worried, or feel overjoyed, box breathing is a easy practice to do.
How to Box-Breathe?
Inhale 4 counts.
Hold 4 counts.
Exhale 4 counts.
Hold 4 counts.
Repeat this until 180 seconds is up, longer if you need to.
P.S. Wanna try box breathe as you open your Christmas presents? đ§âđ
đ Your Turn
How are you feeling, this holiday season, my readers?
In case, no one has asked you - I like to acknowledge your presence here. You are seen, loved and much appreciated.Â
Till Day 7 of Xmas-gifting,
Yours,
Yan â¤ď¸
PsstâŚRead and find out what my true love gave to me on
[Day 1] My 12 Days of Christmas Gift For Your Health and Well-Being
[Day 2] What I Have Been Noticing In The Wellness Space And It Is Irking The He** Outta MeÂ
[Day 3] What Do You Call The Spirit That Is In The Air, The Feeling That We All Share?
[Day 5] A Secret Tool That May Help You Stay In Your Lane For The New Year
đ QUOTE FOR THOUGHT
âWhen there is anger, the Qi rises up.
When there is elation, the Qi becomes loose.
When there is sadness, the Qi disappears.
When there is fear, the Qi descends.
When there is cold, the Qi is gathered.
When there is heat, the Qi flows outwards.
When there is startling with fright, the Qi is in disorder.
When there is fatigue, the Qi is damaged.
When there is obsessive thought, the Qi is knotted.â
- Su-Wen, Chapter 39
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