The Dao of Spring - Start Small!

Daoist tradition advocates for harmony with nature.  In the alchemical traditions of Chinese Medicine, this often meant harmonizing oneself with the energy of the seasons.

There are lessons we can learn from each of the seasons, and the energy of Springtime is associated with GROWTH!

One challenge we sometimes run into is that when we want to GROW, we are often quite motivated, but this may lead us to trying to grow too fast.

An amazing insight I learned recently (that I wish someone would've told me sooner) is that our bodies and minds are constantly working for "homeostasis" - they're basically trying to stay the same.  And so, if we go too hard for our personal change agendas, our own body and subconscious will actually fight back against these interventions and stall our progress! 

This can be important to integrate if we are going to harmonize with the energy of Springtime, because the energy of this season is all about getting bigger, showing up more fully, envisioning what's possible!. This can be a heady brew that can cause us to act a little too big for our britches!

The trick we need to learn is how to change and grow just enough that we make progress, but no so much that we trigger a signal within that says "instability detected" and then works against us. 

This insight is already present in the ancient traditions of Yoga, where our inner growth is referred to as "cultivation".  Master Patanjali in the Yoga sutras says "we must become as gardeners."  

The energy of Springtime is characterized by the "Wood Element" in Daoism and this is the symbol of a growing plant.  But right now, at the beginning of spring, it's ok to just be a little sprout.  It's IMPORTANT to just be a little sprout.  You don't get faster progress in your garden by pulling up on the shoots, you get the best progress by nourishing the roots!

So your Dao of Spring cultivation secret this week is to do what I recently learned from reading 'Atomic Habits' - start integrating SMALL changes that you can engage in consistently, and watch them change your whole life!

To make this process easier, I'm happy to announce that this Saturday we'll return to our weekly, donation-based Qigong and Kung Fu classes starting at 10:30am(pst).  And next week I'll announce the re-launch of this year's Alchemical Immersion training - your at-home guide to developing your own qigong practice!