Don’t sweat the small stuff
Have you ever noticed that when you are worrying about something, you reach for cakes, donuts, candy, and all your favorite sweet foods? Well, in TCM the sweet taste and the emotions of worry and excessive dwelling on a subject go hand in hand. They are under the control of the spleen-pancreas and the stomach and become especially vulnerable at this time of year, the season of the Earth element, Late summer. Now is a good time to meditate and reconnect with your physical center, the abdomen. Next time you are worrying and crave or reach for a comforting dessert, try this simple qigong breathing exercise instead.
Sit upright, spine erect, with feet flat on the floor, or lie in a comfortable and relaxed position. Do a quick internal scan if necessary to relax all parts of the body from head to toe. Breathe gently in and out through the nose.
Observe the breath. Where do you feel it? Don’t try to control it at first, just place your awareness on it.
After a few minutes of observation begin to guide the breath to your center. On an inhale, imagine your abdomen gently rising, expanding like a balloon filling with air. On an exhale let it contract, like the balloon releasing air. Take a few more breaths this way until it feels natural.
Continue to breathe in and out to the abdomen and visualize a light yellow ball. Each time you inhale you are filling this ball with healing energy. Each time you exhale imagine you are allowing all the worry and anxiety to escape from your body. Repeat this for five to nine breaths.
Now let your abdomen continue to softly rise and fall as you begin to feel more calm and relaxed. If you become distracted and thoughts try to take hold, think of them passing like clouds in the sky, and bring your awareness gently back to your breathing.
Enjoy any good sensation you feel; don’t try and control it, just let it be for as long as you wish, or time allows.