YOUR FREE PRACTICE - QI GONG, SOMATICS & YIN

Winter Yin with QiGong and somatics
​Kindeys and the emotion fear

This practice was part of my WINTER YIN series. It shows the rabbit hole I go into, when researching the seasons and getting inspired by TCM and nature herself. A new 5-week Yin series will start soon: ONLINE on February 28 and IN STUDIO on March 3. 

PROPS: bolster or bigger pillow

We start with couple of QiGong flows: 'Fountain', 'Phoenix Spreads its Wings' and 'Sweeping Water'. The last two are often offered to release fear as fear, fright, shock and trauma are what affect the Kidneys according to TCM. We then move into a floor practice that keeps combining gentle somatic rocking movements with Yin shapes. I will also add a few self-regulation tools that involve the vagus nerve (which I already talked about above in one of the previous sessions). 

With this practice we have reached a point of mid-winter in the Seasonal Wheel. In Celtic calendar, the first days of February are celebrated as Imbolc. This time marks the beginning of the first stirrings of spring as the sap begins to rise, small buds reveal themselves on trees and the days are palpably and visibly longer. So there's a hopefulness, anticipation, even excitement in the air. And at the same time, it's February...it's still winter ... we can feel tired, heavy, wintery. 
In our inner world, this season marks a time when we feel something internally beginning to shift, signals of expansion and growth which often is accompanied by some (or a lot of) resistance to or even fear of change. We all know that there are plenty of inner and outer forces wanting to keep us small. 

The emotion that is associated with Kidneys and therefore has the most impact on the Kidneys (according to TCM) is fear (fright, shock, trauma). In her book "The Atlas of The Heart" Brene Brown categorizes fear under a chapter titled: "places where we go when things are uncertain or too much" and fear is groups together with other flavors of a similar emotions like overwhelm, anxiety, worry, stress, dread, avoidance...

Fear shows up in our bodies differently. It is a response to a perceived threat  (keyword being perceived, because whether the threat is imagined or real, our physiology won't know the difference). It's a rapid fire emotion and our physical response often occurs before we are even realize that we are afraid. Also - our rational mind cannot "figure out fear", fear needs to be felt in order for us to be able to release its charge. 

Just like we all have unique fingerprints, also the reactive and protective patterns of our nervous system are unique from one person to the next. I will not go into the nervous system theory here too much (this is a whole other course), but I simply want you to know how vital it is to understand your own nervous system patterns, as fight, flight, freeze, fawn energies show up completely differently in our physiology and also the ways we would soothe or self-regulate will vary depending on whether your protective mode takes you more towards and activated or freeze/collapse state. 

As with all emotions - fear carries certain energy but also it also carries wisdom. Once we have enough capacity to feel fear, we can begin to inquire what message it carries. In fact, in his podcast Art of Accomplishment (I know, it's a very misleading name) Joe Hudson talks about how fear can be a direct path to freedom. A lot of our modern pre-occupation of the mind and fear is tied to our identity - an idea of self that we have built and then feel the need to uphold. As we start to dismantle that, to really look at where are we scared to be attacked or misunderstood or for a certain identity to fall away, it can begin to point us towards a more authentic self or way to engage with the world.

The worlds that I shared by Andrea Gibson were: 
You fear you are not strong enough
to do the hardest thing only because
you don't yet now that doing the hardest thing
is exactly that will help you know your strength.

And by Anais Nin: 
And the day came 
when the risk to 
remain tight in a bud
was more painful
than the risk it took
to blossom

"Nobody ever talks about this part 
You know the part where you’re no longer a caterpillar and not yet a butterfly. 
You don't know who you are and you don’t know where you’re going. 
All you know is that
Every fiber of your being is calling for transformation
For disruption. For a revolution of spirit. 
So surrender, break down. 
This is not the death of you
This is the dying of who you once were. 
This is your rebirth, darling
​And these are called “growing pains” 
​
(I've had this quote for years, but cannot find who it's by)
BONUS - WINTER THEMED YOGA NIDRA
This is a recording of livestream Yoga Nidra at the end of a Yin yoga class. The intention of this Nidra is to embrace, trust and follow the wisdom of Winter - external and internal phase of stillness, pause, depth and mystery. The Nidra draws inspiration from Chinese medicine, where Winter is ruled by Water element and lives in our bodies as the energy of the Kidneys.
For the practice, make sure you are comfortable:
*pillow or blanket under the head
*bolster/pillows under knees to release lower back
*blanket to cover
*something to cover the eyes