Embracing Nature's Cycles: The Ebb and Flow of Yáng Qì 陽氣

My study of Classical East Asian Medicine (CEAM) came out of my desire to immerse myself in a medicine based on Nature. I grew up in a small city and I loved playing outside and especially at the river near my house, but I also watched a lot of TV and hung out at the mall with my friends. Although my family didn’t go to church we celebrated all of the standard American and Christian holidays. As I got older I became more and more interested in Nature. I studied Environmental Engineering in my undergraduate degree, and started a Masters in Water Resource Engineering. I spent more time in the woods. I built my first fires and spent nights watching constellations travel through the skies. And as I did those things, I felt so much more connected. The feeling of connection I felt as I walked barefoot through the woods and drank water from cupped hands informed me that my role in this life was to practice a nature based medicine and to dedicate my life to reconnecting with nature.

There is an axiom in Classical East Asian Medicine that states Qi Follows Intention qì suí yì 氣随意. I understand this to mean that first we must focus our minds and our intention in a direction, then the energy will follow. I love this axiom. I find so much relief in trusting that change takes time, that it is not instantaneous, that we can’t force or hurry it, and that all we need to do is maintain clear intentions and let nature do the rest.

Through the years of putting my intention and focus into studying CEAM I’ve really started to experience this axiom firsthand as things that were once concepts I memorized take root in my own body. I’ve noticed this the most in how I orient to time, the seasons, and the calendar. 

The CEAM Calendar is all about understanding the movement of Yáng Qì 陽氣, the active, illuminating, animated quality of Qì energy. The simplest version of the CEAM Calendar is actually the Tàijí, or Yīn Yáng Symbol, which describes the movement of Yáng Qì 陽氣 throughout the year. When you look at the Yīn Yáng Symbol, you can actually overlay the Solstices and the Equinoxes, with the Summer Solstice at the top, Winter Solstice at the bottom, Spring Equinox on the left, and Fall Equinox on the right.

At the Summer Solstice Yáng Qì 陽氣 at the peak of its expansion. It is the longest day of the year, and the Yáng Qì 陽氣 is at its most dispersed, animating every plant and every creature, the world is full of activity. After the Summer Solstice the Yáng Qì 陽氣 starts to contract. The days get shorter, and even though the weather is still heating up, you can notice a slowdown from the energy of Spring as the Yáng Qì 陽氣 starts moving inward. You can see this in the Yīn Yáng Symbol - as you move in a clockwise direction from the top (Summer Solstice) to the bottom (Winter Solstice), the white portion grows smaller as the darkness expands. The Yáng Qì 陽氣 continues to condense and contract through the Fall, and by the Winter Solstice the Yáng Qì 陽氣 is at its most concentrated. Then from the Winter Solstice to the Summer Solstice, Yáng Qì 陽氣 is expanding. Even though it is the coldest time of the year and we can’t quite feel it yet, the light is growing. The days are getting longer. 

When we look at the equinox, we are seeing the horizon line, or the division between inside and outside. So, from the Spring Equinox to the Fall Equinox, the Yáng Qì 陽氣 is above ground, or external. We see this in the explosion of life - plants flowering, animals scurrying, rivers swelling with snowmelt -  that starts in the Spring as the energy and activity of Yáng Qì 陽氣 disperse above the surface. We notice it as we pack our schedules with fun Spring and Summer social gatherings and adventures, and through Late Summer the farmers market overflows with delicious tomatoes and peppers. The leaves begin to change, and then with the Fall Equinox the Yáng Qì 陽氣 descends below ground where it will remain until the Spring Equinox. We notice this with the now mostly barren trees, leaves littering the ground, and the quiet stillness of freshly fallen snow. The Yáng Qì 陽氣 has moved below the soil, and now all of that light and energy is concentrated within, where the roots are storing and transporting sugars, nutrients are breaking down and restructuring, and penetrating the seeds that will sprout in Spring.

This whole cycle makes for a beautiful division and progression of Yáng Qì 陽氣 Growing, Emerging, Contracting, Penetrating. 

Now we come to where the CEAM and Modern Western calendars really deviate - the timing of the seasons. In the Modern Western calendar the solstices and equinoxes mark the beginning of the seasons. This makes sense - Spring is the season of Yàng Qí Expanding Above Ground, Summer the season of Yàng Qí Contracting Above Ground, and so on. Each season has a consistent quality of energy.

CEAM is very interested in change. In fact, the Yì Jīng 易經, or the Classic of Change, is considered the oldest and most foundational CEAM text. From this perspective the Solstices and the Equinoxes are actually the midpoint of the season, when the quality of energy changes. 

Right now, we’ve just passed the Winter Solstice and are in the second half of Winter. This is such a special and important time of the year. The Yáng Qì 陽氣 is at its most concentrated and has the unique ability to penetrate the soil of the earth and the soil of our bodies to illuminate and nourish that which is within us. Energy can neither be created nor destroyed - it is the stillness of winter that allows the light to move within. The seeds we are holding are gestating, whether they are new endeavors for this next trip around the sun or the next cycle of our old growth forests.

The Season of Winter is about rest, stillness, and survival. If you can take a moment to imagine back to how your ancestors once lived, before cars, central heat, puffy jackets and grocery stores, winter was a lot different. It was dire. We had to rest because we had to conserve what limited resources we were able to store from the previous year's harvest. This is happening in nature too - the sap from the trees descends into the roots to store sugar, animals limit their movement (some to the point of hibernation). Winter is hard. So, if you’re feeling a bit heavier, a bit more constrained, more introspective, wanting to do less and stay in more, please remember that is both normal and appropriate!!! 

I know it can feel difficult to honor what Winter is asking of us when we are still working just as much, there is still just as much we need to do day to day. Remember, Qi Follows Intention 氣随意 qì suí yì. Simply holding an attention and awareness of Winter will naturally slow us down.