Winter · Water
Jing: the kidneys, root of life
This time I want to dig a little deeper, because the kidneys (also called the "root of life") play a fundamental role in our health and wellbeing—especially now in this season…
Newsletter & Blog
Reflections to flow with the seasons
A Traditional Chinese Medicine and Qigong lens for accompanying your body, season by season. Texts born from my newsletters.
Winter · Water
Cultivating stillness and inner warmth in winter
I hope you’ve had a good seasonal transition settling into the cold. Here in Chile’s Region V we already started lighting the wood stove a few days ago, enjoying sitting by the fire at night…
Winter · Emotion
Overcoming winter sadness (Winter Blues)
How do we cultivate a deep calm and overcome winter sadness (Winter Blues)? I hope you’ve been well! Now, with the days getting shorter and colder, we’re approaching the…
Water · Stillness
Deep listening and the stillness of water
These days of such intense rains, as we move deeper into winter, I’ve been contemplating what deep listening means and how it relates to the rains.…
Fundamentals
Zhan Zhuang: the tree posture
The Zhan Zhuang posture (Zhan: "to stand," Zhuang: "tree or post"), also called Wu Ji ("empty posture"), is the primary and most important posture in Qigong. It…
Wellbeing
Looking beyond stress
As we approach the end of the year, I'd like to talk about stress and look beyond it... Where does it come from? The word "stress" comes from the Latin "stringere," which means…
The 5 elements
The spirits of the five elements (Wu Shen)
Today I'll talk about the spirits of the 5 elements (Wu Shen). Just as there are 5 elements or phases related to the seasons, and to organ pairs (a Yin organ…
Spring · Wood
Spring, liver, and tendons: reclaiming flexibility
You may have heard—and already know—that in spring the liver is the main organ of the season. Do you also know why? According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), whose…
Summer · Sleep
A routine for better sleep
Why is it harder to sleep well in summer? Because summer is the season of the Fire element, which relates to the Heart—the home of the Shen (our mind and spirit).…
Caring for your defenses in autumn
I hope you've been well without getting sick much lately! With autumn, the little bugs start circulating in the air... As I shared in the last newsletter about autumn, which…