We are now passing through Winter Solstice. This is a really important day in Taoist traditions because it marks a critical transition. This is the day where the YIN energy of the Northern hemisphere is at its highest and YANG energy at its lowest. [If you're in Australia... never mind. Read this in July!] To the Taoists the winter solstice had significance which had parallels to many of the ancient religious traditions of this planet. More importantly, winter solstice is a critical time to guard your health. According to the Yellow Emperor's Classic of Internal Medicine, the essence of the winter season is conservation and storage. Therefore, people should refrain from overusing their yang energy, and be subdued in the winter months. This will prevent kidney illness and accelerate revitalization in the spring.
First, winter solstice is a time to be grateful for the recent harvest that fed you through today. Taoist masters warn against "giving your qi away to the past"… which is a very curious concept. Like, do we send our qi through a time machine or something? No, it simply means that you can deplete your life force by worrying about yesterday, last year, how your parents treated you, all the slights of childhood… The weight of resentments and regrets is the baggage you drag around with you, and it tires you out. The past is an illusion, one we create with the energy that we give to it. We keep this worry, guilt, fear or grief alive by sending it our qi, and this is what drains us of our energy and aliveness. This is a hard to accept concept if you are attached emotionally to something from the past. The key is to let go of your rumination, let your mind be still and enter a state of joyful appreciation and deep gratitude. If you want, you can do a meditation visualization where you draw your energy back from the past.
Second, instead of a wild celebration, Taoists recommend that you rest and regenerate. Do your best to rest and sleep as must as you can until the spring arrives to enable your body to best take advantage of the natural rest and regeneration qualities of the winter. Why? Because we are animals, and animals tend to hibernate in the winter. It is time to gather and conserve our qi, instead of getting drunk at office parties and frantically racing through shopping malls looking something you think can be traded in exchange for love.
Third, it's good to seek foods, herbs and tantric practices that tonify and make the kidney stronger. As winter is the season of the water element, any practices you can do to build up your kidneys will improve your life in the next season of wood which is dominated by the liver. One particularly powerful practice is to conserve your semen using tantric practices through the solstice.
Finally, do a form of qigong that balances the body’s water element and enhances lung function. This will prevent lung illness and benefit the conservation process of the winter season. Try doing "Cloud Hands", it's good for these purposes, and will not over-activate your yang energy. Here's a video of some guy demonstrating the qigong practice, which is derived from Tai Chi Ch'uan:
The Yin energy is at its fullest expression culminating on the 21st when it slowly begins to wane with the emergence of the active and charged Yang energy. If you do all of the above, you will catch a major Yang wave and ride it into the next cycle. Using that energy, you can energize your aspirations with the primordial power of Yang energy.
Wishing you oneness with the Tao!
