Spring Rejuvenation

March 20th welcomed the vernal or spring equinox for the Northern Hemisphere or the Southern Hemisphere's autumnal equinox. In the five-element theory, the spring season is associated with the Wood element. This element symbolizes the birth and fresh beginning stages of Yang energy. Wood represents new life and creation. Wood energy is expansive, moving out in all directions. It is the time when we are once again moved to spend more time outdoors in the freshness of a spring morning. Its associated color is green.

Warmth and light begin to return; the soil is moist with the winter melt and the days are now longer than the nights. The wood phase also corresponds to the seeds that have lain dormant in the earth all winter. They grow, push up through the ground as tender sprouts, then buds develop and turn into young green leaves.

This Wood energy provides us with the sense of renewal, reawakening, and rebirth. It gives us a connection to the future. Wood energy allows us to plan and design in all areas of our lives, giving us the ability to initiate thoughts, plans, and activities. It helps us to coordinate our ideas and feelings and to bring them into action and change. This energy provides us with vision and foresight to move ahead, allows us to express our true nature, and manifests ourselves in the world.

The Wood element soothes the movement through our lives, especially when we inevitably run into obstacles. It gives us the vision, the ability to change, the roots, and the flexibility to make new plans and decide what is needed, how to adjust, and what to change. Other predominant attributes of the wood element are considered to be strength and flexibility, like bamboo. It is also associated with qualities of generosity and forgiveness.

Springtime is also an optimum time to cleanse the associated internal organs of the Wood element, which are the liver and gallbladder. The liver is the largest solid organ in the body. It is located in the upper right abdomen. Aiding in digestion, the liver removes waste products and worn-out cells from the blood.

The liver converts food into substances needed for life and growth, storing glycogen (a blood-sugar regulator), amino acids, protein, and fat. It also makes the enzymes and bile that help to digest food. Also, the liver neutralizes harmful toxins and wastes, so it is at great risk of contamination from environmental toxins and those contained in over-processed foods. The liver has over 500 different functions; it is the body’s chemical factory and the largest blood cleansing internal organ.

Why Should You do an Internal Cleanse?

Cleansing the body eliminates excess waste and dis-ease; it rejuvenates the vital energy of physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Internal toxicity signs can include: headaches, backaches, allergies, skin rashes, constipation, fatigue, immune weakness, insomnia, digestive issues, frequent colds, and general inflammation and weakness. With the proper cleansing and detoxification of the body, we can maintain health and vitality, even as we age.

“We also cleanse/detoxify to rest or heal our overloaded digestive organs and allow them to catch up on past work. At the same time, we are inspired to cleanse our external life as well, cleaning out our rooms, sorting through the piles on our desks, and clarifying our personal priorities. Most often, our energy is increased and becomes steadier, motivating us to change both internally and externally.” 1

Life's Great Law: Every living cell of the organized body is endowed with an instinct of self-preservation, sustained by an inherent force in the organism called "vital force,” or "life force.” Creating better health and a higher level of life force depends on the function of your body, mind, and emotions. The state of health is evident in your internal organs, blood, and lymphatic system. The main internal organs to keep functioning optimally are your intestines, liver, and kidneys.

How to do an Internal Cleanse

If you are new to internal cleansing, it is best to slowly start the process, not detox too quickly. Below are simple ways to start the internal cleansing process, which can be a one-day to three-month daily process: