New Year

Why I Don’t Make New Year’s Resolutions & Neither Should You

by

I will firstly caveat this whole post, by saying it really applies to those of us living in the Northern Hemisphere, where the New Year celebrations fall in the middle of Winter – for all you gorgeous Aussies, Kiwis & Southern Hemisphere dwellers, I will get to you guys shortly…

.

Winter Wellness Workshop Thame Rhiannon Griffiths Acupuncture

.

So, why would I adamantly suggest that you shouldn’t make resolutions for the new year? After all, I am a coach & massively champion change & growth & positive movement forward in life, emotions & personal development… And I used to make New Year’s resolutions (that often failed in the first week of January!), so what changed?

.

Well, first & foremost, I’m also an acupuncturist who has lived a “Five Element Life” for the last decade, so I know the importance of honouring the seasons & living in alignment with the energy of the associated Element. It’s like living in sync with the phases of the moon, or being mindful of the different parts of your menstrual cycle & how varied the energy & emotions & actions can be. It is living out of rhythm of nature that creates more disharmony & dysfunction in our bodies, minds & emotions.

.

Winter is the season associated with the Water Element. My own Element is Water, so it is even more important for me to be mindful of what this Element needs; it is integral to my wellbeing. But it is important for ALL of us to honour Water, whatever our own Element personality type is – even nature slows down during Winter, everything retracts inwards and retreats under the ground, animals get cosy & rest & hibernate. Winter is nature’s season of REST, preparing the roots & seeds below the ground, for the energetic growing time of the following Spring. There is very little ACTION at this time.

.

This time is for:

+ reflection, like the still, peaceful lake that you can see your face in

+ diving deep into your emotions, like you would in to the depths of the sea

+ pausing, being still – like the animals hibernating during Winter

+ ask the questions, gather the wisdom – the Water Element is renowned for its ability to do this

+ plant the seeds, READY for growth when the Spring arrives – the BIG POTENTIAL is in the seeds hidden underground in Winter

.

Spring is really the start of the New Year in Chinese Medicine, it is when we have the RIGHT & APPROPRIATE energy to tackle New Year’s resolutions, change things in our lives, start new things, take action. In January, in the Northern Hemisphere, we are still in the depths of Winter, that is hibernation time, time to be still, time to reflect. The ENERGY of the season just does not match New Year’s resolutions or big bold new beginnings. It is not the time to be planning and doing, we need to wait until Spring for THAT kind of energy to rush in!

.

So yes, do your journalling NOW, do take time to be STILL, to pause, to reflect; get the vibes you want to take over in to the new year, identify the feelings you wish to have, & plant the seeds, set the scene READY for 2017, but now is NOT the time to ACT, or expect yourself to DO heaps of things as soon as the clock strikes midnight & we tip over in to the new year… Water & Winter are about BEING, waiting for the potential to blossom into Spring!

.

Possible questions to reflect upon:

+ what amazing things can I celebrate from 2016?

+ were there things that didn’t go according to plan in 2016?

+ what could I have done differently in 2016?

+ how do I want 2017 to FEEL?

+ what word(s) will set the scene for 2017?

+ does 2017 have a different colour / logo / mascot to 2016?

+ who do I need to be next year to make 2017 amazing?

.

And this blog post isn’t intended to be about MY reflections of 2016, it is supposed to be encouraging YOU to pause & reflect, though there has been some pretty cool stuff for me this year:

+ ran my in-person Spring Health workshop, here in the UK, it was super fun

+ featured in publications including The Guardian, Healthy Magazine, Woman’s Weekly (twice), Women’s Health (three times), Woman & Home

+ went to the Maldives to write my first book, about the Five Elements, & made some little videos for you

+ trained as a Yin Yoga teacher (look out for workshops, classes & online stuff coming in the Spring!)

+ launched my first online course for you, Winter Wellness Wisdom

.

You can learn more about the Water Element & how to live in alignment with the season of Winter in my brand new online course, Winter Wellness Wisdom, for physical & emotional wellness HERE, plus the Spring version will be hot on it’s heals in a couple of months, with exercises designed to REALLY get you going & moving forward with resolutions! So put any BIG actions on hold until then if you can…

.

As for you Southern Hemisphere dwellers, you guys CAN afford to be more ACTIVE in your intention setting, as you are currently in the season of Summer, with it’s associated Element of Fire. It has busy, upwards & outwards Yang energy – if you choose to make plans & implement them as soon as 2017 starts, you WILL be more aligned with what the season is doing. Therefore you are more likely to make plans stick & be successful in your resolutions, as the energy of the time is supporting you in your endeavours!

.

And if you don’t know what Element you are yet, you can download my FREE ebook here: https://goo.gl/NTmEF9

.

Wishing you all a VERY Happy & Healthy New Year, wherever you are in the world – I’m grateful you’re here with me!

Sending heaps of goodness

Rhiannon xx

.

.

© Rhiannon Griffiths 2016

See me on Instagram

Like on Facebook

Follow on Twitter

Visit the YouTube Channel

Check out my Pinterest

.

 

Year of the Water Dragon

by

Happy New Year! No, I’m not on a time lapse, or having some kind of deja vu, it is the start of the Chinese New Year today! As you may already know, the Chinese calendar attributes different animals to different years, and depending on the year you were born, you are a different animal – I am a Dog! If you don’t know what animal you are, you can check it out here!

This year (2012) is the year of the Dragon in China, or more specifically, the Water Dragon. So, as we say goodbye to the year of the Rabbit, and enter into one of the most revered years in the Chinese Zodiac, let’s see what goodies it has in store for us, and how we can make the most of it…

The Dragon has supernatural powers and is a deliverer of good fortune and intense power; according to the Sung dynasty, he has a head of an ox, body of a serpent covered with fish scales, and feet of a phoenix. He gives happiness and success, watches over good, honest people and the family, cultivating smart and healthy children. Which I guess makes it a very good year for me to be doing a paediatric acupuncture diploma! If you have children, ensure holistic health (body, mind and emotions) features big this year; and if you don’t  have children, but are intending to start a family, this year is the one for you!

It is a time for boldness, big ideas and new projects on a work and social level, as the Yang part of Water of this “Water Dragon” year, is more like an ocean or a rushing stream, opposed to a stagnant pond. It is powerful, dynamic and has strong energy. So think outside the box, push the boundaries of your comfort zone, and try something new – this year, nothing is off the table, you can achieve whatever you put your mind to – after all, you have the power of Water behind you, pushing you forward!

It brings all the qualities we know and love about the Water Element in Chinese medicine – bringing wisdom and perception, re-evaluting situations, researching when necessary, assessing levels of risk – making plans even more successful, as the pitfalls have already been thought of and accommodated for. So if you’re embarking on a new project this year, ensure you do all the research, and it’s likely to be a success. Or why not use your wisdom and passion inspire others – organise a talk or seminar, invite the girls round to talk about your favourite books, make a video on what you know about and post it on you tube! Spread the word and lead the way, as the Dragon would!

The parts of the body Water relates to include the kidney, immune system, sexual organs and the urinary system; so ensure you keep an eye out for kidney problems, kidney stones, inflammation of urinary tract, and general virus or bacterial infection. Drink enough water to keep your body hydrated, to reduce vulnerability to these issues; and acupuncture can help keep your immune system topped up.

The Dragon is said to be a karmic animal, bringing the positive, loving energies we have given to others, back to us! (You have been giving out positive, loving energies, right?! If not, make this something you do this year – give big and you’ll get tons back). This year is set to have love and success at the top of its agenda, and who wouldn’t want that?! New love can blossom, and as the Dragon is associated with festivals and celebrations, 2012 is THE year for engagements and weddings! And its not just small successes, Dragons bring those BIG dreams to life!

So take the opportunity to start with your new year’s resolutions all over again, grab hold of the Dragon’s optimism and positivity, get rid of those January blues, and embrace a new start, for a second time!

.

© Rhiannon Griffiths 2011

Visit the website

Like on Facebook

Follow on Twitter

.

Resolutions Reminder

by

Hello 2012! We are now entering the age of love, which means this new year is going to be a super positive one, with tons of great changes – I for one, am soooo excited to see what it has in store for me, and also to hearing all about what it has in store for you – here, online, and of course in the clinic.

For those of you who already follow my Facebook and Twitter pages, you probably already know that my only “resolution” for the new year was to start yoga again, after something like 8 years away from the practice! But I chose to start this just after Christmas – it helps that Santa left me some goodies under the tree to get me going!

Starting early, takes some of the “pressure” off starting today, the 1st January 2012, and all the connotations that come with that – the fact that many people spend the first day of the new year feeling hideously hungover (not me – though don’t get me wrong, in the past I have had my fair share of hungover, negative, depressed New Year Days), just adds to that pressure of “oh no, I haven’t started my resolution”, or “gosh, I need a detox”, or “damn, I’ve broken my resolution in less than 24 hours!”… We do not need to put that much pressure on ourselves! Resolutions are supposed to be empowering – looking at what good stuff we want for ourselves in the year ahead… again, the focus is on what WE want for OURSELVES, not what we feel we SHOULD be doing, or going into competition with our friends, work colleagues or neighbours (meeting them on the doorstep as we get up for the gruelling 5am  run before work – YUCK!)…

I know what I want my general life to look like, in all its best holistic balanced glory… I want to ensure that I do at least one of the following each and every day – meditation, qigong or yoga. Of course, more than one each day would be preferable (and wonderful!), but I am realistic – if I am treating in clinic until 8pm, as I tend to for the first part of the week, I am not going to be doing yoga, then qigong and meditating before bed… As you think about your resolutions for 2012, don’t set yourself up for a fall, take small steps, and feel good about what you DO manage, don’t focus on the negative and beat yourself up – we are all human, even acupuncturists!

And sometimes we need a little support in keeping on track, I know I do – so you have my permission to ask me, when I see you in clinic, as to how my yoga is getting along! And acupuncture can help keep you on track, as you move into the new year with wishes for a healthier, more holistic focus – whether that be stopping smoking, losing weight, reducing stress levels and feeling more positive about life, or just having a better level of health with a boosted immune system.

Click here to read an article published in “Go Local” magazine this time last year, in January 2011 (scroll halfway down the page and click on the picture for pdf), which explains exactly HOW acupuncture works to help YOU to keep on track with your resolutions this year, and make this your healthiest and best year yet!

Let me know what your healthy, holistic resolutions are this year, and/or how I can help you keep on track with them for this magnificent New Year! Sending goodness to you all!

 

.

© Rhiannon Griffiths 2011

Visit the website

Like on Facebook

Follow on Twitter

.

Open or Shut the Gates?

by

So the pre-Christmas build up and the day itself has been and gone, but we’re still gearing up for the New Year celebrations – for my family there are birthdays too! Everyone in the world wants to meet for a “Christmas drink” – we don’t see these people for most of the year, but somehow as soon as December hits, everyone wants to meet, your diary is chocka-block and you don’t even have a window in which to pick up the Turkey!

Now this isn’t a bad thing in itself, the invitations are offered in the jolliest of spirits, everyone is full of Christmas cheer, overtaken by the excitement of the festivities and the warmth of being with people you love… but the emphasis must be on exactly that, being with people you love. At this time of year, many of us struggle with saying no to acquaintances and well-meaning neighbours, so that our social calendars over the holidays are stretched to bursting point and we don’t have time to do the things we really want to do, or the things that are going to nourish us the most.

This kind of joy, the bubbly, jolly socialising, reaching out to others to make connections and relationships is all associated with the Fire Element in Chinese Medicine. It is to do with the Heart organ (with the Small Intestine), and the Pericardium (Heart Protector) with the Triple Burner (temperature regulator in Chinese Medicine). All the associations we recognise to be aligned with the Heart, are synonymous with the Fire Element – love, happiness, people, parties, laughter, warmth and closeness with others. However, conversely, the opposite is also true, at the other end of the spectrum, i.e. a lack of joy, not wanting to socialise, hating parties, feeling miserable and flat – the key is to keep the Fire Element in a state of balance, so the emotions don’t fluctuate massively from being incredibly up, to plummeting down into the depths. This is the case for all of us, as we all have all five of the Elements within us, but it is particularly important for Fire CFs (those people who have Fire as their Element or Constitutional Factor, which is like their energetic default setting)…

This was particularly evident in the last couple of weeks before Christmas, as in clinic, I noticed I was treating nearly all of my Fire Element (or Fire CF) patients with what we call the luo-junction points, Pc 6 and TB 5 – my quota totally sky rocketed as we got nearer and nearer to Christmas!

These points, called Pc 6 (Pericardium 6, Nei Guan, Inner Gate) and TB 5 (Triple Burner 5, Wai Guan, Outer Gate), can provide us with a valuable lesson during the festive period, as it is about maintaining a healthy balance between reaching out and opening our hearts to others, or retreating inwards and “closing the gate” to people around us.

I have used this point combination a lot during December, to allow patients’ spirits to feel more balanced, to get emotionally prepared or “fired-up” for the upcoming onslaught of celebrations, and to feel like they are actually allowed to say no to some social engagements if they so wish – however hard it feels! The Inner Gate (Pc 6) reaches the inner aspect of the person, regulating the opening and closing of the gates of the Pericardium, which protects the Heart. When this inner part feels weary, fearful or overwhelmed by social engagements, the point can stimulate the Heart Protector’s compassion, connection and warmth, allowing us to go “out” whilst still feeling protected.

The Outer Gate (TB 5) has the function of actively discerning who may enter and leave through our gates. It regulates our external boundary, helping us to reach out (physically and emotionally – hence its location on the arm, towards the wrist) to make contact with positive people… when it is not functioning correctly, we may reach out to too much (showing too much of ourselves to others), to too many people, or the wrong people, creating a negative affect.

So remember, think carefully about your own inner and outer gates as you gear up for the New Year parties – are you seeing the people you really want to see? Are you reaching out and making connections with loved ones who are important to you? Or have you succumbed to “accidentally accepting” an invitation that came in whilst your inner gate was too open? Were you unable to protect your heart when someone asked you to celebrate with them? Do you need to do something quieter at home, instead of a drunken night on the town?

Choose to welcome in 2012 with something that will nurture yourself – you can open the gate, or close the gate, whatever suits your own energy, just listen to your intuition as this will be very different for different people. Wishing you all very happy New Year celebrations, whatever they may look like!

.

© Rhiannon Griffiths 2011

Visit the website

Like on Facebook

Follow on Twitter

.