Word of the Week with Jean Edelman: Spring

Time for Some Personal Spring Cleaning? Tap into This Time of Renewal and New Beginnings.

Ric Edelman: Time now for everybody's favorite segment of the program visit by my wife, Jean Edelman. Jean is a student of the Healing Arts, Reiki, traditional Chinese medicine, homeopathy, acupuncture and of course, macrobiotic and plant-based cooking. Here's Jean.

Jean Edelman: Hi. It's great to be with you this week. Spring. That's the word that comes to mind today. Finally, the weather is changing. This is the time that we know as Spring, and it symbolizes a time of renewal and new beginnings. You know how we talk about spring cleaning and open the windows, declutter, clean, freshen up. In traditional Chinese medicine, this is the time of new beginnings and it's related to what we call the wood element. Each season also relates to our organs, our inner organs, our organs in our body. So, this time of year, it is the time of our liver and our gallbladder. They are most active at this time of year. And so, as we clean our homes, we also tend to detox and clean up our body from the cold, heavy winter. Our liver loves the outdoors. If you find yourself irritated and easily angered, this is a message to get outside and give our liver some fresh air and movement. Walk. Swing your arms. Just something to move us around. We had our hibernation during the winter. We had our time of sitting and watching movies and being in front of the computer. If we do not listen to our liver, as the spring emerges, we will stay agitated and unhappy as the air warms and as we have longer days. It is time for outside activity. Another aspect of Spring is changing how we eat. It's time for lighter, fresh greens. Bring those salads back into our menu, and fresh fruit. No more heavy stews and comfort food for us.

Time to detox, clean, and declutter

We also need to chew our food better, eat less, and stop eating by about 7:00 in the evening so that we have time to digest our food. The action item for this week is make a Spring action list. What needs to be cleaned, cleared and decluttered? Set time in our schedule to tackle it. Think about how we will change our meals and our menus, how we will bring lighter salads and more fruit and greens into our day. Let's talk a little bit more about our liver to understand what it needs this time of year. It needs to stretch because the liver controls our tendons. And according to Chinese medicine, the liver stores our blood during periods of rest and then it releases it to the tendons in time of activity. And so, maintaining tendon health and flexibility incorporates a morning stretch into a routine. Try yoga, Tai Chi, or just some simple stretches. Also, eyes are important when it comes to the liver. The liver opens up into our eyes. Although there are many organs that do connect to the health of our eyes, the liver is connected to our proper eye function. So, remember to take breaks when looking at the computer and monitor our extended periods of time and do some eye exercises. It's very interesting how our organs affect our health, and if we can take some time to pay attention, they will tell us what we need. And this is a very important time for our liver and gallbladder, so we want to be outside.

It's also time to think about our garden. How about getting a few seeds in the ground? And how about when we're out on our walks? How about noticing the daffodils and the crocuses? Everything is starting to bloom. And so, when we see this, think about how these plants spent the winter underground and now they're springing up into the warm sun, understanding that this is the time of upward energy for us. And as in nature, it is the same for our bodies. And so my word of the week is SPRING.

The S is for our senses.

We want to wake up our senses and we do this with color. We do this with movement, with breathing, with yummy cooking and being in nature.

The P is for prepare.

Preparing our gardens so we have plenty of vegetables in the Summer and Fall. And taking the time to plan and think ahead.

And R is for revitalize,

to bring fresh energy and spirit into our bodies and our lives. Soak in the sun.

The I is for infinite.

The beauty of spring and its infinite colors and scents and sounds, just take it all in.

The N is for nature.

When we follow nature's lead, we stay healthy and in balance.

And the G is for giddy.

We all smile more and laugh more when the weather is bright, sunny and warm. So, enjoy the spring. Appreciate the life that is coming back from the dormant time of our winter. See all the colors that spring has to offer. Have a great week.