Using the 5 Senses Seasonally

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Using the 5 Senses Seasonally

Happy Spring! 
Do you use the 5 senses to 'sense' the seasons: Hear, See, Touch, Smell, Taste. Probably yes and you may not realize it!  Recently, I've been hearing birds chirp loudly and hear other people comment about them tweeting too (old school 'tweeting')!  I've seen birds, along with many people, enjoy the great outdoors in springtime. The greens, fruits and fresh vegetables this season are tasting crisp and delicious!  This time of year, I like to touch different plants. You can pick up on the energy from  feeling and smelling (woodsy, floral). This is a great time of year for gardening whether it's herbs, vegetables, flowers, succulents. We have many great gardening events in the Tampa Bay area and coming up on Arbor Day is the Green Thumb Festival in St Pete, FL and many Earth Day Celebrations! Gardening is an organic way to use your senses. 

As fate would have it, naturally, we honor the season with our senses. In Chinese Medicine, the 5 Elements including fire, wood, earth, water and metal, relate to seasons, color, sounds, emotions, organs and more.  Read more for information on Chinese Medicine.  Spring is about cleaning (for example 'spring cleaning' your home, workplace or body) and rejuvenating your body, mind, garden and/or life. Spring brings a tasteful crop of fresh fruits and vegetables. In Florida, we're going strawberry crazy and greens and more greens!  Spring relates to the color green and wood element. This is also a good time to add the lemon to water to help cleanse the liver.

Cleansing the mind includes meditation, breath and other activities that get your mind out of your head or get your mind out of the way. At Kapok Pilates and Wellness, we offer guided meditation, gong bath meditation and other ways to quiet the mind and recharge including Healing Sessions and various workshops. There are various ways to meditate including a walk on the beach or hike in the mountains or forest. Create more space and time within your mind. 

Many ways to cleanse the body include feeling the salt and spring water and minerals, eating seasonal foods, drinks and more!  Eat your greens and drink herbal tea such as milk thistle and dandelion. You may also 'tighten up' on food choices and intake to 'tighten and tone' the body for beach and summer weather. You may be sick and tired of feeling sick and tired. Cleansing inside and out is important. Ways to detoxify the skin include dry brushing off dead skin cells, exfoliating and exercise (sweat, stretch) to declutter the body of tight muscles.  We are offering our seasonal fun Spa Event Wednesday April 6th 7:45pm at Kapok to create a spring batch of handcrafted Spa Products for your skin tailored with your own herbs, oils and essential oils. Products including body scrubs with dead sea salts, clay masks to dry out toxins from the skin and facial toners. 

I enjoy each season and continue to learn the significance, depth and beauty of each one.  It's fascinating to see which seasons resonates within each of us, ways to support our spirit, what color and food presents itself at the proper time and more. When we cleanse the clutter inside the head and on the body you will function more optimally. Hopefully, you will be inspired to start your own cleansing program!



Body and Mind Enrichment at Kapok Pilates & Wellness. A unique way of exercising your body and mind!

Ceremony and Rituals

Recently,  I had the pleasure of attending the Florida Herbal Conference in Lake Whales, FL. It was a fun, inspiring weekend of herbal information and being one with nature and friends of like mind. Many classes I gravitated to related herbs to the body, mind and spirit.  This is the direction of my passion.  There also was a common theme of ceremony and ritual and various ways and levels to incorporate and honor. 

Closing Circle at the Florida Herbal Conference

Rituals
I invite you think about rituals you currently have such as your morning routine, going to a 'church' on a weekly or regular basis, your fitness schedule or meditation.  You may have a ritual with friends or family on a regular basis. Rituals can be something you do daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly. There is no right or wrong. Honor this special time or union within yourself or with others instead of just going through the motion.

Ceremonies
At the Herbal Conference, we had a Fire Circle! I've participated in the past but this one seemed to have more significance to me. Mz Imani led the Fire Circle and earlier in the day, I attended a class about building the fire circle and the significance. We walked around the circle and set the intention, viewed the circle from a far and visualized the evening events. People participated in the 'circle' in ways that felt right for them.  Some stood around the outside of the circle and 'took it all in', others danced around the circle feeling the vibration of the drums (me, me, me!) and others created the drum beat and music - all played an important and special role.  We also do the 'shaking and drumming'  in Qi Gong which I learned with Shifu Orlando of the Sadana Center.  This shaking and drumming was stimulating Mother Earth in a positive way.  She could feel the love, joy and gratitude.  Individually, we were all benefiting from the ceremony and ritual by releasing things into the fire and taking what we needed.  Collectively, we were giving thanks to Mother Earth raising the vibration.  How often do you go out in nature including the beach, park and mountains and give thanks!  We need to do this and take care of the planet for generations to come. I could literally feel Mother Earth smiling down on us. I thank everyone across the world, events, festivals that create ceremony to continue these kinds of traditions passed down from our ancestors.

Equinox's
A few times a year, we honor the change of the season such as the Spring and Fall Equinox, Summer and Winter Solstice just to name a few. These are good times to check in with yourself. They each contain their own rituals. The upcoming Spring equinox is a rebirth good for cleansing and planting (sounds like things you may do naturally).

Moon Cycles
The New Moon and Full Moon are times when people have ceremonies or rituals, individually and  collectively. Pay attention to your own rhythms and you'll be amazed such as emotions, physical changes including headaches or pain, chaos, goal setting and intention, cleansing and, for women, the menses.

Mother Earth gives us these ongoing gifts to create ceremony to honor ourselves, others and 'her'. Continue to be good to yourself and create special ways to celebrate and give thanks!  See and feel how exponential this is beginning with yourself, your sacred circle, community, state, country, continent and world. Make a positive impact.



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Body and Mind Enrichment. A unique way of exercising your body and mind!