Balancing on the Equinox

Last year I wrote about the effects of Winter on our chi. Now we are approaching the Spring Equinox (tomorrow, as I write this) and there is no better time to again consider the effect of nature’s energy on ourselves and our lives.

One of the most important aspects of our life is balance. My friends, students and clients have probably lost count of the number of times I have lectured anyone and everyone on the importance of this in all aspects of ourselves – and I touched on this subject in my article on Grounding.

The concept is rooted deeply in Eastern practices, embodied in the famous Yin Yang symbol. This symbol signifies that each extreme is tightly bound with the opposite and needs to relate directly to it in order to exist. It is our job to keep ourselves balanced in that middle ground. If we eat too little we become weak, if we eat too much we become fat. In Kung Fu practice if we do not maintain balance our power is lost and we become vulnerable to attack. In every day life if we do not maintain balance, we become ineffective and vulnerable to disease.

The Equinox (which literally comes from the Latin for equal night) is when the amount of day and night are in balance – actually there are several slightly different definitions but for most practical purposes they come down to the same thing: a time when the yin and yang energies of the day and night cycles are equal.

Even if we are not aware of it, this celestial and seasonal cycle has a hard-wired connection to our own energy systems. As February and March run up to Spring for us, the earth chi becomes energised and brings vitality and creativity to those connected to it. This is a formative stage of the year and gives us an opportunity to set our energy systems on a straight and true path, ready to enjoy the year ahead.

On and around the equinox is an ideal time to take advantage of the vast macrocosmic energetic momentum of the earth to help guide the microcosmic energy systems of our bodies. A great exercise to do this is:

  1. Go to a peaceful space – outside in nature if possible but if you live anywhere near Marlow in the UK the weather may not be quite suitable for that just yet!
  2. Settle down in a comfortable meditative position – ideally with your feet flat on the floor rather than a Lotus or similar
  3. Put up a protection to prevent any unwanted energies entering your system (see my Shields Up! article for how to do this)
  4. Focus on the energy in your heart as a gently burning flame
  5. Imagine a beam of light coming from the flame going down through your body, through the floor, deep into the earth beneath you
  6. Imagine another beam of light going up through your head, connecting the flame to the heavens above you
  7. Then address the flame and ask “Please bring me into balance”
  8. Accept whatever feelings or images may come up for you and when you feel the process has completed say “Thank you”
  9. Imagine the beams of light gently returning from the heavens and from the earth to the flame
  10. Bring yourself back to full awareness and open your eyes

This exercise is very powerful and can be used at any time of the year, but it is particularly potent on or around the Equinoxes as the world around us wants to be balanced and by connecting ourselves to it we get a free supercharge in our balancing efforts!

Balance is essential for a rewarding and happy life. Ask any tight-rope walker.