Cultivating yin energy helps to reduce stress
Are you feeling stressed in your job? Do you find yourself getting more irritable with other people around you? Are you getting more headaches than normal, or is your sleep becoming affected so that you wake feeling hot or sweaty in the night? Do you find it hard to sit still, or to find time to relax? Do you find it hard to quieten your mind down at the end of the day?
If you are experiencing some or all of these symptoms, you may be suffering from what Chinese medicine calls a deficiency of yin energy. The concept of yin energy is used to describe that intangible reservoir of cool and calm energy that you can draw on in times of stress. We have all had times in the past when we have felt calm and relaxed and at ease with the world, so we can all identify with that feeling when yin energy is abundant.
Living in a city with a demanding job, active social life or a busy family life with all its pressures can rapidly deplete these reserves of cool and calm yin energy, leaving a person with the classic symptoms of stress mentioned above. Luckily there are quite a few ways it can be built back up if it has become depleted, so in this week’s articles we will look at a few of the best.
When considering whether a particular activity might be good to help build yin energy, the best words to keep in mind are cool and calm. In a previous article, we talked about the power of deep breathing to help induce relaxation in the body. When done on a regular basis, deep breathing is great at building yin energy.
Another great way to help build yin energy is to spend some time in surroundings that manifest yin qualities. Imagine being somewhere quiet and peaceful in one of our many beautiful Arizona mountains, stunning national parks. Imagine walking through a cool forest in autumn, by a fresh mountain lake in winter, or along a coastal path breathing in the salty sea air. Think about how great you feel at the end of a day, long weekend or a week spent somewhere like that.
