spring equinox Archives

A big day. This is a huge day. We do not get a day off from school or work. It is not a holiday, but we know what today is. We know this day has arrived. We feel it in our bones. We smile and are encouraged. Why?

It is officially the first day of spring!! The spring equinox. “Equinox” comes from Latin, meaning ‘equality of day and night’. A moment of balance as the sun moves north across the celestial equator. It is special. It happens only twice a year. This is the one we get most excited about because it signals longer minutes and hours of light in our day, more sunshine, more outside and one of my favorites, the green budding of the trees, soon to be lush with leaves and new life.

For me this time, this moment is what Tai Chi is about, moving gracefully and gently to find the moment and moments of balance. Tai Chi relates to and symbolizes this day in nature for me, balancing yin and yang as dark and light are in perfect balance.

Take time this day to pay attention, feel nature doing it’s work to create balance, then flower fully into spring. Look at the sky, the trees, the water, the mountain, all participating in this wonderful moment of equinox.

Today represents the Spring Equinox, the point when we have equal times of daylight and darkness. Many of us pay attention to this day, because we know that the hours of daylight will continue to lengthen and our outdoor activities expand.

As we note this named first day of spring, it is a good time to pause and reflect on the balance in our own lives. “Balance” is literal, our physical balance of standing, walking, striving for good posture and alignment; balance is how we spend our time in the mix of work, family, friends, volunteering, and taking care of ourselves; balance is having times of noise and times of silence; balance is being very active and also taking time to rest; balance is completing tasks while reviewing broader goals for our future; balance is mindfully focusing on both the yin and yang of our lives.

A major aspect of Tai Chi is to focus our minds on shifting our weight forward, then backward, flowing from yang to yin and back to yang. We are always gathering or delivering energy. We are enjoying the gentle, flowing movements, trying to be in tune and in balance with the Spring Equinox, equal time of light, (yang) with an equal time of dark (yin). We not only pause to reflect on the balance is our lives, we relax and try to live it.