Today fall is in the crisp morning air. The temperature was a cool 51 degrees. It’s a reminder that the seasons are always changing and its time to start loosening any attachment to summer. We can say that in summer Mother Nature’s ego is in full beauty. Now the fruit trees and garden vines are bowing towards the earth with their mature bounty. We must pick the fruits, eat them and store them to preserve their nutritional value. Preserving and storing essence is a theme for this time of year.  Just as winter follows fall, if we don’t preserve the foods they will go back into the ground, decay, germinate and reemerge in the spring. Its all part of the process.

As I was practicing with my qigong group in the park, my thoughts went to my parents who are in decline.  I noticed the tension in my body and heart that is coming from my worry about them, and beneath that my fear and resistance to the aging process. Worry about the future is almost always backed up by fear or anxiety.

One antidote is to bring the mind gently back to the present and to the physical sensations in the body.  During qigong practice, especially during standing meditations, we are encouraged to relax, relax, relax and open, open, open. As I softened through my body, a healing message emerged in my mind. Like the branches that are bowing with heavy fruit, I must also bow to the process of life. This softening and allowing in mind and body eases fear. In this present moment I consciously return to preserving and storing my internal essence with movement, breath and visualization practices.

The meridian in the spotlight for September is the Kidney meridian in the system of the twelve earthly branches. Storing and preserving essence are key words for the kidney, which is like our life battery that must be recharged, or it becomes extinguished. Fear is the emotion we feel when the Kidney qi is low or stressed. Other key words, which come from the Kidney’s association with water, are surrender, humility, and strength through flow and perseverance.

To find out more about working with fear and the meridian of the month, check out my e-book, Meridian Health Almanac. Each chapter gives monthly insights for well-being in our holographic universe.