Cultivating Patience

Nothing moves slower than the ripening of a green tomato in July. I planted these Black Krims in May-- watered, weeded, and fertilized them. Now all I can do is wait patiently until nature does her thing and turns them from green to deep, delicious red.

 In Traditional Chinese Medicine the energy of patience is associated with the heart. When we’re upset, agitated, impatient or in a rush, our heart pounds, our blood pressure soars, we may even get red in the face like a ripe tomato!  The heart is the fire element, after all. Summer is the season when the fire element, the most yang of all the 5 elements, is at its peak. If you’re impatient, whether with your garden, your family, the world, or yourself, here’s an easy way to cool that fire: take a deep, calm, slow breath. Exhale and feel the hot agitation flow out and away from you, as your heart fire cools.  Make the healing sound for the heart, “haaaa” for even more transformational power. Then, inhale cool, calmness and peace. Repeat as necessary. There are no side effects other than turning the over- heatedness into patience, calm, and the truly delicious feeling of not being in a hurry.

Know what else moves slowly at times? Recovery from injury. “Lynne the Third” and I discussed this yesterday after class. We’ve both experienced shoulder cuff injuries. My experience was that it took a few years of Qigong practice, including acupressure and self-massage, to gradually melt the stiffness and pain out of my shoulder. Above all, I needed to cultivate my skill of patience. Although it felt as if my shoulder would never, ever heal, it did. In Qigong, we exercise all these levels and forms of energy: our shoulder joints as well as our capacity to be gentle with ourselves as we breathe, relax, and wait for things to change.