Everybody knows about spring cleaning the house… But have you ever thought of spring cleaning your digital devices? Or Spring cleaning your body/mind?
The oldest Chinese Medicine text says this about Springtime: “With the arrival of spring the weather warms the Earth… the Liver can then nourish the tendons and tendomuscular channels. Liver connects with the eyes through its channels, and thus it is said that the upper orifice of the Liver is the eyes… the Liver is responsible for maintaining the patency of the flow of energy, and its nature is movement and expansion.”
Unfortunately, the amount of time we spend staring at our mobile screens can damage the function of our Liver. This happens through excessive and unnatural exposure to the light influencing the flow of energy in our eyes. This frequent exposure weakens the Blood in our Liver. Also, the unnaturally quick pace and division of attention that these devices demand can easily disrupt our natural, free flow of energy. Often the repeated movements of our thumbs, arms, and shoulders from texting, typing, mouseing, and swiping can further damage our tendons which is nourished from the Blood of our Liver. How can prevent such damage to our Liver?
Let me recommend a digital cleanse!
First, try to clean up your apps & emails. Delete any apps you haven’t used in the last year and unsubscribe to any promotional emails that you haven’t opened in the last year.
Secondly, remove all the push notifications from your apps. This way your attention won’t be consumed by every update. You can actually start to just pull the info that you need instead of it being continually pushed into your face.
Thirdly, limit use for two weeks. Turn that phone off when you really don’t need it. Turn it off an hour before going to bed.
This spring your liver will thank you!
Matthew Norick, Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioner & Registered Acupuncturist
