May 26, 2026 • 28 mins
In this episode, Dr. Christine explores the phenomenon lovingly known as “Mayvember”: that unique stretch of the year where family schedules explode with school events, sports, performances, celebrations, and all the end-of-year chaos that somehow arrives all at once.
Through the lens of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the Wood element of spring, this conversation reframes May not as something to survive perfectly, but as a season to move with more intentionally. Rather than trying to stop the momentum, the goal becomes creating more flow within it.
This episode explores movement, self-awareness, creativity, nervous system support, perfectionism, humor, and the importance of allowing space for rest and regrouping after intense seasons of life. It’s a grounded and honest conversation about navigating busy seasons with more grace, flexibility, and connection to what actually nourishes us.
In This Episode:
- What “Mayvember” is and why this season feels uniquely chaotic
- How spring and the Wood element relate to movement, growth, and momentum
- Why the goal isn’t to stop the chaos — but to keep energy flowing smoothly through it
- Using movement and routine as support during busy seasons
- The difference between fighting the season vs. working with it
- A conversation about being a “Type C mom” and embracing flexibility
- Letting go of perfectionism and making more space for grace
- Why self-awareness is protective during intense seasons of life
- Learning to recognize when you need movement vs. when you need rest
- How nourishment includes more than just food in Chinese medicine
- The impact of what we consume through our eyes, ears, and attention
- Why humor, laughter, and joy are powerful nervous system supports
- The role of creativity as a form of energy movement and inspiration
- Redefining creativity beyond traditional artistic expression
- Why intense seasons often highlight our desire for control
- The importance of regrouping and reflecting after periods of activation
- Creating intentional check-ins as we transition into a new season
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Episode Transcript
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SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Hello and welcome to another episode of the Tao of
Humaning, where we explore thephysical, energetic, emotional,
and spiritual aspects of what itmeans to be human together.
I'm your host, Dr.
Christine, and I'm so thrilledyou've decided to join me for
today's conversation.
In today's episode, I want totalk about this phenomenon known
(00:23):
as May Vember and how I surviveMayber as a doctor of
traditional Chinese medicine.
Now, some of you may have notheard of May Vember, and some of
you know this quite well.
Mayber is a very special time ofyear which is similar to
(00:43):
December, but without the gifts.
And what is meant by that isNovember is a time when the
school schedules, if you havechildren, get all out of rhythm
and they have all of the extraactivities, all of the
(01:04):
celebrations, all of theend-of-the-year, you know, cool
things to showcase, you know,their work the whole year long,
right?
So there's orchestra events, andthere's sporting events, and
there's class parties and spiritweek and teacher appreciation
and on and on and on and on andon.
(01:26):
All of the things.
All of them great, so amazing.
And in terms of like routine andstructure, like maintaining a
flow of uh life, May tends to bea little bit uh extra.
I was laughing.
Um, I actually went to pick upour son from a friend's house
(01:49):
the other night, and I saw umtwo other parents there, and
they were unfamiliar with theterm May member, but they as
soon as I explained what it was,they were like, Oh yeah,
totally.
So I think about you know thedifferent seasons of life and
seasons of uh, you know, we'vetalked a lot on this podcast
(02:14):
about different times in ourlives, like puberty and
perimenopause and postpartum.
And there's also these seasonsof just our regular cycles in a
year.
And for those of us withchildren, May pre May brings
about a different uh set ofchallenges.
(02:36):
And so, you know, the normalsports and workout and homework
and activities and things, youkind of get in a rhythm after
the holidays, right?
And then all of a sudden, I feellike every year spring comes
along, and then all of a suddenit's May, and I'm like, oh my
gosh, there are so many extrathings in the schedule.
(02:59):
I actually have a, we'll talkabout it in a minute, but I have
a friend who actually pulled measide and was like, I need you
to grab your phone and open theParent Square app to make sure
that you have everything on thecalendar because they know me
really well, and I appreciatethat about them.
I think I've talked about thembefore on my podcast.
(03:22):
Um but anyway, this time of yearis a very specific kind of
chaos.
And I was talking to a friend,another friend about it the
other day, and you know, I thinkthe lens of again, Chinese
medicine for the win is justallows for spaciousness and flow
(03:46):
in a way that is just reallylovely.
So I thought that this would bea fun topic to bring to the
podcast today, since it actuallyis being released.
Um this will be released thelast week of May.
So perfect.
Um, you'll have it in time fornext year and maybe a good
reflection on how May has beenfor you so far.
(04:10):
Um in terms of you know how as adoctor of Chinese medicine,
whenever I am looking at life,really, I'm always gonna be
grounding into what season isit?
And I look at that as like, whatis the season of life, right?
(04:34):
What is the season in naturearound us?
Because as I will always say, weare actually a part of nature.
And we also can utilize thenatural energies that are that
are that make up a season as aresource to help support us.
And I'm gonna tell you how I dothat in the spring right now.
(04:58):
So embracing the season thatwe're in.
So the season is spring, andspring is associated with the
wood element, and the woodelement has a lot to do with the
movement and flow, has a lot todo with the clarity, new
beginnings, it is thequintessential, like springtime
energy and expansion, thingslike that, right?
(05:22):
There's a lot of activity inspring naturally, right?
So it makes sense that we wouldalso have these things showing
up in our school schedules andwhatnot, right?
The goal here is not to stop theflow or stop the momentum or
stop the movement.
The goal is actually to createsome flow within the movement so
(05:46):
that the movement can occurnaturally unimpeded.
So a lot of that it can lookdifferent ways for different
people.
Um, when it comes to likelooking at a springtime schedule
as an example of this.
Um, for me, springtime meansthat I am extra diligent in my
movement.
So making sure that I make it tomy gym class that I really love.
(06:10):
And when I can't make it there,finding other ways to move my
energy naturally.
So that gives everything achance to kind of catch into the
flow.
Does that make sense?
It's like we want to keep itmoving smoothly, remembering
that we are part of nature,right?
(06:31):
And really grounding into theseason versus trying to fight
it, right?
Because if we try to fight thenatural, high energy, lots of
movement time that we're in, itjust creates honestly a lot more
frustration.
So, for example, I have a friendwho happened to just buy a house
(06:54):
and she also has multiplechildren, and you know, it's
May.
And so there's just a lot ofthings going on, and that now
there's also a new house movinginto part of November, which is
like plot twist, okay.
What do I do with this?
Um, and she mentioned the otherday, well, maybe I shouldn't
(07:15):
have bought a house in in May.
And I was like, actually, thatwas perfect, right?
Like it's already a chaotictime.
You might as well toss insomething else because it's
gonna be chaotic regardless.
So it's almost like it doesn'tnecessarily add more chaos, it
simply adds more.
(07:36):
I don't know.
It's like if your perfect thingshows up and you're doing things
that you love and you're withpeople that you love, it's like
the more momentum and morethings are not gonna be a
hindrance, right?
If you're like clamping in andtrying to control everything and
make it like perfect, that'swhere you start to see um
(07:59):
stagnations and the energy startto like bump up against things.
Is that making sense?
We'll keep going.
I was talking um to someone theother day about uh this idea of
a type C mom.
A lot of times we hear about thetype A moms, right?
Very organized, altogether, verygood with the routines and the
(08:21):
schedules and checking all theboxes.
And then there's the type B mom,excuse me, who is very um not
into all of the schedules andnot as organized.
Um, and I used to think that Iwas a type B mom.
And what I've learned over theyears is that I'm actually kind
of a type C mom, which is ablend of the two.
(08:44):
And it is, you know, sort ofdepends on the topic or the
category of thing, what showsup, whether it's type A or type
B.
Um, but in general, over theyears, I've really leaned into
this idea of the seasonality ofthings.
And so from that, I havedeveloped a skill of being able
(09:07):
to surrender into the chaos abit.
And what that looks like for meis, you know, taking a night off
from all the things if I need itor if our child needs it, right?
Like, okay, we need a reset,right?
And that might look likerelaxing together and watching a
movie instead of going to allthe things and doing the dishes
(09:29):
and just letting those thingsbe, because turns out they don't
go anywhere and that they'restill there to be done the next
day.
It's great.
Um, but being able to see what'sneeded is such a aspect of this
that I think really lends, Idon't know, there's almost like
(09:50):
a protective quality toself-awareness and also
creativity, I would say.
So the more that you understandyourself and the more that you
understand your family members,right, the more that you're
going to be able to see whenthings are going out of balance
and when things are needing ashift and a change, right?
(10:11):
Which is also something thatspringtime is really great for,
is actually that new beginningand change.
There's a lot of uh capacity inthat time.
So having this idea of noticingwhen we're depleted, right?
And noticing, we've talked aboutthis a lot in the podcast, like
(10:32):
noticing when you need rest andnoticing when you need movement.
And in springtime especially,this becomes really important
because the tendency when wefeel overwhelmed or there's like
a lot of things going on, a lotof times we'll have this
tendency to be like, oh, I needto stop doing the things, I need
(10:52):
to like stop and rest, right?
When actually you might need tohave some kind of a dedicated
movement or some kind of aboundary around the chaos,
right?
To be able to contain it.
And I think remembering, youknow, remembering to have those
check-ins, right?
(11:13):
Again, this is going to besomething that we come back to
again and again here, but havingthose check-ins for yourself
first, especially if you'relistening and you're a mom,
right?
Is it I mean, it's the samething as the the air in an
airplane, right?
You put on your own mask first.
Same thing, right?
Noticing if you need rest or youneed movement.
(11:33):
Like there's been, yeah, lots oftimes where I will be like, oh,
okay, this is actually what Ineed.
I need to go move my body.
And so everything else needs towait.
And then after I move my body,turns out I have a lot more
energy and I'm a lot moreresourceful and able to do and
(11:54):
you know, kind of manage all ofthe other things, right?
That like keep the schedulemoving and keep the house moving
and and whatnot, right?
But being able to see that andthen really grounding into the
body um in the simplest ways,right?
Like movement, we've talkedabout sleep.
(12:16):
So some phases of life are goingto be easier to do this than
others, but leaning into whenyou need a little more sleep or
when you might need a littleless sleep and having that
awareness, right?
And then making sure that youare drinking water and feeding
yourself, right?
Like what are the nutrients thatyou're taking into your body?
(12:38):
I was just talking about this inum my women's group on Mondays,
actually today, about how thestomach in Chinese medicine
relates to, you know, not onlywhat we take in for what we call
postnatal qi, which is our foodand our drinks, right?
(12:58):
What we take into our body thatgoes to the stomach, it also
relates with everything that wetake in through the sense
organs.
So everything that we're takingin through our eyes, everything
that we're taking in through ourears, and I would also add
everything that we take inthrough our fields, right?
And so that translates into reallife in terms of who are the
(13:24):
people that we are around?
What are we being nourished, whoare we being nourished by,
right?
And then what are we taking inin terms of podcasts?
If you're listening to this one,yay, hopefully this is an
inspiring space for you.
Um, but you know, what are youtaking in in terms of your
(13:44):
media, in terms of your movies,like what are you actually
watching and and payingattention to, right?
Because there's a saying thatlike where your energy goes,
where your intention goes,that's where your energy is
gonna flow, right?
So if you're always consuminginformation that is hard or
(14:06):
negative, that's gonna createstagnations in your body, right?
We talked about this a couple ofepisodes ago, where you know the
nervous system doesn'tnecessarily always differentiate
between what it's seeing on thenews and an actual real threat
to your person, right?
So being mindful of those piecesis so important, especially when
(14:32):
life is busier, right?
So sometimes it's simply amatter of making sure that we're
having those inspirationalaspects to our day-to-day life,
and also having a bit of humorcan also be really helpful,
especially as we're moving intosummer and having that joy
(14:52):
aspect, which is a summeremotion.
We'll talk, we'll do a whole umepisode on the emotions in
Chinese medicine.
It's super fascinating in theseasonality of things.
But being able to have joy andlaughter as a support, as like a
conscious support for yourwell-being in November is so
(15:14):
great.
Because if you're able to laughat kind of the ridiculousness of
the schedules, um it it makes ahuge difference in terms of your
energy, because you're opening,like, right?
Like you're you're if you thinkabout your posture, if you're
laughing, your chest is open,right?
(15:36):
Your arms are back, you're like,ha ha ha ha ha ha, right?
Your jaw is open and relaxed,there's flow and movement in
your body, right?
Whereas if you're like, oh myGod, like overwhelmed and
stressed, there's a a collapsingof the physical structure,
right?
So even just laughing, watchinga movie that you find funny, or
(15:59):
talking to someone that youenjoy the similar humor with,
right?
That actually creates the statein your body to be able to have
more flow and ease, even inNovember.
It's just bananas, the number ofthings to do.
Um I think ultimately this, youknow, the seasons that are more
(16:24):
intense, and this goes for, youknow, the hormonal things that
we've talked about too, likepuberty, perimenopause,
postpartum.
Anytime there's more intensityin our lives, it's going to
highlight our natural desiresfor perfectionism.
And it's an opportunity to beable to see that and laugh if
(16:49):
that's something that you'reable to do, but also uh bring in
this greater level of accepting.
And you know, life isn't meantto be perfection at all, I would
argue.
It's meant to be a littlechaotic, and being able to have
(17:12):
humor and have flow and havethings that are nourishing you
along with the chaos allows forthat flow and that openness so
that as we're going throughthese more chaotic times, our
energy is able to keep moving.
And that's the goal inspringtime.
You want to be able to have theenergy moving, even if it feels
(17:32):
like a lot, it's okay, right?
Because these seasons change.
And I think that sometimes whenwe're in these moments of more
intensity, we forget, right?
Our humanness, we start to thinkof, oh my god, this is what it's
going to be like forever.
Make it stop.
I just want something else to behappening, right?
(17:54):
That's not what's happening.
November is happening.
We need to be able to cultivatethis humor and this acceptance
and this nourishing of ourselvesaside from the chaos, or
especially in the chaos, right?
Maybe you might even get to aplace where you feel nourished
(18:16):
by the chaos.
And that's like a next level,right?
Being able to take all of thatextra energy, right?
And utilize that as a resourcein your life too.
I actually believe that that'scompletely possible and fun.
Um, I have a teacher who or havehad a teacher who would say the
(18:36):
intensity of life is a gift.
And I found that to be umrepeatedly true, right?
Or like it is those more intensemoments in life that we remember
and that can really shape us.
And if we pause long enough,even if it's while, you know,
you're in like while you're inthe shower or while you're in
(18:59):
car line or while you're groceryshopping, right?
Having those moments tointerject a bit of a check-in
for yourself and to be able tobe like, hey, like, am I
actually doing the things thatwill keep my energy open and
flowing in this more intensetime?
(19:19):
Right.
Doesn't mean you need to havelike a spa weekend every
weekend.
Like that sounds lovely, sure.
But we need to work with theparameters of reality here and
what our daily lives are like.
And bringing all of thesepractices back into our daily
life is really where we'reactually able to make a lot of
spiritual growth, like emotionalspiritual growth happens in
(19:43):
these day-to-day moments.
And really, if we're settingourselves up with these
check-ins to have thesereminders of like, oh, am I
doing the things that areultimately keeping me more
inspired, right?
That's gonna feed our spiritwith the chaos of that energy,
right?
Because we're all doing thingslike we're seeing our kids' like
(20:06):
musical progress, right?
We're seeing our kids' academicprogress, we're seeing their
like physical success throughlike sporting banquets and
things like that.
These are all amazing moments inlife, right?
And when we get too caught up inthe overwhelm piece and the
chaos of like May Vember, nah,right?
(20:27):
We we run the risk of missingthose moments, right?
And those moments are precious,and those moments can deeply
nourish us, even when we feeltired or like the to-do list is
never ending, or or or or orright?
All of those things.
Okay.
So I would say what's the otherpiece that I missed here.
(20:51):
I'm just seeing I do actuallyhave notes out today.
Um the creativity piece as aprotective aspect of our energy
is, I think, really interesting.
And I think creativity doesn't Iused to have this storyline of,
(21:13):
you know, I'm I'm not an artistor I'm not very creative when I
was growing up.
And I have found that to be avery silly story that I made up
is actually not true at all.
Turns out my creativity is justnot with pen and paper or clay.
I was imagining an artist to be,right?
(21:36):
My creativity comes throughcreation and, you know, course
design or like creating podcastsor clinical work, right?
I picked a profession where mymedicine is both art and
science.
And I love that, right?
Like I get to be creative all ofthe time.
(21:56):
And that creativity, I think I'mPointing that out today as part
of this May Vember conversationbecause that creativity I think
really helps to bring thatinspiration.
And I think creativity andinspiration are really closely
tied together.
(22:17):
Maybe that's anotherconversation, but um asking
yourself, you know, where do Ifeel creative?
And how might I bring morecreativity to my day-to-day?
And that could be something thatyou do as a solo um source of
nourishment, like something thatyou go and you do by yourself,
(22:40):
like journaling, writing, makingmusic, singing, creating
whatever, right?
Food.
You could be like a creativityperson in the kitchen, right?
Uh it can be anything.
But asking yourself where you'refeeling that draw right now, and
where could you find a littlebit more?
And this could also be somethingthat your kids also enjoy too.
(23:03):
So it doesn't have to besomething that you, you know,
step away from the family to do.
It could be.
So bringing in that creativitypiece.
And I think ultimately thatcreativity is allowing that,
again, that life force, that qi,that energy to move through us.
And the more that we createmoments for that energy to move
(23:26):
through us, the more easily wenavigate these big moments in
life of, you know, chaos andbusy schedules and change and
transformation and all of thesethings that go on in life,
right?
Having that resource ofcreativity as a practice for
allowing that energy to flowthrough us is so valuable.
(23:47):
So I wanted to make sure Ishared that with you today.
And then the last piece I wantto share about Mavember and what
I think about in terms oftraditional Chinese medicine and
you know, embracing thisseasonality is it's very normal
to have a crash, so to speak, ora dip in energy after an intense
(24:12):
period like this, right?
Like we go through these periodsof activation, and then it kind
of culminates in this peak, andthen it starts to come back
down, right?
It's normal to need a little bitmore rest after.
So if you experience that, it'sin that is normal and actually
encouraged where you can findthose more moments of rest.
(24:35):
And resting is a verb.
I'll keep saying this over andover again.
Resting is a verb.
So resting might include anactivity.
You might find restfulness inyour evening walks after dinner,
right?
You may find restfulness reallyanywhere, I would argue.
We can find restfulness inactivity.
(24:58):
That's maybe another podcastepisode and maybe a class,
because it it has taken a bit ofum skill building, but it is a
skill that we can build to befeeling nourished ultimately by
life.
And that includes the fullnessand chaos of life too.
So knowing that there's time forregrouping in Chinese medicine,
(25:24):
we look at a return to earthafter each season.
So usually in the first part ofJune, I will do um maybe like a
dedicated sit-down where I lookat the last few months and then
I look at okay, what wasnourishing about this, what was
(25:44):
beneficial, what was useful,what was hard, how did I like
where I showed up?
What did I not like?
You know, and then lookingahead.
We did a podcast episode aboutthis too, and I'm forgetting the
name of it, but I'll uh connectit down below in the notes.
Um, if you want to go back andlisten to that one, because it's
a really helpful practice.
(26:04):
And then looking forward intothe next season.
So we're this time looking intosummer, and what does our summer
look like?
And what things are showing up,and what do we want more of?
What do we want less of?
unknown (26:16):
Right.
SPEAKER_00 (26:17):
Again, where do we want to direct our attention?
And in that, you know, what dowe want more inspir?
Like, what do we want moreinspirationally?
That's not really a word.
What do we want?
How do we want to be moreinspired, right?
In this next two and a halfmonths, three months, right?
(26:39):
Short chunks.
And it might just be like youwant to add a little bit more
creativity, like, oh gosh, Ihadn't thought about like adding
in some creative time, like oncea week.
It doesn't have to be every day,it can be a little bit.
And then building from there,once you start to see that value
and that openness that comeswhen we're creative, right?
(27:01):
And naturally it's gonna want tohave more of that.
Does that make sense?
So if you're in may if you're inthe tail end, if you're
listening to this when it'sreleased, we are in the tail end
of November.
So it's a great time to lookback and be like, okay, wow,
that was wild and amazing,right?
(27:23):
Like looking at what was wildand what was amazing.
And then actually scheduling into your calendar some time for
the regrouping that comes afterthese more intense moments.
So as we're shifting intosummer, right, we start to lose
a bit of the schedules.
(27:44):
People are traveling, people aredoing camps, like the kids.
It's just a different kind ofroutine in the summertime.
Oftentimes there's not a lot ofroutine, right?
So, what are you going to beusing as inspiration in these
next few months, right?
Okay, these are my thoughts.
I would love to hear how MayMember is for you.
(28:05):
If you want to leave a commentor send me a message, I see all
the things.
And if you would like tosubscribe if you're not already
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And if you found this useful,please share with another person
who might benefit.
That really helps get thislittle podcast out to more
people who would benefit.
(28:26):
So thank you for being here, andI will see you next time.
Hello and welcome to another episode of the Tao of
Humaning, where we explore thephysical, energetic, emotional,
and spiritual aspects of what itmeans to be human together.
I'm your host, Dr.
Christine, and I'm so thrilledyou've decided to join me for
today's conversation.
In today's episode, I want totalk about this phenomenon known
(00:23):
as May Vember and how I surviveMayber as a doctor of
traditional Chinese medicine.
Now, some of you may have notheard of May Vember, and some of
you know this quite well.
Mayber is a very special time ofyear which is similar to
(00:43):
December, but without the gifts.
And what is meant by that isNovember is a time when the
school schedules, if you havechildren, get all out of rhythm
and they have all of the extraactivities, all of the
(01:04):
celebrations, all of theend-of-the-year, you know, cool
things to showcase, you know,their work the whole year long,
right?
So there's orchestra events, andthere's sporting events, and
there's class parties and spiritweek and teacher appreciation
and on and on and on and on andon.
(01:26):
All of the things.
All of them great, so amazing.
And in terms of like routine andstructure, like maintaining a
flow of uh life, May tends to bea little bit uh extra.
I was laughing.
Um, I actually went to pick upour son from a friend's house
(01:49):
the other night, and I saw umtwo other parents there, and
they were unfamiliar with theterm May member, but they as
soon as I explained what it was,they were like, Oh yeah,
totally.
So I think about you know thedifferent seasons of life and
seasons of uh, you know, we'vetalked a lot on this podcast
(02:14):
about different times in ourlives, like puberty and
perimenopause and postpartum.
And there's also these seasonsof just our regular cycles in a
year.
And for those of us withchildren, May pre May brings
about a different uh set ofchallenges.
(02:36):
And so, you know, the normalsports and workout and homework
and activities and things, youkind of get in a rhythm after
the holidays, right?
And then all of a sudden, I feellike every year spring comes
along, and then all of a suddenit's May, and I'm like, oh my
gosh, there are so many extrathings in the schedule.
(02:59):
I actually have a, we'll talkabout it in a minute, but I have
a friend who actually pulled measide and was like, I need you
to grab your phone and open theParent Square app to make sure
that you have everything on thecalendar because they know me
really well, and I appreciatethat about them.
I think I've talked about thembefore on my podcast.
(03:22):
Um but anyway, this time of yearis a very specific kind of
chaos.
And I was talking to a friend,another friend about it the
other day, and you know, I thinkthe lens of again, Chinese
medicine for the win is justallows for spaciousness and flow
(03:46):
in a way that is just reallylovely.
So I thought that this would bea fun topic to bring to the
podcast today, since it actuallyis being released.
Um this will be released thelast week of May.
So perfect.
Um, you'll have it in time fornext year and maybe a good
reflection on how May has beenfor you so far.
(04:10):
Um in terms of you know how as adoctor of Chinese medicine,
whenever I am looking at life,really, I'm always gonna be
grounding into what season isit?
And I look at that as like, whatis the season of life, right?
(04:34):
What is the season in naturearound us?
Because as I will always say, weare actually a part of nature.
And we also can utilize thenatural energies that are that
are that make up a season as aresource to help support us.
And I'm gonna tell you how I dothat in the spring right now.
(04:58):
So embracing the season thatwe're in.
So the season is spring, andspring is associated with the
wood element, and the woodelement has a lot to do with the
movement and flow, has a lot todo with the clarity, new
beginnings, it is thequintessential, like springtime
energy and expansion, thingslike that, right?
(05:22):
There's a lot of activity inspring naturally, right?
So it makes sense that we wouldalso have these things showing
up in our school schedules andwhatnot, right?
The goal here is not to stop theflow or stop the momentum or
stop the movement.
The goal is actually to createsome flow within the movement so
(05:46):
that the movement can occurnaturally unimpeded.
So a lot of that it can lookdifferent ways for different
people.
Um, when it comes to likelooking at a springtime schedule
as an example of this.
Um, for me, springtime meansthat I am extra diligent in my
movement.
So making sure that I make it tomy gym class that I really love.
(06:10):
And when I can't make it there,finding other ways to move my
energy naturally.
So that gives everything achance to kind of catch into the
flow.
Does that make sense?
It's like we want to keep itmoving smoothly, remembering
that we are part of nature,right?
(06:31):
And really grounding into theseason versus trying to fight
it, right?
Because if we try to fight thenatural, high energy, lots of
movement time that we're in, itjust creates honestly a lot more
frustration.
So, for example, I have a friendwho happened to just buy a house
(06:54):
and she also has multiplechildren, and you know, it's
May.
And so there's just a lot ofthings going on, and that now
there's also a new house movinginto part of November, which is
like plot twist, okay.
What do I do with this?
Um, and she mentioned the otherday, well, maybe I shouldn't
(07:15):
have bought a house in in May.
And I was like, actually, thatwas perfect, right?
Like it's already a chaotictime.
You might as well toss insomething else because it's
gonna be chaotic regardless.
So it's almost like it doesn'tnecessarily add more chaos, it
simply adds more.
(07:36):
I don't know.
It's like if your perfect thingshows up and you're doing things
that you love and you're withpeople that you love, it's like
the more momentum and morethings are not gonna be a
hindrance, right?
If you're like clamping in andtrying to control everything and
make it like perfect, that'swhere you start to see um
(07:59):
stagnations and the energy startto like bump up against things.
Is that making sense?
We'll keep going.
I was talking um to someone theother day about uh this idea of
a type C mom.
A lot of times we hear about thetype A moms, right?
Very organized, altogether, verygood with the routines and the
(08:21):
schedules and checking all theboxes.
And then there's the type B mom,excuse me, who is very um not
into all of the schedules andnot as organized.
Um, and I used to think that Iwas a type B mom.
And what I've learned over theyears is that I'm actually kind
of a type C mom, which is ablend of the two.
(08:44):
And it is, you know, sort ofdepends on the topic or the
category of thing, what showsup, whether it's type A or type
B.
Um, but in general, over theyears, I've really leaned into
this idea of the seasonality ofthings.
And so from that, I havedeveloped a skill of being able
(09:07):
to surrender into the chaos abit.
And what that looks like for meis, you know, taking a night off
from all the things if I need itor if our child needs it, right?
Like, okay, we need a reset,right?
And that might look likerelaxing together and watching a
movie instead of going to allthe things and doing the dishes
(09:29):
and just letting those thingsbe, because turns out they don't
go anywhere and that they'restill there to be done the next
day.
It's great.
Um, but being able to see what'sneeded is such a aspect of this
that I think really lends, Idon't know, there's almost like
(09:50):
a protective quality toself-awareness and also
creativity, I would say.
So the more that you understandyourself and the more that you
understand your family members,right, the more that you're
going to be able to see whenthings are going out of balance
and when things are needing ashift and a change, right?
(10:11):
Which is also something thatspringtime is really great for,
is actually that new beginningand change.
There's a lot of uh capacity inthat time.
So having this idea of noticingwhen we're depleted, right?
And noticing, we've talked aboutthis a lot in the podcast, like
(10:32):
noticing when you need rest andnoticing when you need movement.
And in springtime especially,this becomes really important
because the tendency when wefeel overwhelmed or there's like
a lot of things going on, a lotof times we'll have this
tendency to be like, oh, I needto stop doing the things, I need
(10:52):
to like stop and rest, right?
When actually you might need tohave some kind of a dedicated
movement or some kind of aboundary around the chaos,
right?
To be able to contain it.
And I think remembering, youknow, remembering to have those
check-ins, right?
(11:13):
Again, this is going to besomething that we come back to
again and again here, but havingthose check-ins for yourself
first, especially if you'relistening and you're a mom,
right?
Is it I mean, it's the samething as the the air in an
airplane, right?
You put on your own mask first.
Same thing, right?
Noticing if you need rest or youneed movement.
(11:33):
Like there's been, yeah, lots oftimes where I will be like, oh,
okay, this is actually what Ineed.
I need to go move my body.
And so everything else needs towait.
And then after I move my body,turns out I have a lot more
energy and I'm a lot moreresourceful and able to do and
(11:54):
you know, kind of manage all ofthe other things, right?
That like keep the schedulemoving and keep the house moving
and and whatnot, right?
But being able to see that andthen really grounding into the
body um in the simplest ways,right?
Like movement, we've talkedabout sleep.
(12:16):
So some phases of life are goingto be easier to do this than
others, but leaning into whenyou need a little more sleep or
when you might need a littleless sleep and having that
awareness, right?
And then making sure that youare drinking water and feeding
yourself, right?
Like what are the nutrients thatyou're taking into your body?
(12:38):
I was just talking about this inum my women's group on Mondays,
actually today, about how thestomach in Chinese medicine
relates to, you know, not onlywhat we take in for what we call
postnatal qi, which is our foodand our drinks, right?
(12:58):
What we take into our body thatgoes to the stomach, it also
relates with everything that wetake in through the sense
organs.
So everything that we're takingin through our eyes, everything
that we're taking in through ourears, and I would also add
everything that we take inthrough our fields, right?
And so that translates into reallife in terms of who are the
(13:24):
people that we are around?
What are we being nourished, whoare we being nourished by,
right?
And then what are we taking inin terms of podcasts?
If you're listening to this one,yay, hopefully this is an
inspiring space for you.
Um, but you know, what are youtaking in in terms of your
(13:44):
media, in terms of your movies,like what are you actually
watching and and payingattention to, right?
Because there's a saying thatlike where your energy goes,
where your intention goes,that's where your energy is
gonna flow, right?
So if you're always consuminginformation that is hard or
(14:06):
negative, that's gonna createstagnations in your body, right?
We talked about this a couple ofepisodes ago, where you know the
nervous system doesn'tnecessarily always differentiate
between what it's seeing on thenews and an actual real threat
to your person, right?
So being mindful of those piecesis so important, especially when
(14:32):
life is busier, right?
So sometimes it's simply amatter of making sure that we're
having those inspirationalaspects to our day-to-day life,
and also having a bit of humorcan also be really helpful,
especially as we're moving intosummer and having that joy
(14:52):
aspect, which is a summeremotion.
We'll talk, we'll do a whole umepisode on the emotions in
Chinese medicine.
It's super fascinating in theseasonality of things.
But being able to have joy andlaughter as a support, as like a
conscious support for yourwell-being in November is so
(15:14):
great.
Because if you're able to laughat kind of the ridiculousness of
the schedules, um it it makes ahuge difference in terms of your
energy, because you're opening,like, right?
Like you're you're if you thinkabout your posture, if you're
laughing, your chest is open,right?
(15:36):
Your arms are back, you're like,ha ha ha ha ha ha, right?
Your jaw is open and relaxed,there's flow and movement in
your body, right?
Whereas if you're like, oh myGod, like overwhelmed and
stressed, there's a a collapsingof the physical structure,
right?
So even just laughing, watchinga movie that you find funny, or
(15:59):
talking to someone that youenjoy the similar humor with,
right?
That actually creates the statein your body to be able to have
more flow and ease, even inNovember.
It's just bananas, the number ofthings to do.
Um I think ultimately this, youknow, the seasons that are more
(16:24):
intense, and this goes for, youknow, the hormonal things that
we've talked about too, likepuberty, perimenopause,
postpartum.
Anytime there's more intensityin our lives, it's going to
highlight our natural desiresfor perfectionism.
And it's an opportunity to beable to see that and laugh if
(16:49):
that's something that you'reable to do, but also uh bring in
this greater level of accepting.
And you know, life isn't meantto be perfection at all, I would
argue.
It's meant to be a littlechaotic, and being able to have
(17:12):
humor and have flow and havethings that are nourishing you
along with the chaos allows forthat flow and that openness so
that as we're going throughthese more chaotic times, our
energy is able to keep moving.
And that's the goal inspringtime.
You want to be able to have theenergy moving, even if it feels
(17:32):
like a lot, it's okay, right?
Because these seasons change.
And I think that sometimes whenwe're in these moments of more
intensity, we forget, right?
Our humanness, we start to thinkof, oh my god, this is what it's
going to be like forever.
Make it stop.
I just want something else to behappening, right?
(17:54):
That's not what's happening.
November is happening.
We need to be able to cultivatethis humor and this acceptance
and this nourishing of ourselvesaside from the chaos, or
especially in the chaos, right?
Maybe you might even get to aplace where you feel nourished
(18:16):
by the chaos.
And that's like a next level,right?
Being able to take all of thatextra energy, right?
And utilize that as a resourcein your life too.
I actually believe that that'scompletely possible and fun.
Um, I have a teacher who or havehad a teacher who would say the
(18:36):
intensity of life is a gift.
And I found that to be umrepeatedly true, right?
Or like it is those more intensemoments in life that we remember
and that can really shape us.
And if we pause long enough,even if it's while, you know,
you're in like while you're inthe shower or while you're in
(18:59):
car line or while you're groceryshopping, right?
Having those moments tointerject a bit of a check-in
for yourself and to be able tobe like, hey, like, am I
actually doing the things thatwill keep my energy open and
flowing in this more intensetime?
(19:19):
Right.
Doesn't mean you need to havelike a spa weekend every
weekend.
Like that sounds lovely, sure.
But we need to work with theparameters of reality here and
what our daily lives are like.
And bringing all of thesepractices back into our daily
life is really where we'reactually able to make a lot of
spiritual growth, like emotionalspiritual growth happens in
(19:43):
these day-to-day moments.
And really, if we're settingourselves up with these
check-ins to have thesereminders of like, oh, am I
doing the things that areultimately keeping me more
inspired, right?
That's gonna feed our spiritwith the chaos of that energy,
right?
Because we're all doing thingslike we're seeing our kids' like
(20:06):
musical progress, right?
We're seeing our kids' academicprogress, we're seeing their
like physical success throughlike sporting banquets and
things like that.
These are all amazing moments inlife, right?
And when we get too caught up inthe overwhelm piece and the
chaos of like May Vember, nah,right?
(20:27):
We we run the risk of missingthose moments, right?
And those moments are precious,and those moments can deeply
nourish us, even when we feeltired or like the to-do list is
never ending, or or or or orright?
All of those things.
Okay.
So I would say what's the otherpiece that I missed here.
(20:51):
I'm just seeing I do actuallyhave notes out today.
Um the creativity piece as aprotective aspect of our energy
is, I think, really interesting.
And I think creativity doesn't Iused to have this storyline of,
(21:13):
you know, I'm I'm not an artistor I'm not very creative when I
was growing up.
And I have found that to be avery silly story that I made up
is actually not true at all.
Turns out my creativity is justnot with pen and paper or clay.
I was imagining an artist to be,right?
(21:36):
My creativity comes throughcreation and, you know, course
design or like creating podcastsor clinical work, right?
I picked a profession where mymedicine is both art and
science.
And I love that, right?
Like I get to be creative all ofthe time.
(21:56):
And that creativity, I think I'mPointing that out today as part
of this May Vember conversationbecause that creativity I think
really helps to bring thatinspiration.
And I think creativity andinspiration are really closely
tied together.
(22:17):
Maybe that's anotherconversation, but um asking
yourself, you know, where do Ifeel creative?
And how might I bring morecreativity to my day-to-day?
And that could be something thatyou do as a solo um source of
nourishment, like something thatyou go and you do by yourself,
(22:40):
like journaling, writing, makingmusic, singing, creating
whatever, right?
Food.
You could be like a creativityperson in the kitchen, right?
Uh it can be anything.
But asking yourself where you'refeeling that draw right now, and
where could you find a littlebit more?
And this could also be somethingthat your kids also enjoy too.
(23:03):
So it doesn't have to besomething that you, you know,
step away from the family to do.
It could be.
So bringing in that creativitypiece.
And I think ultimately thatcreativity is allowing that,
again, that life force, that qi,that energy to move through us.
And the more that we createmoments for that energy to move
(23:26):
through us, the more easily wenavigate these big moments in
life of, you know, chaos andbusy schedules and change and
transformation and all of thesethings that go on in life,
right?
Having that resource ofcreativity as a practice for
allowing that energy to flowthrough us is so valuable.
(23:47):
So I wanted to make sure Ishared that with you today.
And then the last piece I wantto share about Mavember and what
I think about in terms oftraditional Chinese medicine and
you know, embracing thisseasonality is it's very normal
to have a crash, so to speak, ora dip in energy after an intense
(24:12):
period like this, right?
Like we go through these periodsof activation, and then it kind
of culminates in this peak, andthen it starts to come back
down, right?
It's normal to need a little bitmore rest after.
So if you experience that, it'sin that is normal and actually
encouraged where you can findthose more moments of rest.
(24:35):
And resting is a verb.
I'll keep saying this over andover again.
Resting is a verb.
So resting might include anactivity.
You might find restfulness inyour evening walks after dinner,
right?
You may find restfulness reallyanywhere, I would argue.
We can find restfulness inactivity.
(24:58):
That's maybe another podcastepisode and maybe a class,
because it it has taken a bit ofum skill building, but it is a
skill that we can build to befeeling nourished ultimately by
life.
And that includes the fullnessand chaos of life too.
So knowing that there's time forregrouping in Chinese medicine,
(25:24):
we look at a return to earthafter each season.
So usually in the first part ofJune, I will do um maybe like a
dedicated sit-down where I lookat the last few months and then
I look at okay, what wasnourishing about this, what was
(25:44):
beneficial, what was useful,what was hard, how did I like
where I showed up?
What did I not like?
You know, and then lookingahead.
We did a podcast episode aboutthis too, and I'm forgetting the
name of it, but I'll uh connectit down below in the notes.
Um, if you want to go back andlisten to that one, because it's
a really helpful practice.
(26:04):
And then looking forward intothe next season.
So we're this time looking intosummer, and what does our summer
look like?
And what things are showing up,and what do we want more of?
What do we want less of?
unknown (26:16):
Right.
SPEAKER_00 (26:17):
Again, where do we want to direct our attention?
And in that, you know, what dowe want more inspir?
Like, what do we want moreinspirationally?
That's not really a word.
What do we want?
How do we want to be moreinspired, right?
In this next two and a halfmonths, three months, right?
(26:39):
Short chunks.
And it might just be like youwant to add a little bit more
creativity, like, oh gosh, Ihadn't thought about like adding
in some creative time, like oncea week.
It doesn't have to be every day,it can be a little bit.
And then building from there,once you start to see that value
and that openness that comeswhen we're creative, right?
(27:01):
And naturally it's gonna want tohave more of that.
Does that make sense?
So if you're in may if you're inthe tail end, if you're
listening to this when it'sreleased, we are in the tail end
of November.
So it's a great time to lookback and be like, okay, wow,
that was wild and amazing,right?
(27:23):
Like looking at what was wildand what was amazing.
And then actually scheduling into your calendar some time for
the regrouping that comes afterthese more intense moments.
So as we're shifting intosummer, right, we start to lose
a bit of the schedules.
(27:44):
People are traveling, people aredoing camps, like the kids.
It's just a different kind ofroutine in the summertime.
Oftentimes there's not a lot ofroutine, right?
So, what are you going to beusing as inspiration in these
next few months, right?
Okay, these are my thoughts.
I would love to hear how MayMember is for you.
(28:05):
If you want to leave a commentor send me a message, I see all
the things.
And if you would like tosubscribe if you're not already
to get notified when newepisodes drop.
And if you found this useful,please share with another person
who might benefit.
That really helps get thislittle podcast out to more
people who would benefit.
(28:26):
So thank you for being here, andI will see you next time.
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