Spring has sprung, finally!

My tulips have started to sprout out of the ground! Meanwhile, it just snowed briefly, so welcome to spring in Montana.

When I sit down to write each blog, I usually have some topic in mind, chiropractic or health wise, but as of late, I have been thinking about the seasons. Yes, spring is here (and likely more snow will still come too) and with each change of the seasons I get an internal feeling of anticipation looking forward to what the season means. I love living where there are four seasons. My husband and I lived near Oakland, CA while I was in chiropractic school and I really missed having all the seasons while there.

Now that we have been able to enjoy four season weather again for over 5 years now, I never take it for granted; that winter turns into spring. I do love the snow and I also love when it melts and the ground turns green again.

I've also noticed this cyclical pattern in life and in practice. Along with the seasons, things shift around every three months. (Fun fact: In a woman's body, it also takes 3-4 months for an egg to reach maturation). At home, we have our daily rhythm&routine and every few months this will shift. In our case, it will be a new baby next month :)

In my practice I notice this same shift happen both on the business side of things as well as in my clients and their lives. Sometimes life hands us a lot of things all at once and sometimes it hands us smaller, subtler things. Either way, it is a sign of life continuing on, and a sign of growing.

Your internal body also goes through the seasons: spring, summer, fall, winter. This is healthy and normal. As a woman who has a regular cycle, the four-ish weeks of your menstrual cycle relate to the seasons. Menstruation is winter, follicular is spring, ovulatory is summer, and fall is luteal. During a pregnancy, the 1st trimester is considered spring, the 2nd trimester is summer, the 3rd trimester is fall, and the 4th trimester is winter. Maybe you've never thought about these periods of time in this way, but consider what each season means and how it can apply to each times in a woman's life!

Men aren't exempt from this either! You also will go through an internal shifting of seasons depending on what life looks like for you. Your hormones operate differently from a woman's and turnover more quickly (daily vs monthly) but this concept still applies.

So as we move into spring, notice the changes in your external environment as well as in your internal environment. Your internal environment may not match the external environment and that is okay! Self-awareness is the most important piece of the puzzle here.