Full Fire Rat Moon

   Here we are at the full rat moon, this is the absolute peak of winter. It's all down hill from here. By a conventional solar standard, solstice is still a week away, winter hasn't even started yet. This parallels the classic fabel of the tortoise and the hair, aka the moon and the sun. See, yin wins.
   The demands of winter are simple, but not easy. Before we had electricity, winters were way worse. Fortunately for our ancestors, fire solved most of winter's woes. Fire is a life saver. Fire keeps us safe, warm, and nourished, but above all, it's a little speck of light against the pitch black of night.    Which brings us to this week's focus, lighting. This winter, consider a few fancy feng shui light hacks. First, turn all your lights down after sunset, try to maintain a natural lighting cycle. Also, consider your tones. Stick to softer notes like orange, pink, or yellow. It doesn't have to be fancy, all you need is a scarf or an old t-shirt to use as a lampshade. Next, think about angles, try to light your space from the ground up like a camp fire instead of top down like the summer sun. The last hack is to just turn your lights off all together. Light up a few romantic candles instead. 
   The idea is to keep your evenings yin. It's a good habit all year round, but especially now in the winter. Did you know the average person got over ten hours of sleep each night before electric lights? Sleep is really, really good for you and we don't get nearly enough of it these days. If you struggle with sleep, turn off ALL your lights by nine - screens and things included (and all your Christmas lights too). Adopt an evening wind down routine and make it sacred. For extra credit, you can cut off your wifi and bluetooth too. These simple things should improve your sleep in both depth and duration. Try it!

✧ Evening Lights Done Right ✧

Turn them Down: Use a lamp shade, or a dimmer.
Warm them Up: Go for orange, pink, or yellow tones.
From the Ground Up: It should feel like a camp fire.
Just Turn them Off: Light some candles instead.

Embrace the Yin of Winter

Contents

・Shifu Says: A brief word from our head teacher, Shifu David Wei.
・Zodiac pt 4: We've got numbers and animals, now seasons.
・FREE Qigong Classes: All new content for the winter months! 
・The Daoist Calendar: Special holidays and how to observe them.
・Learning Courtesy: Hijinks and harmony of Gretchen and Grace. 

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