Align Your Yoga Practice with the Seasons of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)
Integrate the ancient wisdom of Traditional chinese Medicine (TCM) with your yoga practice. By understanding the energetic shifts associated with each season, you can tailor your movements and mindfulness too cultivate greater harmony and well-being. This guide maps the TCM seasons for 2025-2026 and suggests corresponding yoga practices to enhance your health throughout the year.
TCM Seasonal Guide 2025-2026: A Yoga Practitioner’s Handbook
TCM views the year as a cycle of five elements: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and water, each governing specific organs, emotions, and energetic qualities. aligning your yoga practice with thes seasonal shifts can promote balance and resilience.
Spring – Wood Element: expansion and Renewal
Dates: February 4 to April 16, 2025
- Associated Organs: Liver / Gallbladder
- Emotions: Anger, frustration, need for momentum
- Yoga Focus: Torsions, standing postures, hip openers to promote energy flow and release stagnation.
Spring Intersession – Earth Element: Centering and digestion
Dates: April 17 to May 4, 2025
- Associated organs: Spleen / Stomach
- Emotions: Rumination, lack of stability
- Yoga Focus: Grounding postures, calming breathwork, and centering practices to enhance stability and digestion.
Summer – fire Element: Joy and Radiance
Dates: May 5 to July 19, 2025
- Associated Organs: Heart / Small Intestine
- Emotions: Joy, enthusiasm, but also agitation
- Yoga Focus: Heart-opening poses, expansive breathing, and joyful grounding to balance exuberance with stability.
Summer Intersession – Earth Element: Returning to Self
Dates: July 20 to August 6, 2025
- Associated Organs: Spleen / Stomach
- Yoga Focus: Grounding poses, introspection, forward folds, and stabilization techniques to foster self-reflection and inner peace.
Autumn – Metal Element: clarity and Letting Go
Dates: August 7 to October 19, 2025
- Associated Organs: Lung / Large Intestine
- Emotions: Sadness, melancholy
- Yoga Focus: Upper back openers, mindful breathing, and slow, intentional movements to cultivate clarity and release what no longer serves.
Autumn Intersession – Earth Element: Integration
Dates: October 20 to November 6, 2025
- Associated Organs: Spleen / Stomach
- Yoga Focus: Gentle, slow practice, emphasizing grounding to support integration and stability.
Winter – Water Element: Rest and Regeneration
Dates: November 7, 2025 to January 16, 2026
- Associated Organs: Kidney / Bladder
- Emotions: Fear, fatigue, need for withdrawal
- Yoga Focus: Deep Yin practices, meditation, and restorative postures to encourage rest, conserve energy, and promote regeneration.
Winter Intersession – Earth Element: Silent Transition
Dates: January 17 to February 3, 2026
- associated Organs: Spleen / Stomach
- Yoga Focus: Focus on breath awareness, inner calm, and gentle movements to prepare for renewal and the coming spring.
What yoga poses are best for supporting liver health during the Spring (Wood element) according to TCM?
align Your Yoga Practice wiht the Seasons of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)
Integrate the ancient wisdom of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) with your yoga practice. By understanding the energetic shifts associated with each season, you can tailor your movements and mindfulness to cultivate greater harmony and well-being. This guide maps the TCM seasons for 2025-2026 and suggests corresponding yoga practices to enhance your health throughout the year.
TCM Seasonal Guide 2025-2026: A Yoga Practitioner’s Handbook
TCM views the year as a cycle of five elements: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water, each governing specific organs, emotions, and energetic qualities. Aligning your yoga practice with these seasonal shifts can promote balance and resilience.
Spring – Wood Element: Expansion and Renewal
Dates: February 4 to April 16, 2025
- Associated Organs: Liver / Gallbladder
- Emotions: anger, frustration, need for momentum
- Yoga Focus: Torsions, standing postures, hip openers to promote energy flow and release stagnation.
Spring intersession – Earth Element: Centering and Digestion
Dates: April 17 to May 4, 2025
- Associated Organs: Spleen / Stomach
- Emotions: Rumination, lack of stability
- Yoga Focus: Grounding postures, calming breathwork, and centering practices to enhance stability and digestion.
Summer – Fire Element: Joy and Radiance
Dates: May 5 to July 19, 2025
- Associated Organs: Heart / Small Intestine
- Emotions: Joy, enthusiasm, but also agitation
- Yoga Focus: Heart-opening poses, expansive breathing, and joyful grounding to balance exuberance with stability.
Summer Intersession – Earth Element: Returning to Self
Dates: July 20 to August 6, 2025
- Associated Organs: Spleen / Stomach
- Yoga Focus: Grounding poses, introspection, forward folds, and stabilization techniques to foster self-reflection and inner peace.
Autumn – metal Element: Clarity and Letting Go
Dates: August 7 to October 19, 2025
- Associated Organs: Lung / Large Intestine
- Emotions: Sadness, melancholy
- Yoga Focus: Upper back openers, mindful breathing, and slow, intentional movements to cultivate clarity and release what no longer serves.
Autumn Intersession – Earth Element: Integration
Dates: October 20 to November 6, 2025
- Associated Organs: Spleen / Stomach
- Yoga Focus: Gentle, slow practice, emphasizing grounding to support integration and stability.
Winter – Water Element: Rest and Regeneration
Dates: November 7,2025 to January 16,2026
- Associated Organs: Kidney / Bladder
- Emotions: Fear,fatigue,need for withdrawal
- Yoga Focus: Deep Yin practices,meditation,and restorative postures to encourage rest,conserve energy,and promote regeneration.
Winter Intersession – Earth Element: Silent Transition
Dates: January 17 to February 3, 2026
- Associated Organs: Spleen / Stomach
- Yoga Focus: Focus on breath awareness, inner calm, and gentle movements to prepare for renewal and the coming spring.
Q&A: Aligning Your Yoga with TCM Seasons
Q: why is it crucial to align my yoga practice with the seasons according to TCM?
A: TCM believes that nature’s cycles influence our bodies and energetic systems. By adapting your yoga to match the season’s energy, you can enhance your body’s natural rhythms, promote balance, and support overall well-being. This is like tuning your instrument to resonate with the music of the season.
Q: What are the five elements in TCM, and how do they relate to the seasons?
A: The five elements—Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water—represent different energies and phases of conversion. Each element is associated with specific organs, emotions, and seasons. For instance,Wood is linked to Spring,Fire to Summer,Metal to Autumn,and Water to Winter.Earth acts as a transitional element during the intersession periods between the main seasons.
Q: Which yoga poses are best for spring (Wood Element)?
A: In Spring, focus on postures like twists (e.g., seated twist, supine twist), standing poses (e.g., warrior poses, triangle pose), and hip openers (e.g., pigeon pose, butterfly pose). These poses help to stimulate the Liver and Gallbladder meridians, promoting the smooth flow of Qi (energy) and releasing stagnation. Try a 10-minute morning flow!
Q: How does the focus change in Summer (Fire Element)?
A: Summer yoga emphasizes heart-opening poses (e.g., backbends, cobra pose, bridge pose), expansive breathing (e.g.,deep diaphragmatic breathing),and joyful grounding. This helps balance the exuberance of Summer and the potential for agitation. Fun fact: the fire element is also associated with the color red, so wearing red can be a fun way of connecting with the season.
Q: What should I do during the Winter season?
A: Winter is a time for rest and regeneration. Embrace deep Yin yoga practices, meditation, and restorative postures (e.g., supported child’s pose, legs-up-the-wall pose).this helps conserve energy, support the Kidney / Bladder meridians, and encourage deep rest. Make sure you schedule enough time for rest!
Q: What are the Intersessions all about?
A: Earth Intersessions are transitional periods between seasons,focusing on grounding,stability,and digestion. Gentle practices, forward folds, and breathwork are emphasized to support the Spleen and Stomach. Think of these periods as a chance to integrate the lessons of the past season and prepare for the next.
By incorporating these seasonal practices into your yoga routine for 2025-2026, you can deepen your connection to your body, the natural world, and experience a more balanced and fulfilling life. Start by choosing one season and experimenting with the recommended poses today!
