To Be a Tiger: Breathe Deep and Find the Root of the Earth

Post Date:March 05, 2010

The image of a tiger evokes strength, nobility, energy, and courage.  As the year of the Earth Ox plods into the past and the year of the Metal Tiger has sprung in, we might imagine that the new year promises a radical shift of tone and energy.  Fortunately, the year is supposed to offer some welcome relief from the suffering and difficulty of the past year.  Overall, the year of the Tiger is marked with tumultuous energy--frenetic and perhaps difficult at times—that should result in a positive upswing over the last year.
    Nevertheless, even though we have entered a new lunar year, we should not expect our own yin energy to swing immediately to full yang.  We are still within the last throes of Winter--which we should perhaps measure in feet of snow instead of weeks given the temperament of this prolonged and snowy stretch of February.  This period, though,  leaning toward the Spring equinox at 1:32 P.M. on the 20th of March, should be one of rest,  recuperation, and storage.  In other words, this last stretch of the winter season seems to resemble more the Earth Ox than a leaping Tiger. 
    While such a period of rest may seem antithetical to our conception of the Tiger, it reveals an often overlooked and significant aspect of the Tiger's character.  The Tiger is usually depicted as poised to spring into action.   In other words, the tiger is latent, pure energetic potential.  The energy of the Tiger is coiled inward ready to unfurl in a devastating pounce.  Like a Tiger hidden in the swaying grass—ever vigilant and poised to respond—we need to be reminded that we need to “recharge” ourselves Tiger so that we too are poised for the coming yang seasons of Spring and Summer.
    During this time of year, it is vital that we rest and restore our depleted energy resources through such activities as Chi Kung (qigong), meditation, and the attention to our breath.  All of these activities focus our attention inward, and the emphasis upon the breath is used to lead Chi to our Dantien, our battery, in order to replenish and store energy. 
    In Taoist scriptures, such breathe techniques of longer inhales/shorter exhales are known as “yin” breathing exercises, which are associated with the Tiger as well.  As Chang San-Feng, the famous Taoist hermit credited with the creation of T’ai Chi, writes,
 
    It is said that when you breathe out you contact the Root of Heaven and experience a sense of openness, and when you breathe in you contact the Root of Earth and experience a sense of solidity.  Breathing out is associated with the fluidity of the dragon, breathing in is associated with the strength of the tiger.

With the beginning of the year of the metal tiger, it is vital to be poised for the vernal equinox by focusing upon the breath of Earth, the inhalation, which mirrors the inner strength of the tiger.  Turn the attention inward and cultivate the energy of the Tiger—ever vigilant and vibrant.  Hopefully in the new year, all of us can remain true to the root of earth—to breathe deeply and manifest the energy to ride the tiger throughout this entire year—prepared to deal with whatever it may bring.

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