Navigating the Yang Fire Spring: Why your mind is racing (and how to ground it)

In this far reaching article acupuncturist Miha Rosta looks at spring in the context of the Chinese year of the Fire Horse and gives some suggestions as to how we balance our energies in the months ahead. He has lots of suggestions in this article and also a workshop focusing on grounding coming up

 If you are waking up at 3 AM with an overly active brain—you are not crazy. In fact, I am seeing a huge increase in insomnia cases in the clinic right now. A few weeks ago, I attended a talk by my Daoist teacher, Anita, and she explained exactly why this is happening: Welcome to the Yang Fire Spring.

(Note: Because so many people are struggling with this, I am putting together a local 2.5-hour workshop to physically practice grounding these energies together—you can [Click here to join the waitlist].)

This will be a lengthy read, but I highly advise you to save this document on your phone for whenever you feel like you are 'losing your mind' this year.

Let's talk about the 2026/27 first
Anita depicted a beautiful picture in which the energetic, fiery nature of the Horse (representing the Earthly branch of Chinese Astrology) is being further enhanced and supported by the Yang Fire energies (of the Heavenly Stems), leading to very powerful dynamics this year. Practically speaking, this is a year for great advancements fuelled by those double Yang (vibrant) energies, which I am sure you have encountered already. As we experience more explosiveness (globally and locally), it becomes imperative to prevent mental restlessness by giving more value (and engagement) to Humility and Moderation.

Spring Truths
On the other hand, spring is an exceptionally vitalising, yet chaotic time of the year. As we come out of hibernation, most of us are faced with the truth, which is that we have not rested enough over winter, and now we must face up to the contrasting liveliness of Spring. Irritability, headaches, insomnia and physical tightness, as well as sinus issues (due to the pollen) are prime examples of health-related dis-harmonies around this time of the year.

As these are further exacerbated by the energetics of the Yang Fire Horse, we need to bring extra caution to our balance between activity and rest. It is always advised to increase physical activity (especially stretching) and decluttering in Spring. Some examples are eating more detoxifying (seasonal) fruits or by doing a big house clean. We must remember to always relax back into our body as we are approaching the evenings.

Creative vs Distracting forces  
This year is prime for distraction. (Sorry ADHD folks). Time flows more quickly, and as soon as we put our finger on some extra bit of energy, we feel driven to use it right up. We must be really vigilant with burnout! Managing our energy and mental activity should be in our prime focus for the year.

On the bright side, the extra vibrancy will be great help for all creative projects, including self-expression. Long-held plans can come to fruition this year – as long as we keep a cool head. The double Yang is excellent for fuelling our plans and current interests.

Sleep and Burnout 
This Spring is especially tricky for people who have an unanchored nervous system. The fiery energies of the year bring up more energy (qi) to the head, which is the very opposite of what you need in order to have a good night’s sleep. This also means that we are likely to push more, putting us in the danger zone of (further) burnout. It does not mean we have to work less, but focused, slow-paced, attention-rich work, balanced out by plenty of rest and quiet time will get us much closer to our goals and dreams.

Joy and Connection
When these Fiery energies are harmonised (within you), they bring joy, exploration, and deep connection to your life. It is an excellent time to meet new people or deepen already existing relationships of all sorts.
The caveat: when you feel things bubbling up (in your mind), take a deep breath so you can prevent highly emotional and reactive outbursts. Which are more likely to happen this year, if mindfulness is replaced by mindlessness :)

Authenticity and Purification
You might also find that this year will bring a lot of change in terms of habits and connections that no longer support you. Fire has a purifying quality. It helps to burn away (internal and interpersonal) attachments, which keep us away from living honestly, true to our needs. Patience is a beautiful virtue, which infused with calm level-headedness, will prove to be an incredible force in your (social) life and personal development. These will help a lot with being misunderstood, so you can clearly express your heart’s desire.

The light of the Yang Fire year can illuminate suppressed things within us. Allowing those to come to surface can be uncomfortable, and difficult to acknowledge. Always remember that kindness and patience can balance out the challenges of honesty. Decluttering your personality (attachments to identity) and your home, phone, etc. will also help to keep your mind focused on your goals.

One Direction and Moderation
Probably the most important advice for the year... When we encounter a beautiful field of flowers, we might feel the urge to pick some. However, if we let ourselves become greedy, we might spend all of our time and energy on choosing the best flowers. Picking the daffodils is not enough anymore, so we hop onto the bluebells, the tulips and so on... devastating the environment and our inner landscape (of craving).
We need to decide on a select few things this year that we want to pour our attention and energy into. This will keep us from experiencing too much distraction. Moderation will help to bring the soaring fire back down, deep within us. Containing and mindfully using the vibrant energies of the year will prove to be crucial for us all. 

I can definitely say that is the case for me already and it's only March!

Finding Flow through Humility
It is incredibly regulating to realise that we cannot nor should not control our environment 24/7. It takes humility to recognise how little power we have around formulating the world (and people) around us. This recognition can bring you peace and lead you back to your agency. The agency around how we react to life.

Once we relinquish (even a little) control over life, we can finally find and engage in the flow that is already present around us. Life is self-governing. Our body does not need us to think about taking a breath. Just as the tree outside does not need us to water it. Flow is in the humility of being with the present moment. Tuning into the “natural organising” principles allows us to do the right amount of action at the right time (Wu Wei). However, this requires mental stability, stillness and presence.

(Prefer to practice this in person? [Click here to join the waitlist] for my upcoming 2.5-hour Spring Reset Workshop).

How do we settle mental agitation?
All you need to do is go back to the very basics of life. Rest (the mind) and Move (the body). 
"Just like the river flows under no duress, the solution is found in the motion of water."

When you allow your body to move and express itself, that motion of change will help to clear out stagnant habits, aches, and tensions. As we “bring the mind home”, the fluids of your awareness can wash over the blockages of your system.

Mindful movement is a fundamental for good health. Hence why I am a big advocate for Tai chi. For me it is the absolute tool in which we can harmonise the body and mind in a way that brings forth change that ripples into our whole life. Including the way we respond to our environment.

Settling the mind  
Once we have irrigated the ditches (physical and energetical stagnation/tension in the body), it becomes easier to settle the mind. “Bringing the mind home” is a simple practice of collecting your mental powers (thinking, planning, responding, doing) and bringing them back in, closer to your core. Allowing them to sink back into the body in this present moment. Any moment is a perfect opportunity to do this. Of course that does not mean it is easy to achieve. Hence why movement is such a beneficial tool to prepare the body for meditative practice and life!

Finding peace and deep calm
If you are new to meditation, it might sound logical, yet feel totally irrelevant to talk about calm and peace in practice. When we begin, we barely have the capacity to notice as we are thinking. Since it is our baseline to always be in thought (process). Constantly reacting to the world.

Start here – regardless if you are a seasoned practitioner or a total newbie

1. Prepare a comfortable seated position (can be on a bench in a park).
2. If there are distracting movements and noises around, put on some ambient music and close your eyes.
3. Allow your awareness to gently drop to the contact points between your body and the bench/floor. Settle your mind within your physical shape. Curiously exploring how the weight of your body feels on top of an external surface.
4. Then simply observe your mind, notice how thoughts come and go. How you start telling one story before making plans for later on.
5. In the beginning it can be useful to allow your mind to race a few minutes. After which see if you can slow down a bit. Perhaps taking a few breaths and bringing your awareness back to your body if the mind goes too wild.
6. Now that the preparations are sufficiently done, I invite you to become curious about space. The space between your thoughts. The sky beyond the floating clouds. To find this, you don't need to force your mind to stop. Instead, just notice the very end of your exhale. There is a tiny, natural pause before your body decides to breathe in again. That millisecond of physical rest is your space. You need not to control the breath, simply observe it.
7. As you notice that tiny pause at the bottom of the breath, give a slight preference toward it. Don't cling to it or try to hold your breath; simply appreciate that half a second of total stillness for existing. As you continue, your nervous system will realise this space is safe, and those milliseconds of rest will naturally start to expand.
8. Allow your mind to explore that natural pause. When it becomes sustainable to rest there without forcing it, drop a kind question into the background: What is the flavour of this quiet space?
9. You might start noticing that it feels peaceful, nourishing, or like a heavy weight has been put down. See if you can rest in that physical feeling of relief for just a few minutes. As you continue with your practice, you can notice how this sensation permeates into the whole breath, beyond that moment of pause.
10. When you feel ready, simply let go of any mental effort. Enjoy the fruits of the practice and bring those positive feelings -which you just generated- with you for the rest of your day.

Bringing peace to our sleep
As you noticed, there is a huge emphasis on finding peace and rest in the mind. This is even more important when we struggle with sleep. We have a beautiful opportunity of bringing these qualities into our sleep, to ensure a deep restorative sleep. The tool itself is not that important, the quality is even more so.

Before your sleepy time:

1. Allow the mind to generate a sense of peace and stillness.
2. Rest your mind solely on this feeling, or on a single point within the body, whilst abiding in this beautiful experience.
3. Slowly go to your bed whilst gently maintaining the “flavour” of peace in your system. Allow this to lull you to sleep.

What next?
Knowing these tools conceptually is one thing, but training your nervous system to physically use them is another. I am currently putting together a 2.5-hour Spring Reset Workshop: Grounding the Yang Fire, where we will drink the seasonal herbs, move the body, and physically practice grounding this Fire together.
I haven't set a date yet, as I want to gauge interest first. If you would like to come and physically practice 'irrigating the ditches' with me, please click the link below to drop your name on the waitlist. If there is enough interest, I will finalize a date and send you the official invite!

Yes, I'm interested in the Spring Reset Workshop!