When we think of the color red, one of our associations is blood.   Within our bodies, it is the blood that brings the necessary oxygen, nutrients and hormones to our cells.  Our blood is our support and vitality, our strength and nourishment.  It flows from our heart to every cell though our arteries, then back to our heart through the veins.  Through the weight of our blood we feel our relationship with the earth, and interact moment to moment with the earth.  Our blood establishes the primary rhythm in life, for the repetitive beat of our heart is the pumping of the arterial blood leaving the heart.

Yet for most of us, we have learned to fear blood and associate it with anger, violence, war – and for many women, the shame of menstruation or menopause. When we feel this red energy within us, we have learned to blame someone else or ourselves, feeling bad for feeling the heat of the red, then either directing our anger against ourselves or another, or possibly repressing it and holding it down.

Sadly, in doing so, we lose our vitality and passion, even becoming depressed.  There is a way to partner with the red energy and use it wisely, for it is also our strength and support. We can re-own this red energy and use it as a powerful support for ourselves, to revitalize our health and empower what we desire to create in life.  We can make peace with our own blood, appreciating the powerful red energy and allow it to circulate through our bodies in all its fullness and vitality.

Try this experiment with your own body, letting your self feel your appreciation for the blood.  Perhaps simply noticing the beating of your own heart, and imagining the blood flowing out to the cells with every beat.  Once that becomes real for you, imagine the inflow of the blood from your veins, a wavelike swing rhythm moving towards the heart.  Once you are feeling this rhythm, there are many directions to explore.  You can add the feeling of gratitude or appreciation, and let the blood carry this energy to every cell.  Or you can move around and feel the rhythm of the blood expressed in your movement.

Another experiment is related to the feeling of anger.  Find a safe place to be alone.  Rather than directing the anger at yourself or someone else, see if you can simply be with the feeling of the red energy inside, and start to move your body, letting your body express the energy in any way that feels safe to you.  Own the red energy as your own vitality and strength, and let it support you. 

Lately I have been experimenting with feeling the blood as a bringer of nourishment to my cells, and adding love, appreciation, joy, gratitude, peace or courage to the mix.  Simply feel the flow of your blood, and send one or more of these feelings along with the blood.  Have fun and explore this.

Re-owning the red energy is a powerful antidote to depression and poor health, and a vital support to empowerment at any age.  The embodiment of red energy heals anger and redirects the energy into strength, in support of ourselves.  It underlies all healing and rejuvenation – and it is our passion, for life, for our creativity, for the Earth, for our truth.