Clarity is a relief

Feb 2026

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We are deep in the hot and dry season of biderap here in Melbourne. The plants are crispy, the soil is cracked, the sunlight is thick with a burning bite long into the evening. The colours of the day are vivid and in strong contrast - golden grasses, deep blue sky, baked red brick, glaring concrete.

And also, I feel a coolness in the air at either end of the day. A slow shift of the sun to rise later and set earlier… the tilt into Lammas/late summer. As we adjust to the rhythms of a new school year and let go of the long holiday, it’s time to take stock of what we harvested this cycle…

I’m noticing how tall my daughter has grown, how stable my body feels when I nourish it with enough protein, how my husband and I compromise as we plan a kitchen renovation together, how much I have learned about my work - in training courses and in clarifying why I do the work I do, what I’m actually doing, and who I’m working with.

… much of this harvest was invisible and slow. It came from lingering, listening, unlearning, letting things be incomplete, clumsy and confusing. Until they weren’t.

year of the Wood Horse 2014, collage by me

This week is also the Lunar New Year, and I am finding comfort in reading about this ancient way of cycling through life. We are moving from the year of the Wood Snake - a time of personal evolution, refining and shedding layers - to the year of the Fire Horse. If you are feeling like these are big times, perhaps this tradition can provide some understanding. The fire horse is known for speed, movement, instability and change.

In many cultures, horses represent strength, grace, freedom and forward momentum. They are also associated with strong bonds, within their herd or with their human companions. Perhaps in this year of the horse it will be important to know what truly matters to you, and who you matter to. Things will move fast and you may need to clarify, be more direct, and expect the unexpected. And take good care of your mental health and balance.

from Frederick Leboyer’s 1975 book, Birth Without Violence

I recently completed level 1 & 2 Structural Cranial with Lisa DeStefano. I was so inspired by her approach - returning to precise anatomy of the cranial bones, the angle of bevels and sutures, the axis of motion - to find exactly what is restricted and directly release that part of the head.

She also shared her understanding of the cranial rhythmic impulse (CRI); a system of cerebrospinal fluid flowing around the brain and spinal cord that is driven by haemodynamic pressure and the growth and motion of the brain.

Inhalation, exhalation. Expansion, contraction. Flexion, extension.

This clarity is a relief. And I know it will be a relief in osteo treatment to feel this rhythm settle and regulate.