Embrace the Year of the Wood Snake: A Time for Transformation and Renewal

By Dalite Sancic, DACM, L.Ac., MS

As we step into the new year, we welcome the energy of the Wood Snake—a symbol of wisdom, transformation, and resilience. The Chinese Lunar New Year, which is celebrated between January 29th and February 12th, and marks the beginning of a fresh cycle, inviting us to shed old skin and embrace the renewal that only comes through deep reflection and inner growth.

The Year of the Wood Snake: A Time for Renewal

As we enter the year of the Wood Snake, it is helpful to know its properties so that we can flow with the snake as opposed to getting caught in its grip. It is known for its quiet power, cunning wisdom, and transformative abilities. Paired with the element of Wood, this year brings a unique blend of flexibility, creativity, and adaptability. Wood represents growth and expansion, signaling a time to root deeply into our intentions, while the Snake reminds us to trust in our intuition and shed any limiting beliefs that may hold us back.

What does this mean for you, our community? The Year of the Wood Snake is an excellent time to focus on personal growth, healing, and clearing any blockages—whether emotional, physical, or energetic—that may have accumulated. It’s a time to deepen your connection with your own inner wisdom and start fresh in ways that honor your true self.

Nourish Your Body and Spirit

Just as the snake sheds its skin to grow, we encourage you to release what no longer serves you. Let it be through scientifically supported self-care practices like movement, breathwork, solid nutrition, time in nature, gratitude practice and time in nature. Whether you're seeking relief from stress, anxiety, or physical discomfort, our team is here to support. We can offer evidence based medicine (EBM) with our array of services to help you reach your health goals:

• Acupuncture: Studies on this ancient technique have proven that it stimulates the nervous system which in turn triggers the release of our bodies own natural painkillers (neurotransmitters and endorphins). We also know that it increases blood flow and circulation, modulates the immune system, and regulates hormones. This combination of mechanisms allows for it to be widely utilized for a host of conditions including physical and emotional ailments.

• Massage Therapy: We use therapeutic massage to release stagnation and encourage the flow of circulation and lymph.Our therapists are specialists in therapeutic massage, tailoring each session to your unique needs which helps facilitate the energetic transformation this year offers.

• Herbal Remedies: Complement your treatments with herbal formulas that support liver detoxification, digestive health, and emotional balance—key elements during the Wood Snake year when growth and healing are top priorities.

• Red Light Therapy: This amazing add-on treatment stimulates ATP (adenosine triphosphate) production, which helps the body’s cells to work more efficiently and promote healing processes and reduces pro-inflammatory cytokines while promoting the release of anti-inflammatory cytokines. As well, it improves collagen production and elastin the skin, helps with muscle recovery, improves mood, reduces inflammation in the joints and tissues for conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis.

• Infrared Sauna: Evidence shows that using an infrared sauna as little as once per week helps with improving cardiovascular health, detoxification, pain relief and muscle recovery, metabolic support, stress reduction, improved sleep quality and more.

• Amethyst Biomat: The Amethyst BioMat is a popular therapeutic device that combines far infrared (FIR) light, negative ion therapy, and amethyst crystals to provide a range of health benefits, including pain relief, detoxification, improved circulation, and relaxation.

  
  

Cultivating the Wood Element in Your Life

The Wood element is associated with the liver, which plays a central role in detoxification and emotional regulation. It’s a perfect time to focus on practices that support the health of your liver and emotional well-being:

• Eat a diet rich in greens to nourish the liver and promote detoxification.

• Engage in gentle movement, such as Qi Gong, yoga, walking, stretching or other gentle movement to stimulate the flow of energy and release tension.

• Practice mindfulness and meditation to clear emotional blockages and cultivate a deeper sense of peace and focus.

  
  

Looking Ahead

As we embrace this new cycle of growth and change, we invite you to be present with your journey.

We thank you for being a part of our Moon Brook Medicine family and are excited to share this year of transformation with you. Let’s make 2025 a year of healing, growth, and renewal.