Spring is the time to germinate and grow, it shifts from cold to warmth. Ice and snow melt, yang qi ascends, various living things come to life and develop. Everything under heaven and on earth overflows with vigor and prosperity. During this time, the yang qi of the human body also conforms to nature to disperse upwards and outwards. Therefore, health preservation should conform to the characteristics of “germination and growth” in spring.
Regulating Daily Life
In spring, people should go to bed later and wake earlier to fully take advantage of the spring sunlight. Loosen the hair, clothes, and belts, stretch the body and hike in nature.
Yang qi ascends, wind prevails and the climate changes greatly in spring. Especially in early spring, yang qi is slowly growing while cold has not disappeared completely - residual cold waves often attack people.
Furthermore, in spring the yang qi of the human body begins to reach the exterior in spring - the skin pores become loose, and the body resistance against pathogenic cold weakens relatively. - People should be mindful of the attack of pathogenic wind - especially in old people, children and people with weak physique. Always bring an extra jacket to accommodate the ever fluctuating weather from day to night to stay warm. Do not cut down on layering of clothes and sleeping blankets too early/abruptly.
Wearing a proper amount of clothes keeps the body warm to resist wind and cold (i.e. common cold), allowing the human body to get used to the gradual climatic changes in spring. This can promote the ascending of yang qi of the body and nourishment of yang.
Regulating emotions
In spring, everything on earth comes to life and is full of vitality. When spring is approaching, the human metabolism becomes more vigorous as well. Spring corresponds to the liver - therefore the function of the liver also becomes more active in spring. The liver controls the regulation of qi and blood and prefers free movement, averse to stagnation/depression. Liver’s emotion is anger.
If the liver qi is free to regulate qi and blood, then people can adapt themselves to the climate changes - they are healthy and free from diseases. Conversely, if the liver qi fails to be free, the liver will fail to regulate qi and blood. In this case, people cannot adapt themselves to the climatic variations, giving rise to the corresponding pathological changes such as dizziness, headache, anger, fatigue, lassitude, thoracic and hypochondriac distending pain and anorexia.
People with mental disease and hepatic disease are susceptible to onset in spring. Therefore, they should pay extra attention to the regulation of qi and blood during spring - try to be at ease, open minded and optimistic such that the yang qi inside the body can be dispersed and the harmony between the body and external can be maintained. It is not recommended for people to sleep and be alone, remain depressed and withdrawn. Also, avoid becoming angry and upset because anger injures the liver and may induce hypertension, hepatic diseases, wind stroke, etc.
Spend more time with friends and family to take trips to the nature, sing and dance and become harmonized with the enchanting nature and gentle breeze - this will be beneficial to the hepatic regulation of qi and reap the benefits of the ascending of the spring yang qi.
Regulating Diet
It is suitable for people to eat pungent, sweet and yang-ascending food to conform to the hepatic regulation of qi and blood: Green onion, coriander, jujube date, peanuts
Sour flavour acts on the liver and is astringent in nature - which is not beneficial to the generation and ascending of yang qi, as well as hepatic regulation of qi and blood - eat less sour flavoured goods
In spring, liver can also easily overact on the spleen (wood overacting on earth) or reverse restricts the lung (wood counteracting on metal) - therefore, gastric or pulmonary diseases are liable to occur or worsen in spring. - it’s best to “eat less of sour flavoured foods and more bland neutral and sweet-flavoured foods” to strengthen the spleen: jujube date, honey, lotus seed, Chinese yam, job’s tear (barley)
People with poor digestive function: eat more radishes
People with heat in lung (i.e. yellow phlegm, hacking cough, sore throat) or for preventing respiratory disease: Mao Gen, Lu Gen, pear, water chestnuts (skinned)
About Physical Training
In spring, ice and snow melt. Everything is full of life. People should often exercise the body to accelerate the circulation of qi and blood - especially because people have the tendency to reduce the amount of exercise during winter.
People should often go outdoors to enjoy the fresh air, they should play ball games, run, shadowbox, etc. Amount of exercise should be moderate and gradual. One should feel happy, relaxed and inspired after a physical training, and not exhausted.
Article written by Karen Tsoi, R. Ac. R.TCMP, Alumni of TSTCM, for reference only, not medical advice.
]]>Regulating Daily life
In winter, going to bed early is advisable to nourish the human yang qi while getting up late is suitable to protect yin and essence. This is because retiring to bed earlier and rising later can help yang qi descend as well as help accumulate yin and essence. Do not work until the sun rises, avoid cold and approach heat to prevent external cold from injuring the yang. Use heating devices to maintain a proper room temperature - careful not to heat the room too hot because it will cause the skin pore to open, allowing pathogenic cold to easily invade the body.
In terms of clothing, wear cotton fabric as an underlayer because it’s soft, comfortable and good in heat preservation, the outer clothing should be slightly larger. Excessively thin clothing may easily impair yang, causing common cold or numbness and pain of the waist and legs. Conversely, clothing too thick may stir up yang qi and cause it to escape (same idea as room being too hot). Shoes and socks should be a little larger so as to keep qi flow free and harmonious, limbs comfortable and warm. The hands and feet are more liable to chilblain when exposed to harsh winter air - therefore, extra protection is needed.
Regulating emotions
Winter corresponds to kidney, and the kidney controls the storage of essence and is the congenital base of life, as well as emotionally associated with fear and fright. Excessive or sudden fear and fright may impair the kidney and cause pathological changes. During winter, the time of hiding, people should focus on cultivating the mind implicitly - stay quiet and happy and avoid drastic emotional activities. Meditating and engaging in less social activities are suitable for winter.
Regulating the diet
Ingestion of tonics in winter has been the go-to TCM health preservation method for thousands of years. Modern research has shown that winter is the season where most nutrients are absorbed after intake. Tonic food includes: mutton/lamb, chicken, beef, etc. Also consider tonifying herbs to add in herbal soups for medicated diet: Ejiao, Ren Shen, Lu Rong, etc. However, keep in mind that tonics should be ingested based on a person’s constitution and state of illness. Otherwise, the tonics can cause more harm than good.
People with yang deficiency or relative yang deficiency should eat sweet, warm natured food and yang promoting food, such as: shrimp and Lu rong (deer antler)
People with yin deficiency should eat sweet and cool natured or sweet and moist natured foods such as hare/rabbit meat, tortoise meat, soft shelled turtle meat, Bai He (lily bulb) and Yin Er (White fungus).
People with yin and qi deficiency should eat duck meat and goose meat.
Tonification herb should be consumed under the guidance of a TCM herbalist, and avoid excessive tonics leading to adverse effects on the body.
About Physical Training
In the winter, people should still persevere with physical training, as it is a basic method to strengthen/maintain health.
Indoor physical training such as: health strengthening massage, mild qi gong, Tai Chi, dance.
Outdoor physical training: long distance running, walking race, ice skating, skiing.
Choose the physical training mindfully with the harsh cold weather in mind, as well, pollutants in air take longer to dissipate due to the cold weather/air pressure - avoid outdoor exercise when there is extreme cold weather, as well as dress appropriately, and avoid physical training early morning in the winter.
Article written by Karen Tsoi, R. Ac., Advanced TCM student, for reference only, not medical advice.
Fast forward thousands of years, some of the ways might not be appropriate anymore, but we should still try to understand why such ways were recommended such that we could take advantage of the ancient wisdom. For example, we are not going to live through the Winter like we do in the Summer, drinking ice drinks and going swimming. Further, seasons shift with geographic regions, so it’s wise to make adjustments after understanding the reasoning.
Autumn is said to be the “harvesting season” - so a person should accumulate strengths and immunity in order to fight the Winter cold, because in modern days, we know that influenza virus thrive and agriculture takes a break in the Winter. According to the Lunar calendar, the first day of Summer in 2020 is May 5 and summer officially ends on August 6. Followed by Autumn which begins on August 7 and ends on November 6 this year.
Autumn Climate Change: From Hot and Humid to cool and dry
Beginning of Autumn is also thought of as late Summer, in August, the weather is still hot and humid. So we should be mindful of water and heat pathogens attacking and maintain a life style closer to Summer. As Autumn progresses into Winter, weather will progressively get cooler and dryer, so we should be more mindful of the dryness and coolness and pack up our Summer clothes.
Autumn Sleep Schedule
As the daylight is getting shorter, it is best to sleep early and wake early to take advantage of the day before the cold Winter arrives.
Autumn Diet
Early Autumn and late Summer is still hot and humid, so be mindful of possible water accumulation in your body and avoid pungent and deep fried food that would hurt the digestive system. You can opt for complex grains and legumes such as barley (Yi Yi Ren) and Adzuki bean (aka red mung beans, Chi Xiao Dou).
When Autumn is in full bloom, the climate will get significantly dryer, a person with weak lungs might get a dry cough right around the climate change. It’s important to keep the throat and body hydrated by constantly drinking nourishing fluids (such as light tea, water, juice, milk), and consuming nourish fruits that are harvested in the Fall such as apples and pears. If you are ever unsure about when to eat what, go with the rule of thumb to consume the fruits and vegetables that are meant to ripen in the season instead of green house and imported produce.
Autumn Wardrobe
The weather is mild in Autumn proper, we should begin layering more clothes such that our body heat does not escape us. It’s appropriate to bring a Fall jacket when you are out for when the temperature drops after sun sets, and be careful not to jump right into Winter clothes, as sweating in your clothes is not ideal either.
Autumn Emotions
Early Autumn, as known as late Summer, is said to be directly related to spleen and stomach and the emotion of overthinking - it’s good to be mindful of this tendency and try to avoid falling down a rabbit hole of overthinking about any aspect in life.
Autumn proper is related to the lungs and the emotion of sadness. Sometimes we may get post-Summer blue and feel sad and hopeless. Again, being mindful of this tendency, it is possible to combat depressing thoughts before it comes, by enjoying the milder weather and taking walks in the beautiful Fall foliage.
Autumn Activities
The weather is mildest in Autumn, so it’s actually the most ideal for physical activities. It’s not too cold to swim and take cold showers to strengthen your body, and it’s not too hot to go for hikes, jogs and Taichi exercise. It’s also nice to optimize physical fitness during the Fall to prepare for the eating and stationary lifestyle in the Winter.
Health preservation is a lifelong journey, there is lots to understand and learn, and this is why we are offering a Health Preservation class this fall, delivered over Zoom due to COVID-19, about the Health Preservation course:
Whether you are a TCM hobbyist that is just beginning your journey, or someone that has been at school or in the industry for a while already, this course trains you with critical thinking to arrive to an optimal health preservation plan, as well as effective communication to explain such plan to your patients.
The goal of this course is to approach TCM from a health preservation perspective, starting by correctly evaluating body constitution, and appropriately prescribe life style adjustments, medicated diet, self tuina routines and other methods according to different life stages and seasons.
More information about the course coming soon, please send us a note at info@tstcm.com if you are interested in the course!
Article written by Karen Tsoi, R. Ac., Advanced TCM student, for reference only, not medical advice.
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