Self Healing Tips

It's July and summer is here big time! We all want to be outside. The daylight hours are long and there's plenty of sun. It's important in the summer months to balance the heat and intensity of the sun with plenty of hydration. One way we do this is to take in more foods that have cooling properties. This does not mean running to the local grocery store for your ice cream. No! Juicy fruits and their juices (and water) really are the best way to balance the body's fluids during the summer time. Summer is the season of the Fire element. The Heart and the Small Intestine are the main players. In Chinese medicine, sweat is considered the fluid of the heart. Therefore we need to ensure that during these hot months when we lose more sweat that we nourish and replenish the fluid element of the heart.

It's February, the middle of winter, and though the Los Angeles skies may be filled with sunshine more days than rain, it is still a good idea to be mindful of the ways of nature. Winter is a time to slow down, be quiet, go inside, and reflect. It is a time to consolidate and nourish yin, to protect the body and to preserve one's warmth. In Chinese medicine, the season of winter is ruled by the element Water. The organ systems associated with the Water element are the Kidney and the Urinary Bladder. In the winter it is important to support the Kidney as it is the root of all energies in the body.

In August the earth begins to dry out. It will continue this through the rest of the year. That means, amongst other things, that this month is a time of great shifting. Many people start to get allergies during this time, which represent a need to strengthen the earth element and it’s ability to transform with the seasons. The earth element also represents the ability to connect and bond with the changing environment.

Because the earth begins to dry out now, allergies during this time are often a result of insufficient fluids in the body, and a sign that the body does is not producing enough fluids to sustain through the dry season. In order to prevent or treat these types of allergies, fluids need to be created, supported, and maintained.

Nutritionally, apples are an excellent way to work with allergies in the early dry season. They clear heat that may have been taken on during the summer. In addition, they create body fluids, strengthen the lung, spleen, and stomach, and contain loads of calcium, potassium, iron, niacin, and vitamins a, b, and c.

The Chinese word for the 5 elements is "wu xing." This literally translates pretty much into "5 movements." This is how the seasons are viewed in Chinese medicine - not as things, but as the movement of energy. March brings the movement of Water into Wood, Winter into Spring. For our bodies, we experience the power of Water nourishing and infusing Wood. The energy that Water gives to Wood allows for sprouts to emerge fresh and new from branches, and for new leaves to emerge from the inner growth and energetic storage that occurs during Winter. We need to honor this within the body by balancing the Water and Wood energies, and assisting in the infusion of Water into Wood.