By Dr. Laurel Stuart DTCM, R. Ac
It’s that time of year again. The new school year has begun. The temperature is dropping. Nature in all its beauty, is parading its finest array of rich, warm, earth colours.
Fall in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is associated with the metal element. It is the season where we harvest and store for the upcoming winter. It is the season that in TCM is associated with our lungs and large intestines. It is the season of dryness, and like the spring, it is a season where the changes in temperature can lead to unwanted illness and disease.
What offerings can TCM give, to prepare us for the dryness of autumn? How can TCM help protect and strengthen our bodies in this transitional period before the winter?
In TCM good health is an art. It is the art of remaining balanced emotionally, mentally and physically, despite the challenges of life. But how do we remain balanced in our hectic schedules? TCM teaches us to mirror that which we see in nature. We must learn to embrace the characteristics of the environment in which we live, in this case, the autumn season.
As the nights lengthen in the fall, we must honour this change by allowing our bodies’ longer periods of rest. As the cold returns, we must honour this by increasing our intake of warm nourishing foods. As the earth and our lungs dry, we must protect our bodies by increasing our intake of moist foods and liquids.
Perhaps you or a loved one suffers intermittently from spells of dry coughing during autumn; warm stewed Chinese pears, seasoned with a dash of salt and cinnamon, is an excellent antidote for a dry throat and lungs. Perhaps you suffer more from constipation during the fall; foods that moisten the intestines, foods like plums and spinach may help to move your bowels. Is your skin particularly dry during this season? Chinese herbal formulas can help boost the functioning of your organs, in particular the lungs, which from a TCM point of view are very instrumental in keeping the skin healthy.
The emotion associated with autumn in TCM is melancholy. Some of you may experience more sadness during this time of year. Acupuncture can improve your mood, by balancing the flow of qi or energy in your body. We were meant to experience our emotions fully. Emotions are meant to be transitory, when our qi moves correctly stagnated emotional states such as depression are held in check.
So if you’ve noticed a trend over the years, of getting sick or depressed during the fall, perhaps you could benefit from the help of a TCM practitioner. Traditional Chinese Medicine has helped thousands of people for thousands of years. Understanding how the seasons affect health is useful for us in the west today, where we sometimes forget our connection with the environment, and how deeply it impacts upon our health.
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