Living in harmony with nature is the basis of Traditional Chinese Medicine. So what does TCM tell us about getting our bodies in harmony with the Spring?
Paul Johnson who lectures at CNM explains.
Chinese Medicine first flourished thousands of years ago in an agrarian society where people lived in close contact with nature. Daoist philosophers believed that man should live in harmony with the universe and sought to understand how nature moves. They created what is known as the Five Element System to explain what they could see.
The Five Elements (Fire, Earth, Metal, Water and Wood) are a set of descriptors used to explain how different parts of a system interrelate (be they organs, emotions, directions, or seasons, for example). An understanding of the Five Elements underpins diagnosis in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and can be used to explain how our internal environment reacts to the changing seasons. How can we use this ancient set of descriptors to support our health in the modern world? Let’s take the current season as an example:
Spring
We are now entering Spring, which in the Five Elements belongs to the Wood. After the inward stillness of Winter in the Water Element, the dynamic expansion of the Wood Element is now seen in the thousand of shoots, buds and leaves in plants that are exploding back into life. Now is the time of year when your own Wood Element also begins to expand. After the isolation of Winter you are starting to venture out more and more to experience the return of the sun. Spring is a great time to start new projects.
Your own energy is starting to rise and you probably feel ready to take on new challenges – but you will need to take care that your energy does not rise too much! Too much upward movement of energy will be experienced as symptoms of excess in the upper part of the body, often as headaches, migraines or tinnitus.
In TCM terms the Wood Element is reflected in the functioning of the Liver. The Liver is described as being in control of the free flow of our Qi (Energy) and it wants us to expand to reach our fulfilment like a plant unfurling to greet the sun.
Liver rejuvenation
The Wood Element is associated with the colour green. Consume foods that are rich in chlorophyll like broccoli, asparagus, parsley, kale, chard, spirulina and chlorella to accelerate Liver rejuvenation.
Take care to avoid heavy or processed foods which can exacerbate sluggishness in the Liver. Increase your intake of lightly steamed vegetables.
Avoiding colds
Make sure to include a little of the pungent flavour in your diet such as spring onions, garlic, ginger and fennel as these can help to boost the immune system. You need to adapt to the changing climate of Spring or you may leave your self open to seasonal health problems, such as the flu, colds, pneumonia, or the relapse of old illnesses.
Anti-Inflammatory
A small amount of the sour flavour will help to stimulate the flow of your Liver Qi; put a slice of lemon in your drinking water and include some pickles in your diet.
Foods with a bitter flavour can help you deal with ‘excess heat and inflammation’ in the Liver (which could manifest as restless sleep, a bitter taste in the mouth, outbursts of anger). Lettuce, chicory, asparagus, quinoa, citrus peel and dandelion are all ideal for this.
Eat foods that are in season, local, and organically produced if possible.
To bring the rest of your life into harmony with the season, take short breaks during the day and go for a walk outside. In TCM the Liver is said to control the vitality of the tendons, so it is time to stretch out those stiff limbs. Walking helps prevent the Qi of the Liver becoming stagnant, a major problem in our sedentary, stress-filled modern lives.
The ancients recommended that we reconnect with the vitality of nature, and their words still ring true today. Get out into your garden again and breathe in the fresh air – Spring is time to brush the cobwebs of Winter away!!
