Dear
Happy healthy New Year to you! I hope
your holidays were both relaxing and
rejuvenating. Welcome to the second in a
series of newsletters centered around
health insights, tips and on staying on
an optimal path of health & wellness,
from a Chinese Medicine perspective.
Announcements!
 Come and visit me at my "New Year, New Perspective" Open House at my Serenity Therapeutic Massage location, on January 23, 2007, from 2pm - 6pm. A great way to get introduced to the types of therapies offered, ask questions, receive mini-consultations or treatments in sound healing or have a custom-made essential oil product made for you. Pay what you want, proceeds to the Laura Louie Hope Foundation, a Canadian charity created to provide cost-effective health-care, including Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine, to low income individuals (adults and children) in developing countries through community-based grassroots projects. Treatments are aimed at, but not exclusive to, people living with HIV/AIDS. Laura Louie Hope Foundation
Package treatment rates are now available, and a great way to keep consistent with treatments, while saving some money. Regular treatments make for better results. A package of 6 treatments for $300.00. Cannot be combined with any other offer.
For more announcements and event appearances, please visit: www.redtreewellness.ca |
|
Winter is the element of Water.
This certainly rings very true for
Vancouverites and Canadians as Winter is
the season of rain or snow, depending
where you live. However, some may wonder
(as I did on a recent trip to Asia), how
tropical environments experience the
element of Water, or if they have
Winter. In fact, they do have Winter,
because they have a Water season - their
rainy season. Thus, everywhere the world
experience the Water element.
Water represents the Qi energy at its
most essential and consolidated state,
like seeds of a plant. Water can appear
to be dormant, but is full of power. It
is considered a phase of growth and
fertility. Thus Water is the life force
in its most primal condition, before it
is channelled and put to use. Water is
related to the organ of the Kidneys, and
its paired organ, the Urinary Bladder.
From a physiological perspective in both
Western Medicine and Traditional Chinese
Medicine (TCM), one of the functions of
the Kidneys and Urinary Bladder, is
regulation of fluids. In this season,
water, moisture, dampness, etc, is
predominant and necessary in the cycle
of life. We need proper nourishment of
Water to have a balanced homeostatic
environment in our body, much like a
garden needs just the right amount of
water. This does not mean drinking a lot
of water is essential, for like in a
garden, too much water just runs right
through! It's always about the right
balance.
In TCM, the Kidneys store the Essence,
or the genetic foundation of an
individual. It is responsible for
growth, reproduction, development,
marrow, spinal cord and brain tissue.
Essence is responsible for our
constitutional strength and immunity. It
is from Essence that the Kidneys produce
Original Qi. Qi, in a general way of
saying, is the vital energy of our body.
The Original Qi is a catalyst for all
bodily activity, and all subsequent
varieties of Qi formation, and is one
reason why the Kidneys are called the
root of Yin and Yang. Since the natural
abundant Water energy of Winter has an
affinity to the Kidney energy system,
Winter is thus an optimal time to
renourish the Essence, which is related
to the Yin (body fluid, moisture,
saliva, spittle, sweat, water) part of
our body, and it is also an optimal time
to strengthen the Kidneys, which is the
root of our body, and thus strengthen
our core immunity.
The Kidneys are also in charge of the
hair on our head, the sense organ of the
ears, and is the "commander" of our
lower back. As we age, and our Essence
gets depleted, and we see this depletion
in our body with signs such as hair
loss, greying of the hair, hearing loss
and low back aches, pains or weakness.
With Essence being a substance, it
relates to Yin functioning, and relies
on fluid balance. If one has fluid
deficiencies (Yin deficiency in TCM),
Winter is an optimal time to seek
treatment, since at this time there is
an abundance of the energy of Water,
Yin, and renourishing, rather than the
season of Summer Fire, which dries up
the Yin. If your problems go a way in
the Winter, this is a possible sign that
you need the energy of this time ' Water
' Yin ' Kidney energy system (includes
the meridians, paired organ, tissues,
emotions, etc). Often these individuals
are on the dry or hot end of the
spectrum, with such signs as abnormal
sweating (at night for example),
thirsty, dry mouth, hot body, etc. Foods
that nourish the moisture (Yin) of our
body are good to help this, at this time
of year. For example, pears, apples,
honey, tofu, soybean. On the opposite
end of the scale, one may find Winter
and Water worsens their condition. In
this case, the energy of Water,
moisture, dampness, is overabundant, or
our body is either too weak to process
it, or lacks enough Yang energy (warmth,
activity, movement, generation, hot,
energy) to counteract and balance the
cold Yin. These people feel cold often
or easily, might have swelling problems,
and may feel heavy. For this, it is
helpful to have warming foods and spices
to warm up our body. Like having a warm
cup of chicken soup coming in from the
cold - chicken in TCM has an action of
warming, and thus the natural affinity
to have chicken soup when cold makes
sense. Other warming foods are pork,
garlic, onions, and cinnamon.
Water from a psychological and emotional
perspective is linked to the emotion of
fear and the psyche of The Will. On the
one hand, people with fears or phobias,
or lack of will, may have an imbalanced
Kidney energy system. An over abundance
of fear, can weaken the Kidney energy
system by over agitating the system, and
eventually leads to weaknesses in the
system. Or the reverse happens, and a
weak Kidney energy system leads to a
person being more fearful, and loss of
the Will. In Western Medicine, the
adrenal glands, which sit on top of the
Kidneys, are of central importance in
initiating physiological reactions in
response to fear and stress, by
initiating the sympathetic nervous
system (SNS). Furthermore, fear, or also
stress over time, continually triggers
the immune-suppressing responses of the
SNS, which then suppresses the normal
functioning of the body's' organs and
systems. On the other end of the
spectrum, instead of a weakness, one may
be instead a workaholic, and have an
excessive Will or excessive fear of
failure. Many times these individuals
suffer from nervous burnout.
If you enjoy using aromatherapy at home,
for the Water energy, use essential oils
such as Geranium to calm, and Juniper
berry, Cedarwood or Thyme to stimulate.
However, be sure to use good quality,
100% natural oils, as the synthetic,
chemical and adulterated oils can cause
reactions, and there are many essential
oils out on the market that are of poor
quality. If you are unsure of the
quality of your essential oil, please
send me and email or give me a call, and
I would be happy to advise you.
I hope you have enjoyed reading this
brief insight on the season of Winter,
element of Water, and the Kidney energy
system. If there is any particular topic
you would like me to address and answer,
please feel free to email me, and I will
make sure to cover it at some point in
one of the newsletters.
Health and happiness to you in 2007,
Sonia |
