6 Ways to Support the Lungs and the Internal Ecosystem in Fall – The Metal Season
With the major winds and storms we’ve been having in the DMV lately, Fall is OFFICIALLY here and in full swing! Earlier I posted about getting your body ready for the fall season and the Five Elements Theory in Chinese Medicine, and I’m here to reemphasize what that theory is all about and what you can do to help your body function well and stay healthy during the cold weather.
Chinese medicine practitioners look to The Five Element Theory to understand how our body systems interconnect together and are affected by the environment. In this theory, each element has a specific characteristic and connection to a specific season, climate, color, organ system, and emotion. For example, the element Metal is related to the Autumn/Fall season; a dry climate, the color white, the lungs, and the emotions of grief and courage.
But Why Metal?
Metal in the Five Element Theory represents all metals, minerals, gemstones and crystals on earth. The energy of these ‘metals’ is contracted and inward, similar to the dormancy of trees and plants in the winter. Additionally, there is a simplicity and purity needed to produce ‘metals’, a certain type of maturity, like fields ready for harvest in the fall. The metal energy is like the diamond inside of us - clear and pure. These are the characteristics that link metal to the season of fall.
Through the Five Element Theory, we are able to see the connections between the different systems in our bodies and relate them to the connections between the natural world around us; thus helping us understand how our bodies and the environment connect and can work together functionally. We are able to understand how the seasonal changes affect our health – seasonal health issues such as allergies, depression, weight gain/loss.
The Season of Change
With Fall/Autumn being the season of change, back to school, flu season, etc, it is also the season associated with our lungs, a dry climate, and the emotions of grief and courage. There are so many new things coming into our lives and it is extremely important that we take the time to attend to practices that nourish our lives. Here are some super simple and nourishing tips and tricks that can help our health and minds during this draining and stressful season.
Tips for your lungs:
1. Releasing excess energy using a “sssssss” sound when breathing out to help clear out our lungs of pathological excess – things that cause stress and disease – building up inside.
2. Taking walks outdoors to get our lungs acclimated to the cold weather – take these in moderation as you don’t want to overwhelm the lungs right away.
Tips for the dry climate:
3. Avoid excessive sweating – perspiration is another way to release our body’s essence, and you want to make sure to store it, especially come winter. This can help keep your skin moisturized and healthy during the cold, harsh weather.
4. Consume moistening seeds like sesame to also keep your body hydrated.
Tips for helping seasonal grief:
5. When waking up, take some time to get your body ready for the new day. Close your eyes, click your teeth, swallow your saliva, rub your hands together to warm them up, put your hands over your eyes suctioning them. This will help our eyes become more bright and illuminated during the season.
6. Getting to bed earlier and waking up at dawn will align your body to the environment’s cycle, causing your body and mind to calm and moderate it to the seasonal blow of colder weather and less sunlight.
These tips are credited to Gao Lian, who was a 16th century poet and medical scholar and thanks to one of my Chinese medicine mentors, Dr. Heiner Fruehauf, PhD, LAc, who translated Gao’s presentation on the four seasons from his Eight Pieces on Observing the Fundamental Principles of Life (Zunsheng Bajian; 1575 A.D.). Gao’s work is considered an all encompassing source of lifestyle information by Chinese physicians.
Interested in learning more ways to help connect your body to the environment? Reach out to me on the form below to create a customized plan based on your needs and goals. Stay tuned for future blogs relating our bodies to the other three seasons!