Winter Stillness - Asian Medicine's View

Winter Scene by Teresa Y Green

It is winter here in the Northern Hemisphere. Where I live in Virginia, one snow has come and gone, another one is melting, and there's a possibility of more in a few days. It's also January around the world, and for many people, that means NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS. So we gather up all our dreams and goals, tell ourselves we're "really gonna get serious this year" and dutifully start diets, new exercise programs, new coaching systems, meditation programs, and money management systems.

My entire career is rooted in the belief that growth is important for each individual. Helping people find their path to better health, more joy, improved life and just a more pleasant existence is literally my life's work. But, as I say in the video below, I believe the New Year is not the time to make specific resolutions. 

Why?

That's not how winter works in Asian medicine. 

In Asian medicine, each season has its own strengths as far as what activities, body systems, and areas of growth work best. They are organized as part of the Five Element System, which we will be going through as the year progresses. The Five Elements are Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water, which correspond to Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter, respectively. The Water element, which corresponds to Winter, also relates to the health of the Kidneys/Bladder/Adrenals/Bones/Subconscious. 

It works with "the boys in the basement" as Stephen King described the creative forces of the subconscious. It works with the unknown, and the fear of it. It works with contemplation, potential, and ideas that are in the early stages of formation and still have a fuzziness to them.

Doesn't sound like what in coaching we call a SMART goal (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and with a Time Frame). Because it isn't a goal, it's a part of the process of developing a goal. It's also a really important part of life that we often miss in our do-more-faster-to-check-more-off-a-to-do-list world.

What I recommend instead is taking time to dream about what you want. Not how to get it, yet. What are your dreams--not a list of shoulds that make you look good.

The Water element will help you clarify your goals through time for stillness. The next element, Wood, is driven by the same energy that pushes daffodils up in springtime, which is its dominant season. It is associated with the Liver/Gallbladder/Drive/Reproduction/Schedule/Muscles/Tendons. It takes the intentions and desires from the Water element and works to make them real. So if you don't spend your Water time deciding what you want, your Wood element will work from whatever list you have. That's why a lot of New Year's Resolutions look like "Lose Weight," "Get in Shape," "and Make More Money," which we're fed as desires every day in commercials, sales pitches, and media, and less like "Care for Myself with Compassion," "Help My Body Work Its Best," and "Find Meaningful Work and Expect to Be Paid for It." 

If you deal with anxiety, fatigue, feeling burnt out, scattered, overwhelmed, as if your life spark is not burning brightly, your Water element needs recharging. Stillness, dreaming, play, rest, along with some herbs, acupuncture, and some other lifestyle choices to nourish the Water element can help. Giving you Water element the nourishment it needs, especially in this season where it is the star, will help you move towards the accomplishments and goals you actually want as the year unfolds.

Autumn Cleaning

A lovely autumn assortment of trees.

Autumn is here! The cooler days, lovely colors, and pumpkin spice are upon us. 

In Asian medicine, each season has special qualities related to Five Element Theory (learn more about each of them in coming blog posts). Autumn is considered part of the Metal element, and is associated with the Lung and Large Intestine, the color white or gray, the emotions of grief, or nostalgia, and the actions of sorting and discarding what no longer works for you. 

Autumn is therefore a great time to clean. I've always thought of "spring cleaning" as a time to air out the house, and clean parts of the house that don't always get a lot of attention (washing curtains, moving everything out of cabinets and wiping down the shelves, etc.--and no, I don't often do all of those things the way my mother used to several times a year)--basically the very Five Element idea of clearing everything for a fresh start to the new year. But autumn is different. It's a time to sort through what you've accumulated over the past year and let go of what doesn't work for you, just as in your body you take in fresh air in your lungs, and let out waste through your large intestine. 

This kind of cleaning often has emotional overtones. Today I cleaned out some old boxes that had been taking up space for years. I had never gotten around to the before, and now I wanted the space, and realized I would need to let go of some things before I could create what I wanted in my life. When I went through the box, I found old letters, pictures, old journals--plenty of fuel for nostalgia. And the time was right. I was able to throw out or give away some of the things I had not felt ready to discard in previous cleanouts, and plan places to put what remained so it would be on display or otherwise useful to me.

Hanging on to things that don't serve you, whether it's old letters or old ways of doing things, or old ideas that hold you back, can keep you from what you really want. Autumn is the perfect season to sort through things in your life. You may not end up with a perfectly clean space or life--my clean out is ongoing, and today I just release a little and moved around a lot as I continue to declutter. But I felt a lift of spirits just for making the attempt. If you sort through some messy stuff in your life, you may feel your spirits lift, too--but maybe only after a good cry and saying goodbye to things, relationships, jobs, or ideas that are no longer what you need or want. In Slow Paths coaching vernacular, this kind of sorting falls under "Create Space."

I hope you autumn has been going well, and continues to do so. If you would like to explore having more balance in your body and emotional life, I am here to help with whatever combination of acupuncture, clinical herbal therapy, or health and mindfulness coaching can help. Please check out my YouTube Channel for mindfulness videos and other content to help you live a more peaceful and healthy life.