Traditional Chinese Medicine and Spring
Spring is generally regarded as a happy season, especially for
those that live in areas where winter is cold and dark. Spring brings with it
longer days, more sunshine, the rebirth of plants and more activity. But for
many, the months of spring can also bring irritability, anxiety, sinus issues,
allergy flare-ups and even colds.
Traditional Chinese Medicine has been around for nearly 3,000
years, which gives the medical system, as a whole, a lot of credibility. TCM
classifies things in many different ways. There are five seasonal associations
in TCM - winter, spring, summer, late summer and fall. Each season has its own
unique set of properties and associations. Spring is associated with the wood
element. The wood element governs the liver and the gallbladder and their
energetic pathways in TCM. The five seasons and their corresponding elements interact
with one another daily, creating balance and harmony or complete chaos within
the body.
The season of spring is a time of expansive movement and growth.
Spring is a time of creativity and planning. Since the liver and gallbladder
are associated with the tendons and are responsible for the smooth flow of
energy and blood throughout the body, our daily activities should reflect this.
Being more active and spending more time outside can be great ways to
strengthen the liver and gallbladder energies during the months of spring. We
should imitate the budding trees and flowers and allow ourselves to grow and
reach for bigger and better goals during the spring.
The color green is the color of spring in TCM. During these
months, fresh greens are abundant. It is highly recommended that we incorporate
more fresh greens into our daily diets. Greens have been shown to be very
beneficial for helping the liver do its job, detoxifying the blood. Dandelion
greens, in particular, are a good source for detoxification, which ultimately
strengthens the liver and gallbladder meridians.
It is also recommended to avoid excessive stimulants during the
spring months. Things like coffee are considered expansive and energizing,
which can be somewhat helpful during the cold winter months. But during
the spring, when life is abounding, excess energy can actually be harmful to
the body. It can create headaches, insomnia, anger and more.
When a person is completely balanced, transitioning from one
season to another is not such a big deal. However, knowing what elemental
type you are can also be very beneficial in determining how you will react to
each passing season. For instance, a person who has a wood element constitution,
may experience anger during the spring. This is because the wood element is
already closely associated with the emotion of anger and spring brings added
stimuli that can trigger fits of rage.
One way to keep the body balanced is through acupuncture and TCM.
The body is designed to maintain proper balance, but we tend to not pay
attention to the warning signs until we experience pain or illness.
Getting regular acupuncture treatments can work as preventive medicine,
providing harmony throughout every season of the year.
If you experience feelings of anxiety, anger or even
self-loathing, acupuncture can help. It can also help with those seasonal
allergies that might flare up. Acupuncture is a wonderful way to maintain
health and balance all year long. Give us a call to help you can enjoy spring without any emotional or physical
impairment.
New York Sports Acupuncture
Bishara Wilson, L.Ac., MSTOM
888.375.5444
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