Tips for Your Vitality In Fall and Winter

According to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), energetic Fall and the season of the Metal element run from August 7 to October 20. Energetic Fall’s the time to gently immerse yourself in the quieter, more introspective energies of the season. It’s a time of harvest and preparation for the upcoming energetic Winter. Here are tips for making a smooth transition from energetic Summer to Fall and beyond.

Autumn is a time of establishing a rhythmic order. There is a downward energy, grounding our bodies, minds and even our food into the earth. It is the ideal time to focus on the colon as life energy contracts and will prepare for a dormant state in the winter. Autumn is associated with white, and also the time of year our ‘white’ foods are at their peak. They are the digestives and immune boosting foods such as: apples, pears, cabbage, cauliflower, garlic and leeks. – Kate Kennington, Cleansing with Kate

As you prepare yourself for Winter (season of the Water element), get yourself more organized at this time of year. Establish more order in your life.

Throughout energetic Summer (season of the Fire element), you probably feasted and fested. You might have been more physically active enjoying vacations, social events and holidays.

But the season of Autumn provides you the new opportunity to retreat within body and mind and reflect on your life positively and productively.

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What can we learn from the past two seasons in a way we can constructively apply throughout Fall and Winter?

If you have unfinished projects you started in Spring and Summer, energetic Fall is the perfect time to complete them. The energies of the Fall season will support and encourage you to begin indoor projects that involve more mental and introspective processes. 

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The lung and large intestine are the internal organs associated with Fall and the Metal element.

Lung is associated with the emotion of letting go. The very act of conscious breathing enables us to let go of what we don’t want as we fully and deeply exhale.

Some people so love Summer that Fall can be a challenging time for them. Now they have to give up longer days, warm weather and some outdoor social activities.

Utilizing the lungs to practice slowing down the breath helps you come to your center and the now moment. It will help you focus gratitude for the Summer which has passed and the Fall which has arrived.

Slower deeper breathing helps you maintain your physical vigor throughout both Fall and Winter. It can improve mental clarity and a nicely balanced emotional state.

Soul and spirit should be tranquil to keep lungs pure… – The Neijing Suwen

TCM finds the lung to be the "tender organ” since it’s the uppermost organ in the body making it particularly susceptible to wind and cold. As the temperatures change, be proactive with your health and dress appropriately for the weather.

Proper sleep encourages Fall vitality. The ancient medical text, the Neijing Suwen, advises we should retire early at night and rise with the crowing of the rooster during Autumn.

“There was temperance in eating and drinking. Their hours of rising and retiring were regular and not disorderly and wild. By these means the ancients kept their bodies united with their souls, so as to fulfill their allotted span completely, measuring unto a hundred years before they passed away.


The wise man will surely conform to the changes of the four seasons, adapt himself to the cold of winter and the heat of summer, neutralize joy and anger and live a regular life.

”

— Both passages from the Neijing Suwen

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Sources:

Maciocia, Giovanni. The Foundations of Chinese Medicine E-Book: A Comprehensive Text. 3rd ed., Elsevier Academic Press, 2015.

Kennington, Kate. Cleansing with Kate: A Whole Food Guide to Nourishing Your Whole Self. 3rd ed., Kennington, 2014.

Photo courtesy of Daiga Ellaby at Unsplash

What You Need to Know About Essential Oils

An essential oil is a natural volatile material typically obtained by distillation. It emits the characteristic fragrance, flavor and/or action of the plant or other source from which it’s extracted.

Essential oils are found in various plant parts: leaves, stems, flower buds, open flowers, peels, barks, fruits, roots, needles, twigs, and resins. 

When you utilize an essential oil for your well-being and vitality, the oils bombards you with a wide array of beneficial chemicals. Chemically, an essential oil is a complex mixture of 30 to 100 or more phyto-chemicals or plant compounds.

There are three primary ways to get the benefits of an essential oil:

1. through topical application

2. by inhalation, and

3. by ingestion.

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TOPICAL APPLICATION

You can enjoy essential oils’ benefits by topically applying directly to skin. But you must always apply an essential oil in a carrier oil. Fractionated coconut oil is one example.

You need to use a carrier oil to prevent burning, irritation or other very uncomfortable effects. This is because essential oils are extremely potent.

For example, it takes about 60,000 roses or 200 pounds of petals to make one ounce of damask rose essential oil. Similar factors hold true for all essential oils. So never apply an essential oil directly to skin unless it’s suspended in an appropriate carrier oil.

You can also diffuse essential oils in bathwater asanother way to apply the oils topically.

To increase aborption effectiveness, gently massage the area first to improve circulation in that area. Applying a drop of an essential oil blend on warmed skin will also enhance circulation and in turn enhance absorption. 

Take advantage of proven and appropriate proportions and blends of essential oils in reputable PHYTO5 Swiss-made skincare products.

This is how you can ensure you get the benefit of enormously potent essential oils without irritating skin.

European made products like PHYTO5 Swiss-made skincare must comply with strict European regulations limiting the type and concentration of natural essential oils in skincare products. The U. S. makes no such requirements for your protection.

INHALATION

Inhale the fragrance of essential oils. It’s another way to realize their healing benefits. Inhalation affects the body through several systems and pathways.

It can occur:

• by breathing the fragrance of the oil through the nose or mouth, and

• aromatherapeutically via diffuser or in a bath.

Do these two things to activate essential oils’ energetic properties:

1. warming the oils slightly, and

2. tapping the bottle first two or three times.

All the physical organs or cells which relate to the sense of smell make up your olfactory system. When you inhale the fragrance of an essential oil, airborne molecules interact with your olfactory organs and reach the brain almost immediately through a variety of receptor sites.

One of these receptor sites is the limbic system,(1)–what some refer to as the emotional brain or the smell brain.

The limbic system is a group of deep brain structures that are involved in the sense of smell and the experience of emotions… The limbic system works in coordination with the pituitary gland** and the hypothalamus*** area of the brain to regulate the hormonal activities of the endocrine system… [it] also influences immunity. Through their action on the limbic system, essential oils can have a positive impact on all of these functions by bringing balance to the body. – Roberta Wilson, Aromatherapy: Essential Oils for Vibrant Health and Beauty

When you inhale the scent of an essential oil its microscopic molecules travel to the lungs and interact positively with your respiratory system.

INGESTION

You can also internally ingest essential oils but again, because of their potency you must be very careful. Don’t overdo. One or two drops in a tall glass of water is all you need.

One or a few drops of essential oil doesn’t look like very much, but because they’re so powerful ingesting more could actually be detrimental. It could throw you into a healing crisis.

If you want to consume essential oils through the mouth, you really should consult an expert in essential oils for your safety. In France, for example, trained physicians and pharmacists prescribe and dispense essential oils as remedies.

Take these reasons for caution when ingesting essential oils seriously:

• Some essential oils can be toxic to the liver or kidneys when ingested.

• A chemical breakdown of essential oils during digestion can so alter the effects you may not achieve the results desired.

Sometimes quality of essential oils is questionable.

Be aware that just because you find essential oils in your local department or even grocery store, it doesn’t necessarily follow the quality is high. In some cases, they might even be synthetically created. They may smell great to you but have no wellness benefits whatsoever.

It’s smart to incorporate the use of essential oils into your holistic lifestyle. At the same time, do your due diligence to learn about every aspect of essential oils. Become a well informed consumer and get what you believe you’re paying for.

When it comes to essential oils in skincare (which is a profoundly therapeutic way to introduce essential oils into your system), rely on the vast knowledge and experience of chemists well trained in the appropriate dosages, blends and use of the oils. PHYTO5 skincare is formulated by expert chemists trained in the proper use of essential oils.

…

Endnotes:

(1) a complex system of nerves and networks in the brain, involving several areas near the edge of the cortex concerned with instinct and mood. It controls the basic emotions (fear, pleasure, anger) and drives (hunger, sex, dominance, care of offspring). –The New Oxford American Dictionary

(2) A pea-sized body attached to the base of the brain, the pituitary is important in controlling growth and development and the functioning of the other endocrine glands. It is the major endocrine gland. –The New Oxford American Dictionary

(3) a region of the forebrain below the thalamus that coordinates both the autonomic nervous system and the activity of the pituitary, controlling body temperature, thirst, hunger, and other homeostatic systems, and involved in sleep and emotional activity. –The New Oxford American Dictionary

 …

Sources:

The New Oxford American Dictionary

Wilson, Roberta. Aromatherapy: Essential Oils for Vibrant Health and Beauty. New York: Avery, 2002. Print

Photo courtesy of Ksenia Makagonova at Unsplash

Have Summer Fun! Enjoy These Benefits.

What we often don’t realize about energetic Summer(1) is having fun creates a myriad of wonderful physical, mental, and emotional benefits. If you take advantage of Summer's dynamic expansive energies, the benefits you derive will easily carry you well into energetic Fall. You’ll be ready to retreat into Fall’s slightly more subdued energy and feel strong throughout the last months of the year.

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Having tons of fun during Summer brings rewards we might not usually think of.

1. Pain can be relieved. When we have fun, we laugh. Laughter is known, even proven, to alleviate pain. Time Magazine’s article, “It’s No Joke: Why Laughter Kills Pain,” says, “Genuine laughter releases endorphins in the brain, chemicals that activate the same receptors as drugs like heroin, to pain-killing and euphoria-producing effects.”

2. Brain function including better memory improves. In their article entitled, “Eight Habits that Improve Cognitive Function,” Psychology Today names physical activity and social connections as two of the eight principle ways to improve brain function.

3. Creativity surges. Pleasant and fun work and educational environments foster creativity in students and employees. When a positive mood is fostered by engaging in fun activities or even by simply being surrounded by a less rigid environment, activity in the prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex of the brain is stimulated. Complex cognition, decision-making, and positive emotion necessary for heightened creativity levels are improved. Spending more time outside, engaging in physical exercise enjoyable to you, going to outdoor parties and picnics, and having office meetings under the shade trees on the nearby lawn, all can foster the latent creativity within you.

4. Mental, even physical youth is fostered. If we don’t use our muscles, they atrophy. No matter what age we are, beginning to use our bodies more actively stimulates our musculoskeletal system making us stronger and more vital and alive. “More than just hobbies, chosen activities rekindle early passions, return people to nature, set creative juices flowing and stir the soul,” says Lisa Esposito for U.S. News and World Report Magazine. The constitution of the World Health Organization states, “Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” A positive mood sustained from regularly just plain having fun can be an important predictor of health and longevity.

5. Relationships are strengthened and love happens when having fun with others. It builds connections and solidifies social bonds.  Of course, we can have fun swinging on a park swing by ourselves, but fun is even more so when we do it with people we love. Laughing together, enjoying together, and taking in the Summer together fosters conditions where love grows.

6. Emotional wounds may be healed. In the book, Heal Your Spirit, Empower Your Life!, Dr. Jess Tregle Msc.D. advises that if we’ve had a rocky childhood, we should feel that our childhood is still taking place and to let it be way better than before. She suggests reconnecting with our inner child, our younger self, to heal emotional wounds. Be silly, be playful, and open up to enjoying life more and Summer’s the perfect time to begin!

7. Sleep patterns become more regulated because serotonin in the brain increases. The increased sunlight and physical activity we enjoy in Summer increases our serotonin levels. Serotonin can be found in a variety of foods, many of which we avidly consume in Summer like plums, tomatoes, kiwis, and pineapples.

8. Your body temperature and breathing become more balanced (again because of increased serotonin levels). “Serotonin is a neurotransmitter, or chemical messenger, that mediates many complex processes in the brain. It’s perhaps best known for its role in regulating mood. It’s also thought to help regulate several life-sustaining functions, such as breathing.” –from the article, “Serotonin Helps Control Body Temperature and Breathing,” National Institute of Health

9. Coping skills seem to be magically more available to us. When we’re happy, everything becomes easier. Things that were challenging before, we now seem to be able to accept as part of our everyday stride.

10. Physical energy increases. When we’re bored or feel unstimulated, our body responds as if it is tired or lethargic. Boredom equals lethargy. When we choose to transport ourselves to the next minute where we can engage in a fun activity we love, all of a sudden, our lack of energy has vanished.

11. Overall positive feelings become the norm. Optimistic people live longer. Yale University researchers have found that, “Positive self-perceptions can prolong life expectancy.”

12. We become transformed at a cellular level. The same chemical operation that occurs within the body when laughter is the impetus for the healing of sickness is the same operation that transforms our entire physical being at the cellular level.

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(1) Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) calls each of the five seasons energetic because each is charged with specific energies unique to that season. These include the energy of one of the five elements that correspond to each season: Spring–Wood, Summer–Fire, between seasons–Earth, Fall–Metal and Winter–Water. (There are four 18-day between seasons periods of the year that essentially form bridges or transitions from one of the four major seasons to the next.)

…

Sources:

http://healthland.time.com/2011/09/14/its-no-joke-why-laughter-kills-physical-pain/ 14 Sept. 2011: n. pag. Web. <Time MagazineSzalavitz, Maya. "It’s No Joke: Why Laughter Kills Pain."

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/the-athletes-way/201403/eight-habits-improve-cognitive-function12 Mar. 2014: n. pag. Web. Psychology Today. Bergland, Christopher. "Eight Habits That Improve Cognitive Function."

https://greatist.com/happiness/ways-to-boost-creativity. N.p., 3 Mar. 2016. Web. "33 Surprising Ways to Boost Creativity for Free."

http://health.usnews.com/health-news/health-wellness/slideshows/what-keeps-you-young?slide=1 6 May 2015: n. pag. Web. U. S. News and World Report. Esposito, Lisa. "What Keeps You Young?" Bloomington, IN: Balboa, 2017. Print. Heal Your Spirit & Empower Your Life! Tregle, Dr. Jess, Msc. D.

http://nutritionwonderland.com/2009/06/understanding-bodies-serotonin-connection-between-food-and-mood/. N.p., 24 June 2009. Web. Wilcox, Christine. "Understanding Our Bodies: Serotonin, The Connection Between Food and Mood."

https://www.nih.gov/news-events/nih-research-matters/serotonin-helps-control-body-temperature-breathing(2011): n. pag. Web. 8 Aug. 2011. National Institute of Health. "Serotonin Helps Control Body Temperature and Breathing."

"Thinking Positively About Aging Extends Life More than Exercise and Not Smoking." http://news.yale.edu. N.p., 29 July 2002. Web. http://news.yale.edu/2002/07/29/thinking-positively-about-aging-extends-life-more-exercise-and-not-smoking>.

Authentic Wellness and Beauty and Millennials

Integrative wellness studios, sound baths, silent spas and natural beauty. Avocado oil, black garlic and sober socializing. Millennials have driven wellness-oriented spas and centers to new heights since the mid 2010s.

Millennials would love PHYTO5 products, method, philosophy and lifestyle approach to skincare. PHYTO5 is all about addressing the very organic, discriminating demands and progressive intelligent lifestyle choices of millennials.

PHYTO5 professionals all over the U. S. are gratified by the success they achieve in addressing the more creative real-time lifestyle choices and concerns of millennials.

Carlyn Weiler of Weiler Academy in Green Bay, Wisconsin says:

"Here in the U.S., facials tend to be more about rubbing products on the skin. When I came back to the states after being treated to and learning about European style facials and body treatments, I was very relieved to find PHYTO5 that is truly holistic and wellness targeted and so superior to any other skincare system I've seen or experienced."

PHYTO5 skincare and therapies offer a decidedly vibrational approach to skincare and wellness unmatched in the entire beauty industry. Working at the level, not just of matter but energy, true holistic natural beauty is achieved on subtle levels which radiate outward into the skin. 

Global Spa and Wellness Trends

"Wellness on the Rise: According to the latest figures from the Global Wellness Institute, the Global Wellness Economy has grown by 10.6% since 2013 to $3.7 trillion, far outpacing global GDP... The global spa market grew from $94 billion in 2013 to $99 billion in 2015 with 16,000 new spas and over 230,000 new employees." –psychologyofwellbeing.com

Many of PHYTO5's professional clients have been clients since PHYTO5's inception in the late 70s. This is a testament to PHYTO5 skincare's, technologies' and protocols' remarkable results.

These skincare and chroma-technologies are at once time honored and forever classically on trend. This is quite an unusual characteristic in the beauty industry.

The combination of our quantum energetic skincare and proprietary award-winning vibrational light technologies elevates the wellness effects of facial and body treatments to levels that reach far beyond the typical spa treatment. It's safe to say that PHYTO5 embodies all that wellness truly means.

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Millennials Prefer Experience Over Materiality. And They Value Authenticity.

One of the first things you'll hear about millennials is that they "love and value authenticity, but what does that mean? Authenticity is a broad concept with a definition that's hard to put a finger on; authenticity comes from knowing your customers, their needs, and how to have that communicated," this according to Rakuten Marketing.

So Take a Good Look at PHYTO5

Millennials are propelling the wellness lifestyle forward.

PHYTO5 skincare can stand up to millennials’ wise skepticism. PHYTO5 offers much more than a product. We offer an experience from the moment the cap or jar is removed from the product container. 

Can your spa or does your chosen line of skincare authentically deliver what these highly discriminating consumers are demanding? 

Take a good look at PHYTO5—the embodiment of what Generation Y and all discriminating wellness and beauty product consumers avidly seek:

authenticity • clean • vibrational • plant-based vegan • wellness generated on the cellular level

Key Attributes of Energetic Summer and the Fire Element

Energetic season begins May 6 and ends July 19 according to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Fire is the element that associates with energetic Summer—the time of sun, heat, growth, expansion, warmth, increased light, and abundance.

Fire is the most yang of the five elements. But since all things are both yin and yang in this universe of duality, Fire may also express as yin. Taoist astrology assigns the color red to yang Fire energy and the color purple to its yin aspect.

Emotions can be either in or out of balance depending on whether the energy we are in is in or out of balance. Personality traits can be positive or negative.

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Fire personality traits and emotions may include:

• love, both interpersonal and divine

• open-heartedness

• joie de vivre, joyfulness

• happiness

• generosity of spirit

• warmth

• playfulness

• flirtatiousness

• a compulsion to call attention to themselves

• passion

• dynamism

• reason

• self-expression

• optimistic

• positive

• enthusiasm

• excitement

• vanity

• jealousy

• frustration

Symptoms of Fire imbalance can show up physically and emotionally as:

• excessive or lack of perspiration

• rashes, hives, hot skin eruptions

• sleep disturbances, insomnia

• palpitations, irregular heartbeat

• restless or explosive energy

• inappropriate laughter

• disaapointment as the logical outcome of an out-of-balance and immature approach to relationships

A Fire type tends to find success in life through his or her predisposition to be warm-hearted and generous. They find experiences of love, compassion, fun, joy, and pleasure very healing yet they may find sharing joy and laughter without the goal of a reward in mind challenging.

Like hot molten lava, Fire can be unpredictable and changeable, chaotic and challenging to contain. It’s active, combustible, energetic, animated, and powerful.

In TCM, Fire’s body organs are the heart and small intestines. Therefore a fire personality may have a disposition for heart problems, such as heart attacks or may experience minor digestive problems in the small intestines.

Fire types are lovers and protectors of the heart. They tend to be driven to find love and intimacy sometimes at the expense of other important arenas of their lives. They can also be thrown off stable emotional course when experiencing traumatic events.

Other attributes of the Fire element include these:

• Color: red

• Tastes: bitter

• Direction: South

• Voice quality: laughter

• Smell: scorched

• Symptoms of imbalance with Fire include:

• Expectation: true love

• Stress response: loss of joy

• Emotional perception: hurt

For tips and tools on holistic Summer living, be sure to check out our former blog posts on the Summer energetic season:

• Eight Keys for Getting the Most Out of Summer Life… In Harmony with the Season

• Eight Refreshing Uses of Lavender to Cool and Soothe in Summer

• The Top Cooling Foods of Summer

• Summer Lifestyle Tips: How to Feng Shui Your Summer Season, Home, Party and Even Yourself and Enjoy Summer More

• 15 Spectacular Benefits of Having Fun This Summer

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Source:

Moss, M.D., Charles A. Power of the Five Elements: The Chinese Medicine Path to Healthy Aging and Stress Resistance. Berkeley: North Atlantic, 2010. Print.

30 Fun Ways to Get More Green Into Your Diet

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) tells us the Spring energetic season (February 5 to April 17) is all about the sprouting of new life. TCM assigns two shades of green to Spring’s element of Wood: warm green (yang) and bluish green (yin). And during energetic Spring it’s important to nourish our bodies with life-giving, detoxifying green.

Not everyone enjoys green leaves and vegetables but what follows are a number of novel and fun ways to make sure you amp up your diet with green and enjoy the deliciousness of it too!

While most of these ideas provide ways to creatively add greens and green foods to your entrees and side dishes, don’t be afraid to make green the main event!

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1. Scramble your eggs with cooking greens or add them to your frittata.

2. Add fresh fruit like strawberries to make your highly nutritious spinach salad more interesting.

3. Make a batch of green pesto to have on hand for adding to dishes like pasta or for garnishing dishes like scrambled eggs, soup or roasted veggies.

4. Learn to sprout! It’s so easy to do right in your kitchen with some mason jars, cheesecloth and sprouting seeds. In just a couple days you’ve got green sprouts absolutely brimming with nutrition that you can add to salads, add as soup garnishes or throw in your smoothies.

5. Learn to identify wild edible greens and pick them. Some might be in your backyard or favorite local forest preserve.

6. Everybody loves nuts and seeds so add them to your salads. Not only will they provide texture but lots of nutrition too.

7. Add a handful of spinach or other green to your favorite smoothie to make it green. We suggest spinach ‘cause it won’t alter the flavor intent of your smoothie.

8. Garnish your soups with parsley or cilantro.

9. Never miss adding a beautiful green leaf to your sandwiches. Experiment. Go beyond iceberg or romaine lettuce.

10. Garnish your sandwich plate or even top your salad with dehydrated kale chips. Depending on the sauce massaged into the kale before dehydrating, kids will love eating them instead of potato chips.

11. Add a handful of fresh basil, leaves and stems, to your blenderized soups for a subtle flavor enhancement and nutrition boost.

12. Add green legumes like pea pods and green beans to your side dishes for color, texture and vitality.

13. Learn to make a mean tabbouli. With the main ingredient being parsley, this minted salad is incredibly fresh tasting and you’ll feel so much better about yourself after eating it! You can sub quinoa for the bulgur wheat, if you prefer, and it will taste just as great.

14. Fold finely chopped parsley or spinach into your mashed potatoes or alfredo sauce.

15. Mush some not overcooked broccoli into side dishes for texture, flavor and nutrition.

16. Make some avocado topped toast or spread your toast with a mélange of peas tossed with a small amount of olive oil, quartered grape tomatoes, and edamame. Avocado toast is a current wellness trend!

17. Add shaved or grated courgette (zucchini) into your salad.

18. Have a nice spinach salad or other green leaf salad for breakfast. It’s a fantastic way to start the day.

19. Explore fresh green herbs (oregano, rosemary, basil, dill, cilantro, chervil, chives, tarragon) and learn how to add them to your dishes for an added dimension of healing and flavor.

20. Make green bean “fries” for an awesome snack. Toss washed whole green beans with a bit of olive oil, and then garlic granules, salt and pepper to taste, and munch!

21. Make your wrap sandwiches raw wraps using collard greens, bibb lettuce or swiss chard leaves; you can do the same when making tacos, too.

22. When puréeing your homemade hummus, throw in a half cup of spinach; it will lend a green hue to the hummus and give you added nutrition, but it won’t alter the flavor of the hummus.

23. Top your burger with lightly sautéed greens.

24. Make green dips; spinach-artichoke is always nice.

25. Make simple homemade green salad dressings in your blender; throw six to eight dandelion greens in the blender along with a cup of soaked raw cashews, a half cup of soaked raw sunflower seeds, a cup of water, a squirt of lemon juice, a half teaspoon of turmeric and Himalayan salt to taste and blend until smooth. Delish.

26. Double the amount of green vegetables and half the amount of animal protein in your dishes.

27. Be a sneaky chef; purée some greens and add them to marinara sauce or grate or finely mince the greens and add them to your burger and meatloaf mix.

28. Wilt your greens like spinach, arugula, mustard and dandelion greens; you can add them to your favorite dish or eat them straight with a little salt and pepper and a dash of olive oil.

29. Slightly blacken bundles of bok choy, broccoli or asparagus spears for a unique taste and nutrition treat.

30. Consume blue-green algae like spirulina or aphanizomenon flos aquae before or after meals or even before bed.

Best Foods to Eat During Energetic Spring

Even after energetic Spring begins February 5 (according to traditional Chinese medicine [TCM]), we still experience the remnants of the Water energy of Winter. Though TCM says Spring has arrived which is the new energy of the Wood element, it's challenging to think Spring.

TCM tells us we can enjoy our best health and vitality when we live in balance with the change of the five energetic seasons and their corresponding elements (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water).

As humans, we exist an inherent part of nature. It makes sense to live in balance with nature to enjoy our best life.

Embrace the following attributes, characteristics and specific organ activity for the Wood element and Spring season.

If you’re affected by liver problems (the organs associated with Spring are liver and gall bladder), it’s a sign your body may be suffering from insufficient or lack of Wood chi.

You can strengthen your Wood chi by consuming more Wood element foods which tend to be sour in taste (sour is the taste for the Wood element). Sour foods facilitate clearing an overburdened liver.

Wood element foods act as astringents and help the blood to circulate, your energy to flow, and emotions to move more elegantly through you.

Eating fresh greens during this season naturally cleanses the body of physical and emotional impediments. 

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Wood element foods are cooling and contracting and prevent leakage of body fluids. If you’ve been indulging in a rich, greasy diet, you’ll want to switch to the Wood element foods at this time. 

Refer to the exhaustive list of Wood foods below.

Additionally, there are some herbs and spices we can use in springtime food prep that have a sour taste: dill, sour jujube fruit, and hawthorn berry.

Certain pungent and sweet foods such as scallion, garlic, cinnamon, fennel and ginger tend to have an expansive, rising quality. They are very nice to add to springtime meals and will help you resist colds and allergies.

As always, avoid or reduce consumption of foods and drinks that have little redeeming value for the body such as deep fried foods, oil, fat (aside from the more beneficial oils and fat content derived from olive, avocado and coconut), salty foods, spicy foods, alcohol, and sweets.

While we slow cooked our food in Winter by preparing stews and hearty soups, best cooking methods for the Spring energetic season are sauté, stir fry, light simmer, blanch, quick boil, pickle, and marinate.

At this time of year, our diet should be the lightest to enable our systems to cleanse and strengthen the body, mind and spirit.

Check out PHYTO5's Wood element skincare line to address imbalance in the skin such as oiliness, blackheads, hyperpigmentation, and issues of vital energy circulation.

Best Foods for Wood Element (in alphabetical order)

• adzuki beans

• almonds

• baby spinach

• barley

• black cherry

• black currant

• blackberry

• celery

• cheese

• chicken

• chives

• cod

• collard greens

• grapefruit

• green beans

• green cabbage

• green tea

• halibut

• hazelnuts

• herring

• leafy greens

• lemon

• lettuce

• lime

• liver

• long string beans

• napa cabbage

• nuts

• oats

• olives

• peas

• pickles

• pineapple

• plums

• raspberry

• rose hips

• rye

• sauerkraut

• scallions

• sour grapes

• sour green apples

• sour green star fruit

• sourdough

• spinach

• sprouts

• tomatoes

• vinegar

• walnuts

• wheat

• yogurt

“Adapting itself to obstacles and bending around them, Wood in the earth grows upward without haste and without rest. Thus too the superior man is devoted in the character and never pauses in his progress.”  – Nei Jing (475-221 B.C.)

 …

Sources:

Nguyen, Phil N. Feng Shui for the Curious and Serious. New Jersey: Xlibris Corporation, 2008. Print.

Thunderhawk, Denise, L. Ac. The 5-Element Guide to Healing with Whole Foods. N.p.: Lulu, 2016. Print.

Skincare Professionals! Here's How to Truly Set Yourself Apart from All the Other Spas In Your Area

PHYTO5 equipment was designed and is manufactured in Europe starting with earlier versions several decades ago. It stems from our conviction that in addition to the visible aspect of the human body, there are others, unseen, with great influence on how we feel and how we look, namely, our energy envelope and interior energetic centers and pathways.

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These are the tenets of PHYTO5’s philosophy which we apply to our award winning technology:

1. The body is not simply matter but vital energy as well. It is vital energy which makes vital matter vital (alive vibrationally). This understanding dates back to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and Ayurvedic medicine. It was revived in the twentieth century with the findings of quantum physics. Since those findings, a number of members of the medical community in Europe, Asia, and the U. S. have conducted conclusive research on the subject. Today, vital energy is measurable, thus proven. It is a carrier of essential information to all cells, tissues and organs of the body.

2. The body is about 80% fluids (matter). TCM highlights five major fluids: water, arterial blood (red blood), venous blood (blue blood), lymph, and vital energy. The function of the major fluids is to provide oxygen and nutrients to all cells and tissues (function of red blood), and consequently, to provide waste removal (blue blood removes carbonic gas and lymph removes waste matter resulting from the metabolism of the cells). Water being the largest component of the body, it must be allowed to circulate and not stagnate. That circulation depends on the activity of the diaphragm when we breathe and move around. It needs to fight gravity that would accumulate water in our legs. None of those functions would occur with the flow of vital energy.

3. The skin is an organ. It receives vital energy and its tissues are fed and cleansed by the harmonious workings of the energy of the five elements and the proper circulation of the five fluids corresponding to the five elements.

4. TCM attributes five aspects (phases or components) to vital energy. They are called the five elements. Each element drives the energy that is specific to each one of the five fluids.

5. Everything in the body is in a vibrational state. In fact, everything in the universe and on planet Earth is submitted to its own vibrational state although our five physical senses are not equipped to notice.

6. Any object (matter)–any piece of solid or amount of fluid–will respond to a specific vibration according to its mass. It is called the “pitch” of the object. This is part of the laws of harmonics stemming from the study of music whose consequences have been used in modern engineering and many other fields. 

7. In his book Vibrational Medicine, Richard Gerber, MD. states two important truths:

• “The physical body is actually a complex network of interwoven energy fields.”

• “If we are beings of energy, it follows that we can be affected by energy.”

Of course, we can be affected either in positive (wellness enhancing) ways as we can be affected in negative ways ranging from discomfort to illness.

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Equipment

There are two primary pieces of equipment created by PHYTO5:

1. The Biorhythmic Drainer: This technology balances the five major fluids according to TCM. A number of companies have created similar drainage machines or incorporated similar functions in multi-purpose pieces of equipment, however the PHYTO5 Biorhythmic Drainer is still unique inasmuch as it is not limited to lymph drainage.

2. The Chromapuncteur is a light machine. This PHYTO5 machine is unique inasmuch as it does not use LED technology that provides limited frequencies but a dichroic filter technology that reproduces the entire range of frequencies for each of the seven natural component colors of sunlight. The Chromapuncteur can be used to work on acupuncture points, chakras (energetic centers), reflex zones, and to perform energetic drainage in tandem with the Biorhythmic Drainer.

3. Each piece of equipment can be free-standing, or the two can be combined to work together, in particular, to perform “energetic drainages” for the purpose of balancing the five major fluids. The machines are made to connect together the mechanical movement of the drainage with the energetic potency of any of the nine colors of light from the Chromapuncteur.

A third piece of equipment, the Biostimulateur, is totally unmatched in the industry, and reserved for advanced energetic treatments on energetic zones, acupuncture points and meridians, in support of treatments offered in spas, wellness centers, and skincare institutes.

How PHYTO5 Equipment Works

Here we are focusing on the two primary pieces of PHYTO5 equipment:

1. Biorhythmic Drainer: Its purpose is to be able to balance any of the five major fluids of TCM (water, red blood, blue blood, lymph, and vital energy). All skin conditions can be improved by working not only at the level of the skin, but also on the energy of the fluids. To that end, the Biorhythmic Drainer has five pre-calibrated frequencies that set the proper (balanced) rhythm of each of the five fluids. Since each fluid, when balanced, has its own specific “pitch” and moves at its own specific rhythm, the drainage with the Biorhythmic Drainer using the pre-calibrated rhythm will “remind” the fluid to move at its proper rhythm to maintain its harmonious movement thereby providing optimum function.

2. Chromapuncteur: Light is energy that moves as electromagnetic waves. Each of the seven component colors of white (sun) light consists of a range of frequencies. The equipment reproduces that range for each of the colors offered by the machine. The “pitch” of each fluid will respond to a specific color of light because it is in harmony with that particular range of frequencies. 

To Sum It Up:

1. The Biorhythmic Drainer is superior to any other similar machine for two reasons:

   1. No other machine has a systematic way to work on more than simply lymph.

   2. It is made to be combined with the Chromapuncteur to perform award-winning“energetic drainages” that are unique to PHYTO5.

2. Although the Biorhythmic Drainer has a proven track record and can significantly improve the results of any skincare treatment (face and/or body), the results are enhanced when both Biorhythmic Drainer and Chromapuncteur work in tandem to perform the “energetic drainages” and balance the energy of all five TCM fluids.

3. With the Chromapuncteur, not only are energetic drainages possible, but additional energetic work using light therapy becomes available.

Eat Consciously. Get These Tips.

Most people are now aware that fast foods are generally bad for their health and that consumption of fried foods should be kept to a minimum.

There are many slimming diets on the market, but too often they are not balanced meals for proper ongoing nutrition.

We are all very different physically and so are our nutritional needs. It makes sense to try to find an approach that is adapted to you, rather than following government sponsored guidelines that are flawed. These guidelines treat everyone as if they were made by the same widget factory.

The concept that Dr. Peter J. D’Adamo outlines in his book, Eat Right for Your Type, makes sense because it recognizes our individual differences based on our blood type (one of four) corresponding to different metabolic capabilities and, consequently, different nutritional needs.

Ayurveda also teaches nutrition according to the three doshas or energetic types known as pitta, vata, and kapha. Ayurveda also illustrates the need to adapt to our specific composition or dominating energies.

Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon and Mary Enig, Ph.D. challenges, in an informed and documented way, what they call the “Diet Dictocrats” who are all the governmental and quasi-governmental agencies more bent on defending the interests of powerful corporate lobbies than promoting the well-being of the people.

Energetic Food: Traditional Chinese Medicine offers an approach to nutrition based on the five elements. That is the basis for the FoodScan program created by the German company, Medprevent whose approach is very complementary to the PHYTO5 method. And the work of Dr. Haas, author of Staying Healthy with the Seasons, is in total harmony with the PHYTO5 approach.

From an energetic point of view, it is good to remember that food releases energy during the metabolism process. Both the quantity and the quality of energy matter.

Food contributes to the vital energy that we need, but that energy comes with a certain bulk that needs both energy and oxygen to process.

It is advisable to eat what is energetically rich (natural nutrients) with limited bulk and to avoid what is abundant in bulk but limited in energy. In this respect, the model of good food is a genuine farm egg that is free of added antibiotics and hormones. It represents great concentration of nutrients for a small volume.

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The worst is any bulky food heated in a microwave oven that kills all the nutrients and remains void of vital energy. Many people have a bulk-rich diet void of nutrients and vital energy. As a result, they remain hungry and eat more bulk that eventually accumulates in their body. It becomes a vicious cycle. It is one of the real issues in the standard American diet, yet few people speak about it in those terms because the politically powerful food industry is more about bulk than nutrition.

The energetic quality of our food is either yin or yang.

Meat is more yang than vegetables. Red meat is the most yang; veal or pork are less yang; and poultry the least yang of meat.

Although, some fish, such as tuna, is quite yang, fish is more yin than meat.                                                   

Vegetables that grow in the ground such as potatoes and beets are more yang than leafy vegetables.

It is recommended to eat cooling or yin food during the strong yang season such as Summer and to eat yang food during the strong yin season of Winter.

It makes more sense to have a steak and mashed potatoes in the Winter than on a hot summer day when salads and fruit are more appropriate.

It is always recommended to eat the food of the season because they are in balance with the energy of that season. The color of fruit and vegetables is often used as a telltale sign of when it is best to eat them.

For example, yellow fruit and vegetables are recommended during the transitional Earth season happening now (the period of 18 days between seasons), while a (red) tomato is preferred during the Summer, the season of the Fire element according to traditional Chinese medicine).

The Chinese New Year Is January 28. What We Can Learn from Taoist Astrology for 2017.

The Chinese calendar is based on the lunar cycle, contrary to the Gregorian calendar which is based on the apparent movement of the sun. The date of each Chinese New Year takes place on the second moon after the Winter solstice. Because the dates of the new moon vary from year to year, it follows that the date of the New Year varies from one year to the next. 

The Chinese New Year is broadly observed in Asia and Southeast Asia, particularly, China, Korea and Japan. It has its roots in Taoism.

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It is interesting to note that there are twelve branches in Taoist astrology as is the case for Western astrology with the twelve signs of the zodiac. Each branch is designated by the name of an animal reflecting some of the characteristics implied in the nature of the animal. 

As with all things that are rooted in Taoism, each branch is declined in five versions to reflect the characteristics of each of the five elements of Chinese medicine—Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water—and also, simultaneously, by the yin/yang duality.

Consequently, there are six yang branches and six yin branches. It means that 6 of the 12 animals are deemed yin and 6 are deemed yang. The yang years are the ones ending with an even number; and the yin years are the ones ending with an odd number. The yin animals will only appear in years ending with an odd number, and the yang animals will only appear in years ending with an even number.

Altogether, this creates a cycle of 60 years. It means that the yearly characteristics of Taoist astrology repeat themselves only every 60 years. It provides for ample distinctions on the energetic influence of each year! It is interesting to note the influence of numerology in the organization of the Chinese astrology system. 

The Chinese New Year starting January 28, 2017, is the one of the Phoenix, more popularly described as the Rooster. It is defined as a yin branch (animal), but as it is declined in the 5 elements, each element brings a lesser or greater yin or yang influence.

2017 is a year for a Fire type animal as it is the case for any year ending with a 7. Phoenix being a yin animal, will appear with the yin aspect of Fire. That combination – yin of Fire - is given the purple color which is why 2017 is the year of the Purple Phoenix.

A yang animal, such as the Monkey (the animal of 2016) during a Fire year (as it was in 2016) represents the yang of the yang and is given the descriptive color of red. No wonder that the Red Monkey of 2016 created such havoc on so many different levels! It was predicted.

In 2017, the characteristics of the Purple Phoenix are defined by a Fire influence, the most yang aspect of the 5 elements, but it is tempered by its inherent yin.  

Taoist astrology predicts that: “The year of the phoenix is a time of practical endeavors, conscientiousness, hard work, and discipline. Politically, conservative police states gain power, and law and order are championed.” 

“Purple Phoenix adores the spotlight…In business, Purple Phoenix desires success, fame, wealth, and status in society. She is intense and competitive when pursuing materialistic goals…” –Susan Levitt in Taoist Astrology: A Handbook of the Authentic Chinese Tradition.

A Tao Te Ching Verse for Phoenix

Fame or integrity: which is more important?

Money or happiness: which is more valuable?

Success or failure: which is more destructive?

If you look to others for fulfillment you will never truly be fulfilled.

If your happiness depends on money you will never be happy with yourself.

Be content with what you have. Rejoice in the way things are.

When you realize nothing is lacking the whole world belongs to you.

 …

Sources:

Levitt, Susan. Taoist Feng Shui: The Ancient Roots of the Chinese Art of Placement. Rochester, VT.: Destiny, 2000. Print.

Levitt, Susan, and Jean Tang. Taoist Astrology: A Handbook of the Authentic Chinese Tradition. p. 171. Rochester, VT: Destiny, 1997. Print.

Clarifying the Effect of the Energetic Seasons on Your Skincare Regimen: When to Switch from Water to Earth

January 17 marks the end of traditional Chinese medicine’s energetic Winter and the Water element.

This means that Water's energetic influence will cease operating and a new influence begins. From January 18 to the February 4 the Winter seasonal energetic activity returns to Earth for 18 days. Then the energy reappears February 5 as the energy of the Spring season (Wood element).

How does this change affect your skincare regimen and your choice of products?

We need to remember that there is a lag time between the change of energetic influence and the visible consequences, or symptoms, of the change.

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When the Water season ends, its climatic influence is still felt. At that time, the climate in most of the U.S. is still one of Winter, particularly in the Northern half of the country, and the need to protect against the cold and its effects on our skin is still present and not to be ignored. 

For most people it means that a continuation of the Winter regimen is quite logical as long as the Winter climate is in effect, but the people who have a predisposition to Earth conditions (pimples, blemishes or acne, and issues of lymph circulation) need to be aware that with the Earth season their condition will worsen.

It is also the best time to address the issues of the earth skin conditions. They are the people who need to switch lines (and professional treatments) on time.

Using both the Water products and the Earth products might be called for depending on the individual’s condition and the climate at the time.

Because the Water products are also anti-aging products (hydration and tone), given the age and skin condition of the individual, the Water line might be the right choice for most of the year. 

For many of our clients in the states, it’s important to prolong the use of the Water line past the January 17 unless their dominant concern is the skin conditions associated with the Earth element. In that case, switching to Earth is recommended. 

Late Winter Lifestyle Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them

The Earth element in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) relates to transformation. It’s active four times a year in 18-day transition periods between the four major seasons (Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter). Although we tend to associate the attributes of Earth with late or Indian Summer, Earth also occurs in late Winter, late Spring and late Fall. 

In other words, as the end of each of the traditional four seasons approaches, the “heavenly” (cosmic) seasonal energy goes back to the Earth for transformation into the energy of the next season.

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According to Chinese medicine:

 “…its influence manifests for 18 days at the end of each of the four seasons and it does not pertain to any season of its own…” – The Classic of Categories (1624) by Zhang Jie Bin.

Earth is not unlike the center of the compass. It is a pivot point, so to speak, around which the four seasons and the other four elements spin. But, occurring four times a year for 18 days each, these periods totaling 72 days and which bear similar characteristics are referred to as the Earth energetic season or fifth season of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).

The next Earth energetic period is from January 18 to February 4. An Earth imbalance creates any one of the following group of conditions affecting the skin:

• blemishes

• toxicity

• acne

• psoriasis

• enlarged pores and

• lymph circulation problems.

PHYTO5 has created a very specific skin and hair care line designed to help address these imbalances.

Unlike Wood and Fire elements in TCM defined by a rising and peaking yang, and unlike Metal and Water elements with a rising and peaking yin, Earth represents a balance between yin and yang energies. As such, the Earth element represents warm, stable, grounded, loving, emotional characteristics. It is nurturing, comforting, calm, solid and stable. Earth is all about family, community and gathering, eating now and gathering, collecting, holding and storing for later.

Earth energy type people are sentimental and maintain their attachments to other people, things, and places. Earth types tend to savor the sweetness of life and being human and they find enjoyment in all the comforts and pleasures of life. But, as with each element, Earth types can become imbalanced and demonstrate physical and emotional challenges.

According to TCM, Earth is about ingestion and absorption, not just of food but of ideas and emotions. An Earth element imbalance in the body is the result of ingesting too much, or its opposite–stagnation, the slowing down of chi energy flow in the body, or an outright inability to consume or subsequently digest ideas, emotions, or food.

Earth types are thoughtful but can worry too much. They can feel sympathy, deeply allowing them to feel connected to others, but these same emotions taken too far can cause them to feel stuck, unable to act or think clearly, with an over-dependence on others for their opinions, judgment and advice.

Earth types are quite good at maintaining family and friend relationships. They love situations that require them to work with others. They enjoy teamwork and collaborative work environments.

Well-balanced Earth people usually have a healthy complexion, soft facial features, sturdy and balanced body frame, exhibiting an earthiness to their appearance.

The organs most closely associated with Earth are the spleen and the stomach and the digestive system as a whole. The Discussion of Prescriptions from the Golden Chest (c. AD 220) by Zhang Zhong Jing says:

“During the last period of each season, the Spleen is strong enough to resist pathogenic factors.”

Earth also has influence over the pancreas, the large muscles of the body on the upper arms and lower legs, the abdomen, the middle back, the lymph system and the diaphragm. Of course, proper lymph circulation is important in keeping a strong immune system and a healthy complexion.

The Earth periods are the best time to address Earth conditions. They are also the times when Earth energy can make existing Earth imbalance in people worse, therefore balancing Earth energy during the Earth periods with Earth treatments and products is highly recommended, particularly for Earth type people.

…

Sources:

Maciocia, Giovanni. The Foundations of Chinese Medicine: A Comprehensive Text. Edinburgh: Elsevier, 2015. Print.

Bridges, Lillian. Face Reading in Chinese Medicine. Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone/Elsevier, 2012. Print.

You Can Live Beyond Your Prescribed Genetics

Among many critical factors influencing the aging process, our genetic heritage is a major one. Genetics escape our control yet twins with an identical genetic imprint can age differently. This proves other factors like lifestyle are in play.

Other factors include our living conditions. We don’t have control over our environmental climate either.

But other factors point to how we choose to consciously live our lives.

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The physical effects of aging may accelerate as a result of:

• where you live (dry or humid, hot or cold, temperate or extreme climates)

• your socioeconomic conditions (depening on the time and resources you have to take care of yourself)

• your relationships (family and friends)

• your psychological frame of mind (tendency to worry, embrace fear and anger, or to laugh and be merry)

• your diet

• your exercise routine

• your socializing habits

• various personal disciplines you might or might not have, including how you handle stress (at work and in your private life) your spiritual life.

Some factors have little to do with the amount of free time or disposable income you have.

• Do you drive when you could walk instead?

• Do you take the escalator rather than the stairs?

• Do you take every opportunity you have to stretch, exercise, and breathe deeply?

• Do you take a few minutes, even a few seconds, throughout the day to meditate and to manage your negative emotions when they appear?

• Do you find reasons to smile and to laugh?

• Can you stay clear of smoking and alcohol (beyond an occasional beer or glass of wine) and recreational drugs?

Exercise, nutrition and diet (including the choice for energetic foods and phytochemicals in our diet), colon therapy and inner cleansing, and mindfulness practice are all key elements of a lifestyle designed to slow the aging process as much as possible.

In this post, we’ll focus on exercise, so pertinent for this time of year, and we’ll discuss food, inner cleansing and mindfulness practices in soon upcoming posts.

Exercise does not need to be strenuous, but we do need two types of exercises: stretching and cardiovascular.  Exercising in general, and stretching in particular, sponsors the movement of vital energy throughout the body, accelerating the flow of blood that brings necessary nutrients to all cells. It also stimulates the process of elimination of waste within cells and tissues.

It is good to remember that we generate more internal energy as we exercise, but depending on the type of exercise, we might also expend a large amount of energy, leaving us depleted at the end of our session. The goal is to build up energy while expending as little of it as possible. In that respect, low impact and moderately intensive cardiovascular exercises are superior forms of wellness enhancement.

Mindful exercising connects intention to action. It is important because energy follows our intention, therefore we can redirect it. Yoga, qi gong, and tai chi are known for their focus on the coordination of movement and breath with intention and awareness. There are many other activities that can be performed with conscious focus, from golf to simply walking upstairs.

All this is contrary to the frequent practice of mechanically performing exercises while listening to music or watching television in an attempt to distract the mind from repetitive and boring movements.

Conscious breathing should also be considered part of our exercise regimen. For most people, twenty to thirty minutes of accelerated breathing three times a week is quite sufficient.  Experts point to the need of breathing from the abdomen and not simply from the top of the lungs. This action helps the movement of the diaphragm, the largest muscle in the body that acts as a major pump for the movement of lymph and of water throughout the body.

13 Possible Signs You Have a "Water Element Imbalance" According to Chinese Medicine

Water, the element associated with energetic Winter in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), is the source of life. It flows, hydrates and purifies.

It carries nourishment to living things–plants, animals, humans. Water can be hard or soft, gentle or powerful, flowing or standing still and stagnating.

In its natural environment, water seeks always to flow downwards and fill every space it contacts. But in the human body water circulates in spite of the lack of a designated pump like blood has with the heart.

Our body shapes would be totally different with all the bulk in our legs if we didn’t have such water circulation throughout the body.

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During Winter, it’s important to conserve energy just like a seed does in nature. Winter’s the time to rest and preserve our essence of life as we prepare for the rebirth of Spring. 

Water circulation is the function of the aspect of vital energy called Water. Proper distribution comes from movement and good breathing. Deep breathing throughout the day activates the largest muscle in the body, the diaphragm, which provides a powerful pumping action ensuring water circulation throughout the body.

In very cold climates, the Winter tendency to hibernate and reduce physical activity must be overcome to ensure enough physical movement and deep breathing necessary for proper water circulation and to avoid water retention, particularly in the legs.

When we’re born, our bodies are about 80% water. As we grow older, we progressively lose water from evaporation that has not been properly replaced. A healthy adult body is comprised of about 75% water. Elderly people might even get to a low of 60%. Further dehydration can become a cause of death.

“The more buff you are (muscle tissue stores more water) the wetter you are. Because women generally have more fat cells, they tend to be a bit drier. Fat cells aren’t as moist. The water that lubricates your joints flushes your waste, assists seminal reproduction, and absorbs shocks to your bones—as you age, the moisturizer in you slowly dwindles.” –Robert Krulwich, Krulwich Wonders on NPR

The importance of proper hydration cannot be underestimated. The medical community is increasingly realizing that most adults are more or less in a severe state of dehydration.

Unfortunately, our drinking water quality is not always satisfactory. Drinking an ample amount of good water is necessary but not fully sufficient. Minerals and electrolytes are necessary. In this regard, fluid from fruits and vegetables is highly desirable. Conversely, too much dry food ( an example would be crackers) contributes to inner dryness.

It is recommended to drink a cup of water per waking hour at regular intervals during the day. It is also good to have water available if and when we wake up during the night. Drinking sodas or coffee is not a substitute for our very necessary water intake quota. In fact, any diuretic such as coffee will eliminate fluid from our body requiring a double dose of hydration to compensate. 

Although occasional flushing of toxins from active perspiration is desirable, the rest of the time, limiting natural evaporation–loss of water from our body–is necessary. Application of a good hydrating cream on the face or hydrating body lotion after a bath or shower will also assist to reduce the rate of evaporation through the day.

During the Winter energetic season, these are signs you’re out of balance with the season’s and the element’s energetic flow:

• Joint weakness, joint swelling, rheumatism, arthritis, tooth decay, osteoporosis (bones and bone marrow are the tissues associated with Winter in TCM). All bones draw nourishment from the energy of kidney and bladder. The cells that carry nourishment, strength and renewal throughout the body are regenerated in the bone marrow.

• Thirst and dryness (water is the element associated with Winter according to TCM).

• Frequency or infrequency of urination (the Winter associated orifices are the genitals, urethra, and anus; kidney is Winter’s organ and bladder Winter’s viscera).

• Excess or deficiency of perspiration, putrid body odor (when the water element is not flowing adequately even to the point of stagnation in the body).

• Reduced metabolism; dehydration compromises metabolism.

• High or low blood pressure (salty is the taste of the Winter season). Too much salt in the system causes fluid retention and is therefore not recommended for high blood pressure patients. Too much salty food is bad for the blood.

• Sexual weakness, infertility, sterility (the genitals are one of the orifices associated with Winter in TCM). Healthy reproduction, the functioning of the testes and ovaries, and the flow of energy necessary to perform the sexual act all depend on Water element balance. The environment essential for the development of the embryo is water.

• Depression, inhibited or blocked emotions, apathy, lack of will power or determination (will power is the spiritual resource associated with Winter in TCM). The kidney (Winter’s organ) stores Jing, the life force or impetus. Without good Jing, one can have difficulty coping with even the simplest of tasks.

• Fear, aloofness, shyness, phobias, an inability to face risk (fear is Winter’s associated emotion). A feeling of foreboding or anxiety may arise. An inability to let go of anxieties or falling into despair is a sign of Water imbalance. “Extreme fear can damage the kidneys, but it can be counteracted by contemplation.” –Neijing Suwen

• Vertigo, dizziness, loss of balance (ears are the sense organ for Winter in TCM).

• Balding (hair is the external physical manifestation of Winter). Strong healthy hair reflects good Jing or life force.

• Constant complaints (moaning and groaning are known as the sound associated with TCM’s Winter energetic season).

• Shaking as a release of withheld tension (accumulation and storage are associated with the Winter element in TCM).

…

Sources:

– Krulwich, Robert. Krulwich Wonders. "Born Wet, Human Babies Are 75 Percent Water. Then Comes The Drying."http://www.npr.org/sections/krulwich/2013/11/25/247212488/born-wet-human-babies-are-75-percent-water-then-comes-drying. N.p., 26 Nov. 2013. Web.

Chellini, Serena. Compendium of Traditional Chinese Medicine. N.p.: Google, n.d. Print.

More Than A Dozen Oh So Nutritious Black Foods for Winter

Traditional Chinese medicine’s (TCM’s) health encyclopedia, The Medical Classic of the Yellow Emperor (Neijing Suwen), gives clear guidance about how to live in harmony with each energetic season and its corresponding element (Spring-Wood, Summer-Fire, between seasons-Earth, Fall-Metal and Winter-Water).

The Medical Classic teaches us about the relationships of all the fives: seasons, elements, organs, flavors, moods, colors and more. It wisely instructs us in the ways of maintaining equilibrium of body, mind and spirit during the natural cycles of each energetic season.

The color is black for the energetic season of Winter which runs from November 8 to January 17.

So how do we harmonize with Winter with the color black?

One way is through the food we consume during this time.

Believe it not, the Neijing Suwen prescribes the consumption of black foods. In Chinese medicine, black foods are the best for Winter, green foods for Spring, red foods for Summer, yellow foods for late Summer and white foods for Autumn.

Black foods tend to be rich in inorganic salt and melanin. Inorganic salt can help promote fluid metabolism and it is a detoxifer. Melanin can help restrict nitrosamine (a carcinogenic compound) and thus prevent cancer.

FYI: foods containing nitrosamines include cured meats, primarily cooked bacon, beer, some cheeses, nonfat dry milk and occasionally fish.

We’ve included an interesting list of black foods in the next column along with just a smattering of their bountiful health benefits. One thing you’ll notice is a common thread running through these foods: antioxidants! Black, deep purple, nearly black foods contain lots of them!

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Black foods tend to be overlooked in our diets and are just as nutritious as eating green foods which are already commonly accepted as ultra healthy. 

Black foods abound in natural plant pigments called anthocyanins (derived from Greek meaning “flower” and “blue”). This is what makes cherries red, blueberries blue, and blackberries black. Actually, most black foods are blue-black or almost black. The darker the pigment of the food, the more anthocyanins are present. Anthocyanins belong to the flavonoid class of molecules and are essentially, antioxidants. The seed coat of black soybeans contains the highest recorded amount of anthocyanins.

During energetic Winter, balance your black food intake with yellow-orange vegetables, tubers and gourds. Put the emphasis on eating warming foods. Warming foods tend to be yang, promoting circulation and metabolism and placing an upward, outward influence on the body.

Now’s the perfect time for stews and soups. Many of the following ingredients can be incorporated into your one-pot meals, especially black garlic, black lentils or beans, eggplant and black polished rice. Have fun! Yum!

Some health benefits of anthocyanin in black or nearly black foods: 

• Combatting and prevention of cancer

• Anti-aging effect

• Reduced risk of hardening of the arteries

• A more efficient fat burning metabolism

• Decreased cholesterol and improved blood circulation

14 Nutritious Black Foods That Satisfy and Contribute to Preventive Health:

1. Black sea salt (also known as Kala Namak): high sulphur content is very good for your skin

2. Black pepper: stimulates food digesting enzymes

3. Black currant: immunomodulatory, antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory

4. Black tea: loaded with antioxidants

5. Black polished rice or Forbidden rice: loads of vitamin E for immune system

6. Black soybeans (also known as kuromame): enormous anthocyanin content; see health benefits of anthocyanins below

7. Black lentils: loaded with iron

8. Blackberries: may help reduce cognitive decline in older age and fiber rich

9. Black beans: full of bioflavonoids that protect against cancer

10. Black sesame: enhances bone health and helps you sleep better

11. Black fungus (also known as wood ear),: rich in iron and vitamin K, regular consumption can help prevent atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease.

12. Black garlic: contains twice the antioxidant levels as fresh garlic; it is made by heating whole bulbs of garlic over the course of several weeks, a process that results in black cloves, a process which appears to double its antioxidant content

13. Eggplant: packed with antioxidants, vitamins and minerals

14. Kelp: a major source of iodine, kelp helps regulate the thyroid gland

15. Black mission figs: anti-cancer, fiber-rich, antibacterial

…

Sources:

http://www.rd.com/food/fun/skip-the-greens-6-healthy-and-trendy-black-foods/

http://www.naturalnews.com/040968_black_tea_chronic_inflammation_foods.html

https://dailyhealthpost.com/top-7-black-foods-with-powerful-health-benefits/

Hou, Joseph P. Ph. D. Healthy Longevity Techniques: East-west Anti-aging Strategies. Authorhouse, 2010. Print

Learn to Learn from Your Skin and Vital Energy

Your body is not only anatomically and physiologically complex, it’s energetically complex. Unseen vital energy that flows throughout all parts of your body is a form of intelligent communication. It links your physical body to the invisible energetic fields that encompass your being. The by-product of that interaction reflexively point to areas of the body that are out of balance.

The energetic blueprint you received at birth from the cosmic and telluric energies that prevailed at the moment you were born were added to the energies inherited from your parents (ancestral energies), and like everyone else, you are affected by a number of cyclical energetic patterns.

There is a daily flow of energies within your body and a yearly flow of energetic seasons.

There is also the cycle of life with the sequence of five 15-year phases that start with the Wood element at birth and the other five 15-year cycles that start with the element of the biorhythm of your birth.

All this can be utterly overwhelming, yet in practical terms, it simply boils down to maintaining a balance of your vital energy. 

Reading your skin and body shape should lead you to select the balancing skincare products you need along with appropriate balancing treatments whenever you can. Lifestyle adjustments may also become necessary however this can be journey of self-discovery. Make it so!

We can learn from our skin and respect it for the tell-tale signs it gives us. Consequently, it cannot be excessively stripped–mechanically or with acids–injected with chemicals, cut, stretched, and sewn, without consequences.

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Likewise, what we eat, drink, breathe, and how we exercise our bodies or not will have consequences on our health as much as our skin. 

Our thoughts, emotions, and intent, affect our energetic system, and as a result, our physical being.

Skincare is not only caring for our body but for our entire being. This is why skincare must truly be a holistic proposition. Anything else is either neglectful or a shortcut with potentially undesirable consequences.

With knowledge comes the opportunity to take charge of your wellness. The exigencies and circumstances of modern life are very destabilizing, but with knowledge, our ability to maintain balance—mental, emotional, and physical— becomes that much greater.

It’s entirely up to you. Make sure you enjoy the process!

In your body, you have an interconnected system of subtle lines and vortices of energy that both emanate from and support the denser molecular matter of your physical body. These lines or channels of energy are called nadir in the Ayurvedic system of medicine of India. The vortices where the energetic channels converge to support the internal and external structures of the body are called chakras. All forms of non-Westernized medicine, Ayurvedic medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, homeopathy, and indigenous cultures around the world acknowledge that a vital life-force energy creates and sustains physical life… there is an invisible force that ebbs and flows within all living things and is the animating force of creation, sustenance, and destruction.

 …

Source:

–Kamm, Laura Alden. Intuitive Wellness: Using Your Body's Inner Wisdom to Heal. New York, NY: Atria, 2007. Print.

Natural Antibiotics Have a Real Place in Combatting Drug-Resistant Superbugs

While it’s true many antibiotics save lives, we consumer them at the cost of true wellness and disease prevention. While they often save lives they also cause many unpleasant side effects as their overuse proliferates superbugs.

One of our first antibiotics, penicillin, was discovered almost 100 years ago by Dr. Alexander Fleming. Its discovery caused a breakthrough in the field of medicine and the treatment of infectious disease as more and more antibiotics were developed in the years ensuing.

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Year after year, antibiotics were praised for their seemingly magical properties as they quickly vanquished destructive infectious diseases but over time the antibiotic began to be resistant rather than many of the people being treated.

While patients continued to be cured with newer and better antibiotics, the antibiotics began facilitating mutated or resistant strains of bacteria we would come to call superbugs, strains so potent they could survive an antibiotic onslaught.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

“Each year in the United States, at least two million people become infected with bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics and at least 23,000 people die … as a direct result of these infections.”

Of the six billion animals that are raised each year in the U.S. for purposes of human consumption, the vast majority of livestock are fed antibiotics in their feed every day (20 million pounds of antibiotics per year).

On a routine basis, antibiotic-resistant bacteria develop in the animals which is then passed along to the humans who eat them. In 2011, more than half of the samples taken from supermarkets of ground turkey, pork chops and ground beef contained bacteria-resistant superbugs.

The feeding of antibiotics to livestock combined with more than 240 million antibiotics prescriptions written each year has caused an unparalleled spike in viral and bacterial infections and which is now being accepted as commonplace. Drug-resistant strains of bacteria are now dubbed superbugs or killer microbes.

This is a challenge that is becoming more serious by the year and the medical community acknowledges we must find new alternatives. The truth is, there are all kinds of alternatives already in existence and which the medical community seems to be hesitant in accepting and applying.

• Scientists are currently studying the use of phages, viruses which kill bacteria but not humans. They were actually discovered in 1915, and they were used successfully for twenty years before penicillin. Thought obsolete in many places, phage therapy is still used in Eastern Europe.

• Hippocrates (father of Western medicine) noted in the fifth century, B.C. that fevers were reduced and aches and pains lessened with the use of salicylic acid extracted from willow bark.

• Healers in the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) tradition have relied on natural herbal antibiotics for more than 4,000 years.  During the Tang dynasty, the Materia medica of 657 A.D., chronicles more than 800 medical substances extracted from minerals, metals, plants, herbs, fruits, vegetables, and cereal crops.

• TCM’s foundational tenets teach that a person who lives in harmony with the five elements and five seasons or phases will have an immune system strong enough to combat disease including virulent bacteria.

• Practicing chi kung is an excellent form of preventive medicine. If your vital energy is powerful and flowing harmoniously, infection cannot develop even though sufficient infectious micro-organisms that would have caused sickness in another person, are present in your body. (1)

• The infectious disease, malaria, is now quite effectively treated with a tea made from an extract of sweet wormwood. During the Vietnam War, China’s allies in the North Vietnam were dying in large numbers from malaria as the mosquito-borne microorganisms known as Plasmodia had become resistant to antimalarial drugs in use at the time. 

• Most of us don’t realize we actually may have some of the ten most effective natural antibiotics right in our homes or kitchens. See the list which includes oil of oregano, coconut oil, raw apple cider vinegar, cabbage, honey and garlic at myhealthwire. Other natural antibiotics are turmeric, tea tree oil and olive leaf extract.

In the West, we view disease as caused by something outside of ourselves (an invading bacteria or virus, for example). As a result, Western doctors focus their treatments on annihilating the invader often at great cost to the patient rather than strengthening the patient’s own system of defense, the immune system. 

Unlike Western medicine, even for an infectious disease, the Chinese do the opposite. TCM places focus not on the microbes but on restoring the healthy conditions of the patient in which the microbes cannot survive.

Mao Zedong commissioned 500 scientists to find a new cure for malaria caused by the mosquito-borne microorganisms known as Plasmodia which had become resistant to antimalarial drugs in use at the time. Some of those he commissioned used synthetic chemistry. Others pursued an ethnobotanical cure based on the annals of TCM. Phytochemist Tu Youyou and her staff identified sweet wormwood, a member of the daisy family, out of more than 2000 herbal remedies. They discovered the tea should be steeped in cold water as opposed to boiling in order to extract its most maximum effective properties. Wormwood’s primary active compound was eventually developed into Artemisinin, one of the most successful treatments on record for malaria. In 2015, Tu Youyou received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

(1) Wong, Kiew Kit. The Complete Book of Chinese Medicine: A Holistic Approach to Physical Emotional and Mental Health. Sungai Petani, Kedah: Cosmos, 2002. Print.

…

Sources:

Drlica, Karl, and David Perlin. Antibiotic Resistance: Understanding and Responding to an Emerging Crisis. Upper Saddle River, NJ: FT, 2011. Print.

Elias, Jason, and Katherine Ketcham. Chinese Medicine for Maximum Immunity: Understanding the Five Elemental Types for Health and Well-being. New York: Three Rivers, 1998. Print.

http://www.naturalnews.com/037074_natural_antibiotics_superbugs_flesh-eating_bacteria.html#ixzz4OQHou0KZ

Jabr, Ferris. "Could Ancient Remedies Hold the Answer to the Looming Antibiotics Crisis?" New York Times. 20 Sept. 2016.

Best Eating Practices for the Time Between Energetic Seasons: October 21 to November 7

According to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), we can best nourish our spleen and stomach by consuming the natural sweetness of grains, fruits and vegetables. The best time to consume these is during the period between the energetic seasons of Fall and Winter. In TCM, we call this the Earth period. There are four Earth periods in the year. The autumnal Earth period runs from October 21 to November 7.

The taste associated with the season of Earth is sweet.

The climate associated with Earth is damp.

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Earth’s two yin and yang organs are (yin) spleen and (yang) stomach.
 
TCM explains that the spleen’s principal function is transforming food and drink into vital energy and blood. It distributes the chi (vital energy) and blood throughout the body.
 
In spite of the benefits most will realize eating sweet grains, fruits and vegetables, Earth types have a tendency to overeat as well as a tendency to gravitate to sweets. Earth types should be careful with this because it can disturb their overall balance of chi.
 
If you have a tendency to overeat, these tips may help you:

1. To curb the appetite, drink lots of water during the day which will increase the bulk of the food you have eaten while softening the food particles making them easier to digest.

2. Drink the bulk of your water in between meals.

3. Drink room temperature water.

4. Avoid icy beverages.

5. Consume smaller, more frequent meals.

6. Take small portions and eat slowly.

7. Take small second helpings if you’re still hungry.

8. Increase consumption of whole foods: grains, fruits, vegetables. You will feel full, they digest much more easily, and your body will absorb fewer calories.

9. Substitute fruit for sweet desserts. Figs, pears, persimmons, pomegranate seeds, grapes and, of course, apples are wonderful sweet fruits available at this time of year.

10. Stabilize blood sugar levels with legumes (lentils, chick peas, split peas, kidney beans, soybeans, fava beans) and root vegetables (carrots, celery, onions, turnips, parsnips, radishes, potatoes, and sweet potatoes).

11. Take the burden off your stomach and intestines by avoiding fatty foods, in particular, dairy products and red meat. Dairy and red meat are difficult to digest and create dampness caused by mucus in the system.

12. Eliminate dampness in your system by dry condiments like ginger, cinnamon, garlic, pepper, parsley, and cardamom. They support digestion and increase metabolism. They also help to reduce gas, water retention, indigestion, nausea, diarrhea and stomach pain.

The tendency of imbalanced Earth energy is to worry excessively. The worst fear of the Earth type is deprivation, most especially deprivation of relationships which are so important to Earth types. Often, when a relationship ends or is in stress, Earth types will resort to food to fill the emptiness and soothe the pain they feel. Many will even gorge themselves with food yet still feel an emptiness that cannot be completely filled.

It’s important to have a toolkit of practices in place so that when the going gets rough like this, we can rely on these tools rather than large amounts of food.

These tools could include:

• Relying on a trusted friend to share your feelings with

• A strong spiritual foundation

• A “go to” book of very powerful inspiration both in hard copy book form and audio format

• A memorized poem or passage of sacred text you can immediately pivot to to shift your mood

• A developed practice of meditation

• A small arsenal of mantras you can incant for quick relief and comfort.

…

Source:

Elias, Jason, and Katherine Ketcham. Chinese Medicine for Maximum Immunity: Understanding the Five Elemental Types for Health and Well-being. New York: Three Rivers, 1998. Print

Best Eating Practices for Energetic Fall

Any time we come to the conclusion of an energetic season in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), it’s smart to check in with your diet. Make sure you're aligning your eating practices with the season. When you live in harmony with the spirit of the season and nature, you’ll live a more vibrant life.

In the case of energetic Fall, observe the season. Notice that our natural environment is beginning to slow down and contract. It’s preparing to rest for the Winter. 

If we choose to align ourselves with nature’s current seasonal behaviors, we’ll slow down, too. We’ll sleep a little longer, become a little more contemplative and inwardly focused and we’ll eat warming, nourishing foods, especially foods that nourish the lungs, the organ associated with Fall. 

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Best eating practices for energetic Fall include eating lung clearing and moistening foods (lung is the organ associated with the season) like apples, pears and persimmons. Sounds like it’s time for some fresh baked pie!

Foods with gently pungent flavors strengthen the lungs and should be balanced with sour foods which work to protect the skin against attack from the winds of Autumn. 

Gently pungent flavors come from herbs and spices like basil, coriander, bay leaves, capers, cardamom, chives, cinnamon, cloves, dill, fennel, ginger, oregano, nutmeg, rosemary, safflower, thyme, and turmeric. More powerful pungent flavors such as white pepper, garlic, chilies, onions and horseradish are best to use sparingly at this time. Gently pungent vegetables include cabbage, leeks and turnips.

Sour foods to balance the pungent might include sauerkraut, sour plums and apples, olives, pickles, lemons, limes, grapefruit and yogurt.

The Fall energetic season is the time when we may tend to eat less salads and raw foods while cooking our food at low temperatures for longer periods of time. For example, steam your food rather than do a quick stir fry. Or make some hearty, slowly cooked and simmered stews and soups that include navy and lima beans which are very good for the lungs. Begin phasing in to your soups and stews root vegetables which we will soon even more heartily use in the Winter.

Using small amounts of Himalayan sea salt in your cooking will help alleviate dryness caused by windy Autumn.

Autumn is a time of establishing a rhythmic order. There is a downward energy, grounding our bodies, minds and even our food into the earth. It is the ideal time to focus on the colon as life energy contracts and will prepare for a dormant state in the winter. Autumn is associated with white, and also the time of year our “white” foods are at their peak. They are the digestives and immune boosting foods such as: apples, pears, cabbage, cauliflower, garlic, and leeks.  – Kate Kennington, Holistic Health Coach

Here’s a list of supportive nourishing foods to incorporate into your best eating practices for Fall as we build our immune systems in preparation for Winter:

1. almonds

2. apples

3. apricots

4. asparagus

5. bananas

6. basil

7. bay leaves

8. black pepper

9. broccoli

10. cabbage

11. capers

12. cardamom

13. cauliflower

14. celery

15. cheese

16. chilies (sparingly)

17. chives

18. cinnamon

19. cloves

20. coriander

21. cucumber

22. dill

23. fennel

24. garlic (sparingly)

25. ginger

26. grapefruit

27. grapes

28. Himalayan salt

29. horseradish (sparingly)

30. leeks

31. lemons

32. limes

33. miso

34. mustard greens

35. navy beans

36. nutmeg

37. olives

38. onion (sparingly)

39. oregano

40. pears

41. persimmons

42. pickles

43. radish 

44. rice

45. rosemary

46. safflower

47. sauerkraut

48. sour plums

49. sourdough bread

50. soy beans

51. sweet potato

52. thyme

53. turmeric

54. turnips

55. vinegar

56. walnuts

57. white pepper (sparingly)

58. yogurt

The Reason for Jet Lag and Unexplained Periods of Physical Exhaustion

The diurnal energy cycle is a phenomenon that explains why travelers going through several time zones in a short time suffer from jet lag. It’s not so much about the plane ride thought. The body is forced to alter the time frame of its vital energy flow as it works to adapt to new time zones. And this is the reason for jet lag.

While all energies flow throughout the body at all times, there are periods when certain energies are stronger than at other times. As is true of the five energetic seasons and with the cycle of life (as with the five 15-year cycles), it is also the case every day since every two hours one of the energies become more active within your body.

The cycle repeats itself every twenty four hours. This is called the “diurnal energy cycle.”

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There are five elements and each has a pair of organ meridians accounting for the energies of the ten organs. In addition, there are two other meridians, the heart constrictor (also called the pericardium) and the triple warmer, both of which belong to the Fire element.

Altogether they represent the twelve major energy meridians of the body. The energy flows within the meridians, but also from one meridian to another creating an endless loop.

Of course, the flow has a set pathway and increases its activity according to a set sequence and time frame which goes as follows:

1.  1-3 am: liver energy

2.  3-5 am: lung energy

3.  5-7 am: large intestine energy

4.  7-9 am: stomach energy

5.  9-11 am: spleen energy (also pancreas for its organic function)

6. 11 am-1 pm: heart energy

7. 1-3 pm: small intestine energy

8. 3-5 pm: kidney energy

9. 5-7 pm: bladder energy

10. 7-9 pm: heart constrictor (pericardium) energy

11. 9-11 pm: triple warmer energy

12. 11 pm-1 am: gallbladder energy

This realization has led some doctors to recommend taking medicine for certain organs during the peak of their energetic activity. This is called chronotherapy (from the Greek chronos meaning time). Chronotherapy has found a certain degree of recognition by medical doctors in the West.

The more a traveler suffers from energetic blockages, the more difficult it will be for the body to make a prompt adjustment. For this reason, travelers going from east to west or vice versa over several time zones, should plan on an energy balancing session before taking a long flight and also before tackling major tasks once arrived at their destination.

It makes particularly good sense to work on the energies that have been affected, given the time frame of the travel.

Yin and yang wax and wane. For example, in the diurnal cycle of the world outside the body, yang starts growing stronger after midnight and by dawn it dominates over yin, continuing to grow until it reaches a peak at noon, then declines and gives way to yin which gains ascendancy after dark and peaks at midnight. A similar cycle is thought to exist in the human body, with the body rising in vigor from dawn and turning passive after dark. The seasons likewise see yang growing rapidly in early spring and reaching a peak in mid-summer; by the autumn yin is ascendant and finally reaches a maximum in winter.

–Hong, Hai. Principles of Chinese Medicine: A Modern Interpretation. Second ed. ICP Publications. 2015. Print.