The Earth Element Personality According to Traditional Chinese Medicine: Understanding Your Archetype for Harmony and Balance

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) embraces a fivefold concept: the Five Element or Five Phase Theory. It explains a wide variety of phenomena from cosmic cycles to the interaction between the body’s internal organs to personality types. One of those phenomena is the personality type for each of the five elements. To summarize the Earth element personality in one word, it’s nurturing.

We all tend to be one predominant personality type from among the five elements of Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. But no one is one hundred percent one type alone. And each element type manifests an in-balance and out-of-balance (maladapted) personality.

Describing this or any other element type is not all black and white. Sometimes we’re in balance and sometimes we’re out of balance in our type. This imbalance often stems from childhood occurrences that impacted us in an indelible way.

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Key Points About the Earth Element Personality

You could very well be an Earth element personality or type if the year of your birth ends in the number 8 or 9.

• Yellow years (the yang color of Earth) end in the number 8.

• Ochre or deep gold years (the yin color of Earth) end in the number 9.

Even if you don’t have an Earth element personality, you can be in or out of balance with the Earth element throughout the year.

This especially occurs when we enter any of the four 18-day transition periods between the four major seasons of TCM. We call these periods bridging the four major seasons Earth.

Earth is when the energies of yin and yang come into balance before one of them begins to dominate the other.

In TCM’s understanding of Earth:

• Earth provides a home for Metal.

• Earth controls Water by forming river banks.

• Fire forms ground for Earth.

• Wood controls Earth through its ability to mold Earth into a dam, for example.

Pay attention to the attributes of Earth and keep yourself in balance with them.

If you’re an Earth element personality and you experience imbalance with Earth, you can get back into balance relatively quickly. Do it primarily by understanding the Earth element and how it correlates to your Earth element personality. Then adapt yourself to live harmoniously with it. (This article will give you insights on how to do balance your Earth element personality.)

Earth is the element of harvest, abundance, nourishment, fertility, and the mother and child relationship. Earth balances and epitomizes the changes of seasons.

So an Earth element personality will be all about nurturing, abundance, change and helping to bridge relationships one person to another.

Physical Attributes of Earth Relating to an Earth Element Personality

Earth associates with the digestive system—the stomach (middle of the body) and the spleen. Earth also relates to the sense of taste.

If you’re an Earth element personality and type, you should avoid foods that antagonize the stomach. You may already have an intolerance to insulting foods.

The Earth element personality and type is often prone to ulcers or indigestion. Consider avoiding indulging in sweet foods and rich desserts.

The Earth element personality and type often develops stomach illness. It shows up as deep sagging facial lines from the base of the nose to the outer corners of the lip.

The energy of the Earth element supports the flow of lymph to detoxify the body.

Lymph is a colorless fluid containing white blood cells that bathe the tissues and drain toxins through the lymphatic system into the bloodstream.

For this reason, each of the four 18-day between seasons periods of Earth are the best times of year to detox skin and body. Toxicity conditions such as acne—a sign of Earth imbalance—can easily flare up during the Earth periods. Toxicity is a condition of Earth imbalance.

PHYTO5’s Earth quantum energetic line of skincare addresses toxic skin conditions of acne, blemishes, and enlarged pores.

Quantum energetic means the skincare line potently helps balance emotions as well as skin and vital energy. (All PHYTO5’s five element lines are quantum energetic.) This is particularly important for the Earth element personality (or any of the other four element personalities). Because the five element lines are quantum energetic, they balance emotion as well as skin.

This means the out of balance emotional state of the Earth element personality can be easily brought to balance using products from the Earth line.

An out of balance Earth element personality ruminates excessively. Feelings of overwhelm and stuckness, for lack of a better word, dominate. The Earth quantum energetic line of skincare work to get the Earth element personality or anyone out of balance during the Earth seasons feeling more free to self-express creatively.

Earth line skincare shifts you or the Earth element personality enough to help you move off dead center and complete unfinished projects. If you’re a nurturer and use the Earth line you get to relax more knowing you don’t have to be all things to all people.

Click here for the dates of the four 18-day periods of Earth.

Earth Element Personality and Energy

As for any element, the Earth element personality feels a whole range of emotions and behaviors: patience, reliability, logic, service and duty to others, militaristic nature, stubbornness, and high energy.

We see the balanced Earth element personality in:

• home

• safety

• stability

• grounding

• support

• love

• nurturance

• practicality

• reliability

• industriousness

• pensiveness

• seriousness

• conservatism

• instinctive awareness

• reflection

• empathy

• honesty

• kindness and prudence.

The home is very important to the Earth element personality who creates a cozy and comfortable home. Their homes are relaxed and put visitors at-ease so much so they don’t want to leave.

The Earth element personality loves to decorate with stuffed furniture, thick rugs and ornate elements. But out-of-balance Earth types will overdo and decorate with lots of clutter.

The maladapted (another way to describe imbalanced) Earth element personality likes to collect, even hoard, material things. It create a sense of security.

The Earth Archetype As It Relates to the Earth Element Personality

• Plains and valleys are the yin or feminine expression of Earth.

• Hills and mountains are the yang or masculine quality.

Well adapted Earth element personality types intimately connect with the Earth. They see being outdoors with nature, plants or animals as complete spiritual experiences.

The Earth element personality epitomizes balance and unconditional love, nourishment and nurturance.

Earth is the Mother Goddess, Mother–Provider, fertile, nurturing, grounding, strong and constantly transforming. An in balance Earth element personality personifies all these.

Mother Earth never stops providing and caring for us. She supports all kinds of copious plant life to grow in her rich fertile soil. She devotes herself to nurturing and sustaining all her children—sentient beings living on Earth.

This is a quality the Earth element personality in balance mirrors by taking care of family, feeding, loving, caressing and encouraging.

The Earth element personality enormously values friendship. Earth types are very kind and nurturing to their friends.

Like the matriarchal Earth archetype, an Earth element personality in balance is pillar of the family and often the community. This personality will create a safe, secure enriching environment and always with a steady hand and loving touch.

The Earth element personality must live in yin-yang energy balance to be well adapted in Earth. This means Earth types are spiritually and emotionally well grounded individuals.

The Earth element personality—when well adapted to the element—nurtures herself or himself as well as family and friends, physically, emotionally and spiritually.

The balanced Earth element personality offers many gifts to loved ones:

• an empathetic ear

• reliability

• comfort

• selflessness

• concern

• grounding for the family.

For all of these reasons and more, everyone wants to be balanced an Earth element personality’s friend.

But the Earth element personality can also be out-of-balance.

• selfish; self-absorbed

• overly pensive; gripped by paralyzing mind chatter

• needy; uncooperative with others, and/or

• judgmental and rigid (including physical inflexibility)

Nevertheless, the out-of-balance Earth element personality or type truly can transform:

• self-absorption>>>to empathy and selfless caring for others

• the prison of an overactive ruminating worrisome mind>>> to the freedom and the comfortable ability to take action

• neediness>>> to dependability so others will know they can be counted on and are loyal.

The Spirit of the Earth Element and How it Supports the Earth Element Personality

TCM calls the intellect Yi. It’s the spirit of the Earth element and also our center. It balances the transformation processes of all the other elements.

Yi gives us the capacity to make scholarly achievements, to set intentions and digest thoughts and information all while keeping us centered in our core. But when an Earth element personality, or anyone for that matter, overthinks and worries, it damages Yi.

On the other hand, when your Yi is healthy, you can remain present and attuned to the gut-brain axis(1) and your solar plexus chakra. The Yi seems somewhat esoteric, but a balanced Yi supports healthy physical digestion which is a very grounded concept.

Especially if you’re an Earth element personality, get really attuned to the element of Earth. It’s very therapeutic. It will bring you into harmony with nature and support the Yi spirit. Then Yi is able to sustain a calm clear mind as it listens to the gut-brain for intuitive information.

Balancing the Maladapted Earth Element Personality

An undernourished childhood—both literally, through lack of nutrition, physical touch and nurturance, and figuratively, through lack of unconditional love and emotional support—often negatively affects the Earth element personality and for life.

The Earth element personality may be unable to resiliently respond to stress because of an inner empty feeling created by an inappropriate maternal experience.

All children need to be held in their mother’s arms, most especially. They need to be told everything is alright. They need to feel a deep connection with Mother. Children require mother’s unconditional love, affection, attention and care.

But a lack of motherly nurturance often affects the Earth element personality’s ability to genuinely and empathetically care for others.

Finding contentment and satisfaction in family, work and relationships can become difficult, out of balance with the  Earth element.

The Earth element personality needs to know she’ll be heard, understood and supported. But lacking this she becomes needy. Out of neediness, the Earth types will often turn to whoever will listen to them as they seek attention through complaining.

They’ll also be constantly striving to fulfill their need to be listened to and understood. The maladapted Earth element personality wants to have her plights recognized. they feel the sympathy and empathy they elicit from others proves their friends and loved ones understand them.

The maladapted Earth element personality can also become overly self-sacrificing. This behavior can often be inappropriate boundaries are crossed in the spirit of helping someone else.

Earth types feel very challenged to simply be empathetic and allow others to work through their problems themselves. The maladapted Earth type wants to solve others’ problems for them.

The Earth element personality out of balance may find self-care challenging. This personality’s driving force and reason for living is all about taking care of others and not himself or herself.

The Earth element personality out-of-balance can also often feel anxious and insecure when his stable predictable lifestyle has been threatened. He may worry about this or other issues excessively and obsessively. And it’s this worry that prevents him from making decisions and completing projects. His mind gets chaotic and feels stuck and paralyzed. 

The maladapted Earth element personality can find a pathway back into balance through service, gratitude, self-care, and mindfulness practices. 

Utilizing the Energies of Earth for a Balanced Personality in Any Element

The Earth element is substantive.

Earth can conjure fierce images in your mind like erupting volcanos and intensely vibrating earthquakes.

But Earth also and mostly calls to mind nurturing soil, the bounty, healing crystals and stones buried beneath, and all the plants and animals it sustains.

You might like to visualize Earth itself from space as gentle reminder we live on a magnificent celestial island.

You can call upon Earth’s energies to facilitate your manifestation efforts. She’ll help you put down strong roots so your dreams can grow into reality.

The Earth element can provide you with a sense of reality and productivity. It gives you the capacity to turn nearly everything you touch into something tangible.

Earth can be not only a great ally but wise guide.

Whether you’re an Earth element personality or a personality of any of the other four elements of TCM, call on Earth’s energies for assistance. Call on Earth for help with grounding, growth, protection, your work with the Law of Attraction, and the inner workings of your soul, life cycle and abundance.

Earth holds a gateway enabling you to communicate with animal and plant spirits. She offers you the necessary grounding to keep one foot firmly planted on terra firma. Especially if you’re a gardener, crystal worker or herbalist, Earth will support you in your service.

The energies of the Earth element will help keep you aware of your valuable and enlightening ancestral roots. They’ll also encourage you to keep the garden of your life free of weeds in the here and now.

Whether you’re in or out of balance as an Earth element personality, feel gratified by your Earth Mother archetype. Reach for her wondrous qualities of composure and serenity whenever you feel unsure.

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Endnotes:

1. Gut-Brain Axis (GBA): Researchers now call the gut the second brain having discovered there is an enormous number of neurologic connections and neuro-regulatory bodies in the gut microbiome. From the nasal sinuses to the rectum, the GBA comprises the largest macro-membrane in the body with a surface area of two tennis courts.

…

Sources:

Levitt, Susan. Taoist Feng Shui: The Ancient Roots of the Chinese Art of Placement. United States, Inner Traditions/Bear, 1999.

Moss, Charles A. Power of the Five Elements: The Chinese Medicine Path to Healthy Aging and Stress Resistance. United States, North Atlantic Books, 2010.

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.

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

Stay Well. Don't Ignore the Transition Period Between Summer and Fall.

In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), we strive to live in harmony with the seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. But TCM also has a fifth season which occurs four times a year. These are TCM’s 18-day "between seasons" periods called Earth that form bridges of energy from one season to the next.

"...the Earth element governs the change in the seasons, and ... thus the Earth element’s season, by definition, is the transition point between all seasons. By this logic, a weakness in the Earth energy of the body (which governs our Spleen, Stomach, and digestive function), could lead the body to be susceptible to outside illnesses when it is dominant–the time between all seasons." – from "Why Do I Get Sick When the Seasons Change?" by Marcie Griffith Bower, Lic.Ac., MAOM, Dipl. OM

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We are an inherent part of nature. We are not separate from it. Logically speaking, living in harmony with nature will assist us to have physical bodies that are in harmony in all its internal systems. We will eat in a certain way, exercise in a certain way, sleep and wake accordingly, give, love, contemplate, and nurture ourselves in alignment with the ways of the Earth season in TCM. Not only our physical bodies will benefit with health and vitality thereby preventing illness, our mental, emotional and spiritual aspects will be kept on balance and thrive as well.

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The element associated with this transition period is Earth, the color is yellow, the organs are stomach and spleen, and it's now the time to think about harvesting what we have sown throughout the summer. It's a time of "decrease" or slowing down and at the same time, abundance, when we can:

• realize the fruits of our labor (in the relationships we enjoyed this summer, in our exuberance of life, in the care of our hearts, both literally and figuratively);

• begin again to nurture ourselves in whatever way that looks;

• to intend to digest not only our food very well but our thoughts and emotions enabling them to reach our minds and spirits;

• start slowing down and gathering in all that we have created throughout the Summer;

• recognize the bounty of the earth as harvest is about to begin and to see how we can be bounteous in our lives in our giving to others;

• contemplate the harvest aspect of our lives to see the areas that are bearing fruit and which are not; then to determine in the Fall (beginning August 7) which ones can be let go or given focus;

• determine what is truly necessary in our lives and what is superfluous and a distraction then take steps in alignment with our discoveries; this is important as we prepare to enter the Fall season where letting go is paramount;

• observe and mirror nature at this time of year; the metaphor of the cycles of nature has much to teach us; now is the time to begin contemplating how the seeds we plant (both physically and metaphorically) reap corresponding harvests; we can contemplate the seeds we have sown and realize that every harvest bears the seeds for the next one.

The Four 18-Day Transition Periods Between TCM's Seasons and How to Harmonize With Them

There are four Earth energetic seasons in the Five Element Theory and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM).

These are 18-day transition periods between each of Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. TCM principles tell us the energy of that seasons element “returns to earth." For example, the Fire element of Summer returns to Earth to be transformed into the energy of the Metal element for upcoming Fall.

This concept of transitional seasons repeats another three times during the other three transitional periods in the year from one season to another. Together, those four periods of 18 days each every 12 months constitute the full Earth energetic season, the fifth energetic season of TCM.

The Earth season is particularly important as it is a stillpoint in the yin/yang dance of energy throughout the year. In particular, from July 20 to August 6, the yang of Wood (Spring season) and of Fire (Summer season) has faded, and the yin energy of Metal (Fall season) that will peak during Water (Winter season) is poised to rise.

The color for Earth is yellow.

Yellow fruit and vegetables are highly recommended to consume during the transitional Earth season in order to be more in alignment with the energy of the season.

A more toxic body condition found more in some people than in others is what TCM refers to as an Earth condition, or imbalance.

Earth imbalance in the skin usually manifests as:

• blemishes, toxicity, acne, psoriasis, enlarged pores

• heavy looking hair, pimples on scalp

• lymph circulation problems (Lymph is the fluid associated with Earth.)

Acne is an Earth condition that needs to be treated with targeted Earth skincare and therapies. Severe conditions will require a pointed series of treatments to balance the energetic root cause. Drainage of the lymph is essential, not only on the face but also all over the body, especially in severe cases of acne. The condition of acne tends to flare up during the four yearly transitional periods described above (the Earth season).

Lymph drainage is essential.

When waste does not fully migrate out of cells, we manifest the most typical cellulite—an Earth energy deficiency. Cells have become increasingly more bloated with waste material. The condition is aggravated when there is already too much waste in the interstitial fluid. In this case also, lymph drainage is sorely required.

Although there are a few contraindications for lymph drainage, it is safe to say that, in general, most people will benefit from regular drainage, particularly people of the Earth type. A good drainage gives instantly visible results making lymphatic drainage a worthwhile spa treatment.

If your body is very toxic which is very common with Earth types, it is advised to do the entire body in two or more sessions as toxins released too quickly over a large surface might induce fatigue and headaches. It is always imperative for everyone to drink plenty of water before and after any body drainage treatment.

The energetic drainage is not painful at all. In fact, it is considered very pleasant and relaxing. Most people feel quite rejuvenated at the end of the treatment.

In light therapy, also known as chromatherapy by PHYTO5, we use blue light to target the fluid of Earth, lymph, with our award-winning light technologies.

The morphology* associated with Earth can be described as:

• good proportions between upper and lower body (yin and yang in balance).

• likely to develop a belly

• thinking type with stable demeanor

• can be nervous when problems occur

• sensitive to humidity.

The elements in TCM are also associated with epochs in our lives. Earth tends to be the time for more mature adults while Fire, for example, is the time of young adulthood.

The PHYTO5® facial for the transitional periods between seasons/Earth element addresses energetic imbalance with two energetically potent products–the high vibration Earth serum (Phyt’Ether) and the Yellow Colored Clay Mask.

Spleen and stomach are the organs of the Earth seasons.

Spleen has a critical and ongoing management function in Chinese medicine converting and distributing energy from nourishment. It also regulates lymph flow, a major actor in toxin removal from tissues and a critical function of the immune defense system.

Earth is a time to regain our physical and psychological balance and to be prepared to sustain the energetic influences of the next season.

Indeed, during each of the other four seasons, either yin or yang will be on the rise or on the decline.

Each one of us will react to the changes in our own particular ways that can lead to imbalance, but Earth provides the perfect time to detoxify both our physical body and our mental/emotional one. It is the time to be grounded, and to cherish our CHI.

*Morphology is the study of body shapes. Your physical appearance is the specific manifestation of the sum total of all hidden and subtle energetic influences at work within you—what you were born with as well as what results from where and how you live your life. While there is an infinite number of body shapes, they can be classified according to TCM into five groups based on specific characteristics. To each of the five elements corresponds a body type—a specific morphology.

Earth Season Morphology

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