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.

How the Yi Spirit of the Spleen Contributes to Our Clarity of Mind and Well-Being

According to the Five-Element Theory of traditional Chinese medicine, our organs each have a spirit:
Wood element  •  Organ: Liver  •  Spirit: Hun
Fire element  •  Organ: Heart  •  Spirit: Shen.
Earth element • Organ: Spleen • Spirit: Yi
Metal element  •  Organ: Lung  •  Spirit: P’o
Water element  •  Organ: Kidney  •  Spirit: Zhi.

Understanding the spirit energies of each element helps us to better know how to live in harmony with the season we are in and even transform our health. We can learn to become well adapted to our “Type.”(1) In this article, we discuss Yi, the spirit of the Earth element’s organ, the Spleen.(2)

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Defining Yi
Yi is roughly translated as thought and intention.

In Chinese ethical philosophy Yi is more fully defined as faithful performance of one's indigenous duties to society. Intent or intention is the drive we feel within ourselves that compels us to be of service to others, to be empathetic, and to be part of a community offering support to those in need. In its deepest sense, Yi is service to others given in the unique ways that each of us individually can offer. By serving others, Yi gifts us with the byproduct of that service: contentment and satisfaction.

Yi is also defined as righteousness and justice, morality and meaning. And in traditional Chinese medicine Yi is considered to be the intellect.

The direction of the Earth element in traditional Chinese medicine is center. Likewise, Yi is found in our core, our center—the stabilizing and grounding influence we derive from past first memories of feelings, smells and touch—whether they are the warm loving experience of being on our mother’s breast or the cold fearful feelings of being in the sterile hospital room at birth.

Yi also represents nourishment from and connection to the Original Universal Mother, giver of the breath of sustenance, support and security that we first experienced as newborn babies.

One aspect of Yi and the Earth element is introspection—a balanced but not excessive turning inward to learn about the self and one’s place in the world. When we have grounded Yi within us we become better able to follow our own hearts and be true to ourselves.

Spleen Supports Nourishment On the Physical and Mental Levels
Spleen is the origin of chi and blood and it is responsible for nourishment and nurturing.

In our former article, The Earth Element and the Spleen: How a Balanced Spleen Is Vital to Digestion, Nourishment, Mental Function and Vitality, we said:

“The Spleen is responsible for the intake, processing, sorting and distribution of nutrients from food. Nutrients are then transported upwards by the Spleen to the Lungs where both Heart and Lungs take over generating chi and infusing the body’s blood with these nutrients.

The Spleen both transforms food into nutrients and then transports these nutrients through the pushing/ascending action of the spleen chi.”

The Spleen is controller of transforming and transporting nutrients(3) but this doesn’t only apply to nutrients from food. It applies to intellectual nourishment as well. From a mental-emotional perspective, the Spleen is involved in issues of nourishment not just on the physical level but on the psychic level, too.

Yi and the Mental Processes
In traditional Chinese medicine, it is said that the Yi spirit of Spleen provides housing for the intellect which is responsible for applied thinking, memorizing, focus, concentration, mental application, study and the generating of ideas.

The nature of Yi means that the Spleen, together with Heart, is responsible for our ability to think and study with clarity. Cramming for exams, for example, or spending an inordinate amount of time each day writing or thinking can weaken Spleen.

“One of the major problems when the Spleen is imbalanced is the tendency for the person to become preoccupied, or at worst obsessed. Si or knotting of the qi (chi) occurs and diminishes a person’s ability to think one thought and then move on to another. This inability to think clearly can diminish a person’s creativity, spontaneity and happiness.” —Angela Hicks in Five Element Constitutional Acupuncture

From the perspective of emotions, the Spleen is adversely affected by pensiveness, worry, rumination and in severe cases, obsessive thinking.

The French writer-poet Voltaire perhaps unknowingly described a pathology of the Yi when he said:

“Madness is to think of too many things too fast or of one thing exclusively.”

Strong Yi allows us to dream our thoughts and ideas clearly so that they will coagulate and manifest in our world.

When the Spleen is weak we become unable to accomplish our goals causing us to feel unfulfilled. We feel unable to get things done leaving projects started but not finished.

This is why we define the positive, in-balance emotion of the Earth element on our website as ‘creative self-expression.’ All of the products in each of our five element quantum energetic lines of skincare are formulated to help balance emotion with the highest degree of concentration of that energy found in the Phyt’Ether serums. The negative, out-of-balance emotion of Earth is feeling overwhelmed, excessive rumination, causing a state of scatteredness.

Well known British classical acupuncturist, J. R. Worsley,(4) called this called the inability to think clearly and decisively an inability to reap a harvest, harvest being completely symbolic of the Earth element and its functions.

Strong Yi helps us follow through with our intention. We have the ability to focus the mind on something we desire. Harvard Medical School professor of medicine Ted J. Kaptchuk(5) has described the aspect of this intention embodied by Yi as the “consciousness of potentials.”

Yi enables chi to move. We must often first form a mental image of chi moving for it to move. And that initial image is assisted by Yi.

We also need Yi for self-motivation. If Spleen is weak, so are Yi and chi and also our ability to concentrate on work, execute a project to its completion or even be present to a conversation we are having with a friend.

Weak Yi diminishes our ability to remain steadfast to our purpose in life.

A deficiency in Spleen makes a person who is not psychologically centered and grounded lose self-confidence. When we feel unable to accomplish a life goal or pursue what we’d really love to do, it can often lead to depression, anxiety and despair. We feel a sense of unease, unhappiness, and loss of direction. Agitation, insecurity or lethargy of the spirit can make it difficult for us to stick to our chosen paths.

…

Endnotes:

1. A person exemplifying the ideal or defining characteristics of one or more of the five elements of traditional Chinese medicine; the Type is not always in balance or adapted to his or her Type in which we call it out-of-balance or maladapted. To learn more about each element Type, click through below:

1. Wood

2. Fire

3. Earth

4. Metal

5. Water

1. Click through to read our former article on the Spleen and the Earth element: The Earth Element and the Spleen: How a Balanced Spleen Is Vital to Digestion, Nourishment, Mental Function and Vitality

2. “The Spleen functions to control the digestive system and as such is as ordinary or common as a cook who is on duty 24 hours a day. Its work is basic. It does not have the glamor of the Liver which is a general, or the Lung which is a chancellor. We can compare this job to that of a mother who is always available to care for and support her family. A mother’s job is an important one, often unacknowledged until she is ill or away.” —Angela Hicks in Five Element Constitutional Acupuncture

3. J. R. Worsley (14 September 1923 – 2 June 2003) was a British acupuncturist who is credited with European five element acupuncture which is termed 'classical acupuncture.’

4. Ted J. Kaptchuk is professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and director of the Harvard-wide Program in Placebo Studies and the Therapeutic Encounter (PiPS) at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, Massachusetts.  He is also a professor of Global Health and Social Medicine.

…

Sources:

Maciocia, Giovanni. The Psyche in Chinese Medicine: Treatment of Emotional and Mental Disharmonies with Acupuncture and Chinese Herbs. United Kingdom, Elsevier Health Sciences, 2009.

Moss, Charles A.. Power of the Five Elements: The Chinese Medicine Path to Healthy Aging and Stress Resistance. United States, North Atlantic Books, 2011.

Hicks, Angela, et al. Five Element Constitutional Acupuncture. United Kingdom, Elsevier Health Sciences, 2010.

Acupuncture in Practice: Case History Insights from the West. United Kingdom, Churchill Livingstone, 1997.

Barefoot Walking and Grounding Methods: How Earth's Electrons Can Help You Can Slow Aging and Elevate Your Health and Well-Bein

Grounding, also known as earthing, is a freely available and accessible way to tap into the highly effective and natural medicine known as Earth’s restorative and incalculable energy. It can help rebalance your body to restore you to greater levels of health and vitality. The best most direct way to get grounded by the Earth is to go barefoot as often as you can. Going barefoot has been shown by many a devotée of the practice to significantly slow the process of aging. It offers a whole host of other remarkable benefits as we’ll discuss throughout this article.

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There’s a reason why most of us kick off our shoes when we get home from work or an outing and it isn’t just to save our carpet: It feels good.

“Research shows that going barefoot strengthens our feet, makes them more flexible and improves body alignment. Why, then, are we buying shoes for infants who can’t yet walk? Wearing high heels that hurt with every step? Spending hundreds of dollars on running and hiking shoes? Some of us are following social conventions or fashion trends. Most of us think we’re protecting our feet and keeping them clean.”

— barefoot walking guru, Dr. L. Daniel Howell in The Barefoot Book: 50 Great Reasons to Kick Off Your Shoes

At the least, wearing most shoes can:

• upset natural weight distribution

• overload joints

• decrease foot flexibility

• reduce shock absorbtion of the arch

• cause bunions and in-grown toenails

But even more than these, our disconnect with nature along and our innate ability to heal caused by our present day modern lifestyle is proving to be a major contributor to overall physiological dysfunction and lack of wellness. But barefoot walking is a simple practice that can help reverse that disconnect.

By barefoot walking, we literally reestablish our connection to our Earth Mother while our body utilizes Earth’s electrons for healing. It has been said that Earth functions as a “global treatment table” when we connect to Earth in this way.

If you prefer not to go barefoot, there are other ways to ground yourself such as sitting, working, or sleeping indoors while you’re connected to earthing devices. These devices bring the Earth's electrons from the ground outside and transfer them through the device into the body.

But going barefoot does so much more than grounding. It not only takes advantage of Earth’s abundance of electrons, it properly and naturally adjusts the body’s posture and internal organs to say nothing of the greater sense of well-being and self-esteem that is achieved simply by being out in nature.

Two hundred thousand neurotransmitters in the soles of the feet send messages about the terrain you are trampling under your feet via neural pathways to the brain. This information assists both body and Earth to work together to heal, protect, strengthen and rejuvenate the body, mind and spirit. The brain literally responds to the sensory feedback received by the soles of the feet and direct physical contact with the vast supply of healing electrons on the surface of the Earth help to supply energy to the body.

An example of earthing’s restorative effects on the body is the one of acclaimed author and expert on Colorado flora, Dr. Bill Weber. On his best days he’d have to walk with either a walker or two walking poles, but he began walking barefoot at age 90 and within months ditched both walker and poles for the freedom of walking on his own two legs doing laps barefoot around his neighborhood. He died March 18, 2020 but he’d made it past 100 years of age.

In Sue Regan Kenney’s delightful book, How To Wear Bare Feet, she recounts her personal story of feeling the ravages of degeneration at just age 55.

Says Kenney:

“I began thinking about how our First Nations people had stayed so healthy. They wore moccasins with no support, slept on hides on the ground, used herbs for medicine, did ceremony and ate food foraged from the forest. Was something in the Earth missing in our holistic approach to wellness? From that place I researched barefooting and learned about earthing, human movement, foot function, anti-aging, footwear dangers, and why I was afraid of falling.”

The intimate account Kenney shares in her book along with Dr. Bill Weber’s story above prove that anyone can get started walking barefoot at any age and enjoy a significant range of natural health and vitality benefits.

Scientific studies are finding that the influx of free electrons absorbed into the body through direct contact with the Earth neutralizes free radicals and thereby reduces acute and chronic inflammation and slows aging, in many cases, actually reversing certain symptoms of aging.

“Throughout history, humans mostly walked barefoot or with footwear made of animal skins. They slept on the ground or on skins. Through direct contact or through perspiration-moistened animal skins used as footwear or sleeping mats, the ground’s abundant free electrons were able to enter the body, which is electrically conductive. Through this mechanism, every part of the body could equilibrate with the electrical potential of the Earth, thereby stabilizing the electrical environment of all organs, tissues, and cells.”

— Gaetan Chevalier et al in Earthing: Health Implications of Reconnecting the Human Body to the Earth's Surface Electrons

Chevalier adds,

“Modern lifestyle has increasingly separated humans from the primordial flow of Earth’s electrons.”

We’ve been increasingly wearing insulating rubber or plastic soled shoes since the 60s and during recent decades, chronic illness, immune disorders, and inflammatory diseases have also increased dramatically so much so that some researchers who cite environmental factors as the cause are beginning to also cite a lack of environment as cause.

Major benefits from grounding have been scientifically found to include:

• pain reduction

• reduction of primary indicators of osteoporosis

• improvement of glucose regulation

• enhanced immune response

• improved heart rate variability (HRV)*

• reduction in tension and overall stress levels

• improved healthy sleep

Our bodies are being constantly bombarded by electrical fields. Many people report becoming chronically ill from the constant insult of these frequencies. Earthing actually reduces such electric fields imposed on the body.

A 2005 study by electrical engineer R. Applewhite:

“… showed that when the body is grounded, its electrical potential becomes equalized with the Earth’s electrical potential through a transfer of electrons from the Earth to the body. This, in turn, prevents the 60 Hz mode from producing an AC electric potential at the surface of the body and from producing perturbations of the electric charges of the molecules inside the body. The study confirms the ‘umbrella’ effect of earthing the body explained by Nobel Prize winner Richard Feynman in his lectures on electromagnetism. Feynman said that when the body potential is the same as the Earth’s electric potential (and thus grounded), it becomes an extension of the Earth’s gigantic electric system. The Earth’s potential thus becomes the ‘working agent that cancels, reduces, or pushes away electric fields from the body.”

— Chevalier et al. in Earthing: Health Implications of Reconnecting the Human Body to the Earth's Surface Electrons

Chevalier’s research finds that going barefoot outdoors or getting connected to grounded conductive systems indoors may be a simple but profoundly effective health strategy for dealing with chronic stress, autonomic nervous system dysfunction, inflammation, pain, poor sleep, disturbed HRV,(1) hyper-coagulable blood, cardiovascular disease and more.

In the journal article, The epidemiological Revolution of the 20th Century, by De Flora et al. we read:

“Since the late 20th century, chronic degenerative diseases have overcome infectious disease as the major causes of death in the 21st century, so an increase in human longevity will depend on finding an intervention that inhibits the development of these diseases and slows their progress.”

Grounding ourselves consistently just may be one of the most effective tools in our arsenal to combat degenerative disease.

Go barefoot outdoors as much as you can especially when weather is most cooperative in Spring, Summer and Fall. Let the sensory receptors in your feet help you to feel your happiness and vitality. Take your shoes and socks off. It’s good natural medicine and it’s free.

The simple act of going barefoot has the potential to provide the following advantages to your quality of life:

• more efficient movement of the body

• slowed aging process

• sharpened brain function

• increased physical energy

• improved posture

• Achilles’ heal can be healed

• core muscles strengthen

• chin naturally settles into proper position

• shoulders relax

• better postural alignment can be achieved [both knees should touch each other when you stand up]

• the back strengthens

• the body becomes better able to focus on important functions other than maintain alignment and posture

• reduced inflammation

• improved balance

• reduced stiffness and increased flexibility

• regulated body temperature

• arches in the feet returned to a more youthful height and spring

• lessened, if not eliminated, bunions and calluses (calluses come from the wearing of shoes)

• eliminated athlete’s foot or smelly feet

• improved dental bite

• reversed vaginal atrophy

• decreased allergies

• improved digestion

• more balanced body weight

• increased physical strength and muscle definition

• strengthened gait and more even stride (Many people tend to shorten their steps as they grow older for fear of falling or for other reasons.)

• improved reaction time (reflexes)

• relaxation into a more natural state of being

The skin on the soles of the feet adjusts to the barefoot environment quickly. There are no real side-effects to going barefoot.

In summary, the benefits of barefoot walking come from two primary sources:

• the electrons when walking on bare earth and

• simply from allowing your feet to walk free wherever you walk (so barefoot walking is good to do even on pavement).

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Endnotes:

(1) the physiological phenomenon of variation in the time interval between heartbeats; reduced HRV has been shown to be a predictor of mortality after myocardial infarction, for example; a measurement of the heart's response to autonomic nervous system regulation.

Sources:

Howell, L. Daniel. The Barefoot Book: 50 Great Reasons to Kick Off Your Shoes. Hunter House, 2010.

Sandler, Michael, and Jessica Lee. Barefoot Walking: Free Your Feet to Minimize Impact, Maximize Efficiency, and Discover the Pleasure of Getting in Touch with the Earth. Three Rivers Press, 2013.

Chevalier, Gaétan, et al. “Earthing: Health Implications of Reconnecting the Human Body to the Earth's Surface Electrons.” Journal of Environmental and Public Health, Hindawi Publishing Corporation, 2012, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3265077/.

de Flora S, Quaglia A, Bennicelli C, Vercelli M. The epidemiological revolution of the 20th century. FASEB Journal. 2005;19(8):892–897.

Applewhite R. The effectiveness of a conductive patch and a conductive bed pad in reducing induced human body voltage via the application of earth ground. European Biology and Bioelectromagnetics. 2005;1:23–40

Feynman R, Leighton R, Sands M. The Feynman Lectures on Physics. II. Boston, Mass, USA: Addison-Wesley; 1963.

Regan Kenney, Sue. How to Wear Bare Feet. CreateSpace Independent Publishing, 2017.

Earth Element Symbolism

Traditional Chinese medicine’s (TCM’s) season of the Earth element is an 18-day period of transition between each of the four major energetic seasons. Each of the five elements is rich with indigenous symbology and expression. Historic Earth element symbolism is rich with teaching metaphors that also give clues for health and a harmonious Earth lifestyle.

“… symbols have come to be placed within conscious, traditional and dogmatic systems, but their inner life still pulses beneath this rationalized order, even becoming audible from time to time.”

— J. C. Cirlot in Dictionary of Symbols

The Earth element not only refers to the actual soil but the character, dynamic state, and elemental force of the element.

We commonly see Earth element symbolism as feminine. Earth represents infinite creativity, the great mother, fertility, giver of nourishment, and longevity.

In a more general sense, when we juxtapose Earth with the spiritual heavens, Earth element symbolism represents matter.

In TCM, Earth element symbolism depicts the balance of yin and yang. As complementary equals, yin and yang relate to each other to create a dynamic balance and a harmonious whole.

“…there can be no sharp distinctions between spirit/nature, subject/object, good/evil, and victory/defeat. Each exists o­nly because of its opposite… yin and yang are direct opposites interacting together in harmony. The weakness in o­ne is overshadowed by the strength in the other. Yet, in weakness resides strength waiting to be used.”

— Joseph A. Bailey, II, M.D.

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Enjoy balance of the Earth skin condition: toxic skin with acne, blemishes and enlarged pores.

PHYTO5’s quantum energetic Earth line of skincare will help bring this condition to balance as it balances your emotional state too.

Earth type personalities sometimes embrace the Mother-Provider archetype too exuberantly. Out-of-balance Earth types take care of others but often to their own detriment. The quantum energetic Earth line of skincare will help you balance this emotion if you feel stuck and in overwhelm because of over-careteaking.

We find Earth element symbolism well articulated in landscape and building forms.

TCM associates the flat shape to the element of Earth. Earth mountains are flat topped mountains.

This particular Earth element symbolism we see evidenced in the Jura Mountains in France and Switzerland near to PHYTO5’s Swiss factory.

Another example is the twin peaked Mount Asgard(1) on the Cumberland Peninsula of Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada.

We see Earth element symbolism in buildings, flat rooves and square or oblong structures like the Viking longhouses of antiquity.

Earth element symbolism manifests as a bridge or transition.

TCM observes Earth element symbolism as a transition aspect linking one season to the next as a kind of hyphen or dash punctuation mark.

Earth element symbolism points to yin and yang, famine and masculine aspects.

The Earth element embodies intrinsically yin energy. This means Earth presents primarily as a feminine energy element.

But each of the five elements express both yin and yang energy—one being more predominant.

When Earth expresses as yang masculine energy, Earth element symbolism appears as a hill and Earth’s color is yellow.

Earth element symbolism shows up in human characteristics.

Many people enjoy active yang energy cheery bright sunlight yellow. The Earth element symbolism displays in them as intellectualism, faith, and goodness.

Gold or ochre exhibits Earth element symbolism in yin energy expression. The valley illustrates Earth’s yin aspect.

We see yin aspect Earth element symbolism in people inclined to ochre or gold. They live more calm, passive, conservative, dependable, practical and grounded.

TCM tells us Earth’s location is center and center always stabilizes energy and balances yin and yang.

In the home, we can utilize Earth element symbolism to nurture ourselves and family.

The Earth room of the home is the heart of the home where nourishment occurs—the dining room.

Even before we see Earth element symbolism in the dining room, we see it in the fields. Earth’s grain is rice. It ripens in the yellow-ochre Earth and stabilizes the body with nourishment.

Earth element symbolism reveals itself as sign of stability and grounding.

Earth element symbolism runs through ancient Chinese history.

During the reign of the legendary Chinese king Huang Di(2)—the Yellow Emperor—the color yellow found enormous popularity.

The epitome of Earth element symbolism, they named Huang Di the Yellow Emperor. The people gave Huang Di this honorific because he and his army honored the value of two things:

• the Yellow Earth—the symbol of farming;

• and the Yellow River of their home, the central land they called China. 

We see Earth element symbolism in ancient Chinese lore as the Yellow Dragon.

In addition to dragon, the Earth element governs rat and ox signs of the Chinese zodiac. 

This same ancient Chinese lore depicts Earth element symbolism in the Yellow Earth Tiger (solar in color). Yellow Earth Tiger inhabits the Earth and reigns supreme over all the other element tigers: Wood, Fire, Metal and Water.

Very direct Earth element symbolism associates Yellow Earth Tiger with the heart of China. The center of the zodiac houses Yellow Earth Tiger just as the Yellow Emperor was situated in the heart of China, the center of the compass in the Chinese cosmos.

Earth element symbolism runs through much other ancient history too.

In Indian mythology, the elephant stands for Earth element symbolism.

We observe the square or cube dominant in Earth element symbolism. It’s the great cosmic symbol for Earth representing the cradle of humanity, home, and a place of origin.

The square or cube in Earth element symbolism hints at the end of material life while it simultaneously maintains life.

Earth embodies earthly progeny. It offers a sense of eternity. 

In Tibetan buddhism, we see Earth element symbolism represented by a yellow square or a tiered yellow cube (four or five squares nested within each other).

The Roman standard or signa romanum carried the symbol of the Earth element represented by a cube. It was a banner that identified a Roman unit or cavalry.

In Greek mythology, the anvil embodies Earth element symbolism. The anvil reminds us of the passive feminine principle (as opposed to the hammer that represents the fruitful making of things.)

In Vajrayana buddhism(3), the swastika expresses Earth element symbolism and Earth’s indestructible stability.

The Renaissance was fond of personifying the elements as gods from antiquity.

The great nature goddess Cybele of ancient Phrygia in Asia Minor stands as epitome of Earth element symbolism. She was called Mater Kubileya (Mountain Mother) and was given the latin name Magna Mater meaning Great Mother. Cybele was partially assimilated to aspects of the Earth goddess Gaia and to the harvest Mother goddess Demeter.

For South American Indians the spear has historically represented the Earth element.

In TCM, various types of catastrophes associate with an element. Earth element symbolism and the earthquake equate with each other in TCM.

We’ve derived the name Adam, the name used to personify primordial man, from the Hebrew adama meaning Earth.

According to Gershom G. Scholem in On the Kabbalah and Its Symbolism, we conceive Adam as a “vast representation of the power of the universe” on Earth concentrated in humankind.

Observe Earth element symbolism in geometry and numerology.

he quaternary in Earth element symbolism—a thing consisting of four parts and concept of the number four— corresponds to Earth and the material pattern of life. The quaternary also reveals feminine energy, matter created from the thought or idea, and reason. 

“The ternary is the number pertaining to the idea; the quaternary is the number connected with the realization of the idea.”

— Plato

Earth element symbolism aligns with the number eight—a double-four representing and bringing balance. This symbolic numerology speaks that what we sow, we also reap.

For further reading on aspects of the Earth element, be sure to read our article on the Earth Type personality: The Earth Type Personality According to Traditional Chinese Medicine: Understanding Your Archetype for Harmony and Balance.

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Endnotes:

1. Asgard: a god of Norse mythology

2. Huang Di is the emperor that is said to be the ancestor of all Han Chinese people; he ruled from 2697 BC to 2598 BC, approx.

3. Vajrayana buddhism is a form of esoteric buddhism with vajrayana being one of three vehicles to enlightenment (the other two are Sravakayana and Mahayana).

…

Sources:

The Handbook of Tibetan Buddhist Symbols. United Kingdom, Serindia, 2003.

Becker, Udo. The Continuum Encyclopedia of Symbols. United Kingdom, Continuum, 2000.

Cirlot, J. C. Dictionary of Symbols. United Kingdom, Taylor & Francis, 2006.

Scholem, Gershom. On the Kabbalah and Its Symbolism. United Kingdom, Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 1996.

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

The Earth Element and Spleen Digestive Function: A Balanced Spleen Is Vital to Digestion, Nourishment, Mental Function and Vitality

In traditional Chinese medicine, the between seasons period of Earth is the season of balance, nourishment, nurturing and grounding. It corresponds to the stomach and spleen digestive function and energy. The spleen harvests nutrients from foods.

There are four 18-day periods in the year that occur between energetic seasons according to traditional Chinese medicine. The time period between October 21 and November 7 is the last of the year. The element of the five elements of traditional Chinese medicine associated with this season is Earth.

The spleen is the yin organ of the pair of organs associated with the Earth element and the Earth energetic season. The yang organ of Earth is the stomach.
 
What is the spleen and what is spleen digestive function?

“Among human solid organs, the spleen seems to be an orphan. With most other organs, such as the brain, heart, and kidney, much has been written on their history, anatomy, function and surgical treatment… Why has the spleen lagged behind other organs in published works? In the popular mind, many people are unaware that they even have a spleen. Still others do not know where in the body it is located. Almost no one knows what it does.”

— Leon Morgenstern, UCLA School of Medicine, California

The spleen contributes to the homeostasis of the body. It helps keep harmful microorganisms and unhealthy abnormal worn out and misshapen red blood cells out of the bloodstream. The spleen also makes lymphocytes(1) and stores blood cells. It’s the principle organ defining the shape of the red blood cells circulating in the bloodstream. 

Good spleen digestive function is key to the body’s immune system. 

Traditional Chinese medicine tells us the spleen is source of chi (vital energy) and blood. The spleen is responsible for the intake, processing, sorting and distribution of nutrients from food. Nutrients are then transported upwards by the spleen to the lungs. There both heart and lungs take over generating chi and infusing the body’s blood with these nutrients.

The spleen transforms food into nutrients and then transports these nutrients through the pushing/ascending action of the organ’s chi. This is how it relays nutrients to the heart and lungs, into the circulatory system and finally throughout the body.

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The spleen ascends its chi. The ascending action helps maintain the position of the organs in the body. Stomach chi descends to facilitate digestion and eliminate undigested food from the body.

The ascending action of the spleen and the descending action of the stomach complement each other in the act of digestion.

In spleen digestive function, sometimes the ascending function of the spleen gets out-of-balance. Its chi energy flows downwards rather than upwards. Symptoms of fatigue, flatulence, loss of appetite, diarrhea and giddiness are the result. When stomach chi is out-of-balance and does not descend vomiting is the result. 

The normal adult spleen lies immediately under the diaphragm in the left upper quadrant of the abdomen. It ranges in length from 2-1/3 to 5 inches approximately and in weight from 2-2/3  to 4-1/4 ounces.

Spleen digestive function and the elimination of toxins is very much associated with the Earth element. For this reason, PHYTO5 formulates the Earth line of skincare with ingredients that support spleen digestive function and the circulation of lymph(2). We do this according to principles of traditional Chinese medicine.

As the largest secondary lymphoid organ in the body, the spleen is responsible for a wide range of immunological functions.

Spleen digestive function plays several very important roles in the human body.

the human lymphatic system

1. In moms-to-be, the spleen begins producing the embryo’s blood cells gradually leaving the job to the mother’s bone marrow.

2. Spleen captures malfunctioning, abnormal or old red blood cells and expels them from the body.

3. Spleen recycles iron in red blood cells to create new healthy red blood cells. (If spleen chi is weak, bruising, blood in stools and urine, and purple-colored spots may be found under the skin, among other conditions involving bleeding.)

4. The spleen assimilates your food’s nutrients (also known as food essence or jingwei in traditional Chinese medicine) which are then conveyed throughout the body via lung, heart and blood vessels.

5. In the act of spleen digestive function, spleen absorbs water and then transports it through the body via lung, heart and urinary bladder to maintain normal water metabolism.

6. Good spleen digestive function helps protect the body from infections by producing white blood cells [macrophages and lymphocytes(1)]which travel to the infected parts of the body.

7. The spleen produces antibodies which help fight infections.

8. Lymph fluid(1) passes through the spleen where germs and other foreign bodies are captured by white blood cells.

9. Spleen digestive function contributes to good mental function when in balance. It affects intention which can be weakened by mental strain. Mental turmoil, poor memory, and irritability may be a result of impaired spleen energy.

10. Balanced spleen digestive function helps keep us free from abnormal fatigue, digestive issues and poor complexion. A deficiency in spleen chi often contributes to fatigue. It can cause symptoms like appetite loss, a sense of abdominal fullness especially after meals, loose stools, breathlessness and a pale yellow complexion. Feeling sluggish and tired may occur when a deficiency in spleen chi prevents inadequate nourishment for the organs.

11. When spleen digestive function is normal, it promotes the energy required by muscles and limbs producing a vitality filled body.

12. Spleen participates with the other energies of the body which it irrigates and moistens.

Dampness and the Spleen

Traditional Chinese medicine tells us a damp spleen occurs when the spleen can’t transport and transform body fluids properly. This leads to an accumulation of moisture within the body.

Dampness is turbid, heavy and difficult to reverse. Often originating in the legs it will move upward to the abdomen. Symptoms include a thick greasy tongue coating, loose stools, bloating, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, and a heavy feeling in the body or limbs.

High and frequent intake of raw, cold and spicy foods can damage the spleen and cause dampness. Dairy products, processed foods, alcohol, sugar and sweeteners will exacerbate already existing dampness in the body.

If you’re concerned about your spleen digestive function, here are some simple actions to take:

1. Assist your digestive process by chewing your food well. Chewing food thoroughly reduces the workload on your digestive system and food is absorbed more easily. By chewing your food very well, mealtime will be naturally longer and this will help you attain a feeling of fullness and prevent overeating.

2. Refrain from drinking fluids while having a meal.

3. Try not to drink cold beverages but if you must, have some warm tea first. Too much cold beverage can damage the spleen and drinking cold beverages at mealtime will force the body to take time to warm up the food before it can even be digested.

4. Eat lots of whole foods. Nourish the spleen with sweet whole grains, fruits and vegetables. Consume red dates, Chinese yam and lotus seeds often, if not, daily. This will help nourish your spleen digestive function.

5. Avoid overeating and feasting. This makes the spleen work overtime to sort through too many nutrients at once. Overeating also results in food stagnation. The spleen doesn’t have enough time to empty your stomach before your next meal. This causes bloating and fatigue.

6. Exercise most especially the abdominals and thighs because the spleen meridian runs up the legs.

7. Take time for relaxation. Traditional Chinese medicine finds mealtimes extremely important times of the day. They should not be mixed with working, reading or watching television. Doing so may inhibit the passage of food through the body and negatively affect your spleen digestive function.

…

Endnotes:

(1) Lymphocyte: a form of small leukocyte (white blood cell) with a single round nucleus, occurring especially in the lymphatic system

(2) Lymph: a colorless fluid containing white blood cells that bathes the tissues and drains through the lymphatic system into the bloodstream

Sources:

Liu, Yanchi, Kathleen Vian, and Peter Eckman. The Essential Book of Traditional Chinese Medicine. New York: Columbia UP, 1988. Print.

Photo by shironosov at Getty Images via Canva

Millet Extract: Consumed or Applied Topically in Skincare Is a Potent Therapeutic Ingredient for Soothing, Purifying and Beautifying Skincare

Millet extract works to restructure skin and improve the skin barrier that protects skin from environmental insults. It lends radiance to skin and prevents trans-epidermal water loss.

Millet extract is a principal ingredient in many of PHYTO5’s Earth element line which is formulated to balance the Earth condition of toxicity, blemishes, acne, psoriasis, enlarged pores, and sluggish lymph circulation.

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The millet seed is known for providing many fundamental benefits to the skin:

• softening

• soothing

• nourishing

• stimulating

• revitalizing

Nutrient rich millet contains a high proportion of essential vitamins and is close to 90% unsaturated fatty acids.

Though millet is not actually a grain, it is considered one of very few alkaline grains. In truth, it’s a power packed starchy seed native to South America. Gluten-free millet is extremely nutritious and has a very rich protein and amino acid profile. At approximately 15% protein, millet contains lecithin and the essential amino acid methionine.

Millet is also high in silica which is quite beneficial for bones and connective tissue. Millet’s rich silicon content helps to rebuild connective tissue.

Read our blogs on the topic of silica: Probably the Most Underappreciated Nutrient for Skin’s Radiance and the Body’s Vitality: Silica and Silica Rich Horsetail: Very Beneficial for Anti-Aging Skin and Hair Care.

Millet is rich in vitamins E, B complex, niacin, thiamin and riboflavin. In addition, phenolic compounds in millet provide potent antioxidant activity and thus benefits such as slowing signs of aging.

Physiologically, millet is a digestive dynamo. It supports the digestive organs, in particular, the stomach and spleen, your energy battery, so to speak. Easily digestible, millet strengthens weak digestion and helps improve nutrient uptake. It removes unwanted excess acid and aggressively helps to inhibit the growth of fungus and yeasts such as Candida.

Millet is quite resilient being able to thrive even with a lack of water and can produce seed in conditions where other plants cannot grow. Millet is the seed which bears the highest mineral content some of which are iron, magnesium, phosphorus and potassium.

Though history shows that millet was known for making hair, skin and nails beautiful, its positive beauty attributes have only been rediscovered relatively recently. With all of its nutritive attributes, millet actually motivates the skin to perform better. 

Millet extract is known to:

• support the skin’s natural functions

• beautify and smoothe the skin

• improve the structure of the skin

• contribute to radiant skin tone

Specific to skin, millet extract may also:

• Help reduce acne: Lipoic acid, an antioxidant found in millet, increases cell metabolism and blood circulation and is an anti-inflammatory, two actions which, when combined, help reduce acne.

• Improve elasticity and fight wrinkles: Amino acids L-lysine and L-proline help create collagen which provides structure skin tissue.

• Combat aging of the skin: The antioxidants in millet neutralize free radicals which cause aging. Millet assists to rejuvenate skin cells. The ubiquinone content in millet is a known wrinkle-reducer.

• Improve overall complexion: Millet is rich in complexion enhancing and antioxidant vitamin E which penetrates the skin’s layers and aids in natural wound healing. Millet forms a protective layer in the skin which can keep free radicals away from wounds. Millet also serves as a lubricant to the skin.

• Bring youthfulness to the skin: By consuming millet in the diet, we can assist the protection and strengthening of our cells and skin from the ravages of free radical damage thereby creating younger looking, more supple skin.

• Act as a moisturizing agent: Consuming millet assists us to retain the natural moisture content in our skin thereby reversing dull and dry looking skin to vibrant and healthier looking skin. Because of its ability to moisturize, it’s also beneficial for chapped lips.

• Reduce scarring: The antioxidant alium found in millet increases blood flow to scar tissue assisting the growth of new skin and minimizing scarring. Millet helps the skin to repair itself more quickly, and it protects and firms the skin.

• Protect the skin from sun damage: Millet’s selenium and vitamin C and E content are effective protectants against sun damage and skin cancer amplifying healthy fresh growth of new cells that bring youth to the skin and make it appear more radiant. It can assist to combat hyperpigmentation.

• Strengthen hair follicles: Protein rich millet is highly recommended for hair loss. Lack of protein is one factor which contributes to hair loss.

• Serve as therapeutic for scalp conditions: The magnesium in millet reduces scalp inflammation and is beneficial for treating eczema, psoriasis and dandruff. Consuming millet may help in pacifying metabolic syndrome, a health condition which causes premature balding.

• Stimulate the growth of hair: Millet promotes the circulation of blood circulation in the scalp and thus promotes hair growth.

• Reduce hair loss: Increased cortisol levels in the body may lead to significant hair loss however the magnesium in millet has been found to counteract it.

• Help prevent premature graying of the hair: The antioxidant content in millet effectively prevents tissue oxidation and may assist with premature graying.

…

Endnotes:

McKeith, Gillian. Dr. Gillian McKeith's Living Food for Health: 12 Natural Superfoods to Transform Your Health. United Kingdom, Piatkus, 2000.

Underkoffler, Renee Loux. Living Cuisine: The Art and Spirit of Raw Foods. United Kingdom, Penguin Publishing Group, 2004.

Immunity Requires Proper Function and Movement of Lymph

People with poor lymphatic circulation have a weak immune system. Immunity requires proper function and movement of lymph. Lymph, which begins as interstitial* fluid full of waste material discarded by the cells, is a somewhat yellowish liquid containing white blood cells which bathe the tissues and drain through the lymph into the bloodstream. These thin-walled vessels structured like blood vessels transport fluid, soluble molecules, and immune cells to the lymph nodes tasked with draining lymph.

There are about two quarts of lymph in an average size body. This is equivalent to one third the amount of red blood. Lymph is collected by capillaries and slowly moved to a large network of several hundred lymph nodes–small glands that filter waste materials–in order to be purified. Lymph returns to venous circulation via two major ducts in the chest.

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The largest concentrations of lymph nodes are on the face and neck, underarms and groin area. The diaphragm, our largest muscle, activated during breathing, is the closest thing to a pump as it moves both water and lymph through the system. 

Breathing, body movement and gravity are mainly responsible for the movement of lymph.

According to the Five Element Theory of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), Earth energy drives the activity and movement of lymph. Earth is the energy of purification (of waste material. Congested lymph shows up in toxic skin presenting blemishes, acne, psoriasis and enlarged pores, indicating an Earth energy imbalance. When lymph is able to flow freely, skin becomes purified, normalized and radiant.

In addition to impeding immunity impaired flow of lymph also accelerates the aging process. At the same time, the intensity of the aging process itself affects the functionality and dynamics of lymph flow. 

The consensus in the literature is that the function and capacity of the lymphatic system gets sluggish with age because of decreased lymphatic contractile pressure (the muscles that help circulate lymph lose mass and weaken) and pumping frequency (a decrease in lung capacity). Increased oxidative stress and reduced antioxidant activity associated with aging may also be factors. (Journal of Lymphoedema, 2017, Vol. 2, No. 2)

PHYTO5 skincare containing unique ingredients known to assist lymph movement include:

• the entire Earth line by PHYTO5 

• wild guaiacwood and cypress sessential oils in Ageless La Cure Nourishing Cream

• sweet orange essential oil in Ageless La Cure Extreme Hydrating Cream

• calendula extract in Ageless La Cure soothing pink Clay Mask

You can keep your lymphatic system functioning properly by:

• exercising and building and maintaining muscle strength and lean body mass; muscle contraction forces tiny one-way valves of the lymphatic system to open and close and push the fluid through the system;

• walking (or rebounding); as a weight-bearing activity each step you take lightly pounding the ground, floor or pavement, creates pump-like gravitational pulls on the lymphatic system;

• practicing yoga or stretching helps direct lymph through the deep channels of the chest;

• practicing deep breathing; the act of breathing creates a lymphatic pump in itself helping to direct lymph through the chest; deeper more mindful breathing is the most important facilitator of lymphatic function while consistent shallow breathing leads to lymphatic congestion (for help with a proper breathing exercise, check out our blog on Six Breaths a Minute to Slow Aging and Its Causes here);

• receiving a manual lymphatic massage from a licensed lymphatic massage therapist or receiving a facial** and full body drainage treatment performed by a PHYTO5 trained professional using the Biorhythmic Drainer;

  • PHYTO5's award-winning technology, the Biorhythmic Drainer, mechanically, rhythmically, and precisely reproduces the gentle movement of a manual massage focused on moving energy and fluids that are otherwise stagnant;

  • the well-known Japanese cosmetics company, Shiseido,** found in 2015 that impaired dermal lymphatic vessels are an integral cause of sagging skin** rather than collagen loss;

• staying hydrated to help prevent lymphatic stagnation; lymph gets thicker and more sludgy when you’re dehydrated but will flow well when hydrated;

• avoiding processed foods and bad fats; these can cause inflammation and lead to lymphatic system congestion;

• eating lots of fresh fruits and vegetables especially green vegetables because chlorophyll not only purifies the blood, it purifies lymph;

• avoiding chemical laden skin and body care products, cleaning products and pesticides which impede the body from immediate detoxification (Ageless La Cure by PHYTO5 skincare is a pure choice);

• learning how to resiliently respond to stress; the waste products of stress-fighting hormones are acidic and acidity leads to lymph congestion;

• refraining from wearing tight fitting clothing including underwear and underwire bras because both restrict the flow of lymph;

• avoiding unhealthy habits like smoking.

…

Endnotes:

[The information in this article should not be viewed as medical advice as we are not medical professionals. We are sharing information and recommendations from and based on scientific publications and studies that are enumerated in the article’s endnotes. As always, when beginning any new program dedicated to health and which is new for you, first consult your physician.]

Large portions of this blog were originally published on our sister site at agelesslacure.com on September 19, 2019 under the title, “Look and Feel Younger Longer Tip #5: Keep the Lymph Moving,” but has been edited and updated with additional information for freshness and expansion.

* a space between structures

** In 2015, the well-known Japanese cosmetics company, Shiseido, found impaired dermal lymphatic vessels to be an integral cause of sagging skin. Before 2016, sagging skin was mainly attributed to collagen loss. Their press release states:

“Shiseido Co., Ltd., through joint research with Professor Nobuyuki Takakura of the Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, has revealed for the first time that impaired function of dermal lymphatic vessels lead to accumulation of subcutaneous fat, which ultimately causes ‘sagging’ of the skin.”

Zolla, Valerio, et al. Aging-Related Anatomical and Biochemical Changes in Lymphatic Collectors Impair Lymph Transport, Fluid Homeostasis, and Pathogen Clearance. Aging Cell, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, Aug. 2015, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4531072/.

Dr. Baumann, Leslie. The Connection Between Lymph and How You Look. Miami Herald, July 21, 2014. www.miamiherald.com/living/health-fitness/skin-deep/article1976385.html.

Anti-Cellulite Ingredient Delipidol in PHYTO5’s Earth Yogi Body Gel Is Proven Effective in Contouring

Anti-cellulite ingredient Delipidol (derived from pomegranate) is a potent ingredient in PHYTO5’s Earth element Yogi Body Gel. Delipidol is proven to significantly reduce fat nodes present in the thighs (through lipolysis) after only 28 days of treatment with effects more than doubled after 56 days of twice a day application.

According to Delipidol’s maker, Groupe Solabia based in France, “Delipidol® is a unique and patented molecule obtained by a biotechnological process without solvent, from punicic acid, an omega 5 fatty acid from pomegranate seed oil (Punica granatum) and tyrosol.”

Punicic acid from pomegranate was selected for its ability to reduce lipid accumulation while serving in both an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory capacity. Punicic acid was then combined with tyrosol, which was similarly chosen for its antioxidant effects. Tyrosol, derived from the aromatic amino acid tyrosine, is an antioxidant that is naturally present in several foods such as wine and green tea. Tyrosol is most abundant in olives. The antioxidant is present in the leaves, fruit, and in the oil of the plant. It is classified as a phenolic antioxidant.

In an ex vivo study on human skin explants, Groupe Solabia found lipolytic activity in Delipidol superior to lipolytic activity in pomegranate seed oil alone.

The company also conducted an in vivo double blind study on 19 volunteers and found that twice daily application to the thighs of a cream containing 1% Delipidol resulted in a 4% decrease of fat nodes after 28 days of treatment and a 9% decrease of fat nodes after 56 days of treatment, in comparison with a placebo.

The company further concluded from this study that Delipidol's activity against free radicals contributed to the limitation of cellulite progression.

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Groupe Solabia calls Delipidol a ‘cosmetic bomb’ that decreases ‘orange peel skin’ by reducing fat nodes. For these reasons, PHYTO5 has incorporated Delipidol into the contouring boosting product, Earth element Yogi Body Gel.

Pomegranate itself is touted as an anti-aging fruit that may also prevent hardening of the arteries. Important components of pomegranate are anthocyanins, catechins, ellagic acid, manganese and potassium.

Anthocyanins (derived from Greek meaning “flower” and “blue”) are natural plant pigments. Anthocyanins are what makes pomegranates red, blueberries blue, and blackberries 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, protecting against free radical cell damage which causes aging and disease. Research shows that the juice of pomegranate has two to three times the antioxidant capacity of the same amount of red wine or green tea.

Catechins are a type of organic compound known as phenols. It is abundant in tea, cocoa and berries and they have very potent antioxidant activity also.

Ellagic acid, a compound and micronutrient found in fruits and nuts, protects the body from environmental toxins.

Manganese is a trace mineral or salt important for everyday skin health as it plays a significant role in collagen production. Manganese is involved in the synthesis of vitamin B1. It acts against free radicals and has soothing, calming and protective properties. It aids in protection of the skin against oxidation and damages caused as a result of exposure to ultraviolet light by functioning as an antioxidant.

Potassium helps keep hormone levels in check leading to more beautiful unstressed, lively looking skin. It also helps reduce the risk of heart disease.

Earth element Yogi Body Gel is formulated according to the Five Element Theory of traditional Chinese medicine to balance the Earth conditions of toxicity. If your skin is well in balance taking into account what is normal for your age, you can effectively use Earth Yogi Body Gel during the periods between the other four energetic seasons. See seasonal/skin conditions key complete with seasonal dates here.

Because of the quantum nature of this essential oil rich product, it is also excellent for bringing you to balance when you get caught up in the downward spiral of excessive rumination. The synergistic essential oils in this gel will support you to move out of a feeling of stuckness, paving the way for creativity and productivity.

Earth Yogi Body Gel is also formulated with green tea, biosaccharides,* aloe, apricot oil and essential oils of lemon, sweet orange, eucalyptus and cypress.

As depicted in the picture above, organic certified Contouring Serum plus Earth Yogi Body Gel are a potent combination for contouring treatment.

* A type of polysaccharide made by fermenting plants; a moisturizing and skin soothing ingredient which works by binding water to the epidermis thereby creating a moisture-binding film on the skin creating a soft, smooth feeling

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Endnotes:

http://www.solabia.com

Fight Back with Food: Use Nutrition to Heal What Ails You. Reader's Digest Association, 2007.

Khan, Mohd Sajjad Ahmad., et al. New Look to Phytomedicine: Advancements in Herbal Products as Novel Drug Leads. Academic Press., 2019.

How We Create Momentum for Wellness and Greater Meaning to Our Lives

Linked to health, beauty the natural way, necessarily becomes a matter of overall lifestyle. This lifestyle can become a positive driving force in our lives and as we better understand the interrelationship of all the natural elements involved in looking and feeling good, we’ll observe ourselves spontaneously and organically removing destructive habits and practices, replacing them with those that contribute to our wellness beauty. This lifestyle will naturally help us to pinpoint where we stand in the natural cycle of life as we seek to achieve our highest wellness potential.

In this natural cycle of life, traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) informs us that five energetic seasonal cycles affect us in virtually every arena of our lives. For example, just as we do not wear the same type of clothing from one season to the next, TCM infers that we might benefit by using skincare products designed specifically for each energetic season. This would be skincare that counteracts the aggressions of any particular seasonal energy such as those formulated by PHYTO5. This choice of skincare is just one enjoyable part of living this more conscious lifestyle that chooses harmony with each energetic season, and right now is our opportunity to explore the Earth energetic season which runs until February 4.

Time has proven that the cycles of nature and the cycles of human life seem to be interrelated. Whatever affects the whole, affects the parts. And these parts affect other parts. This view of humans, subjected to their cosmic and earthly environment is common, in various degrees, to all energy medicines and it is central to TCM.

Traditional Chinese thinkers were fond of pondering the cyclical aspects of nature with the repetition of days, moons, seasons and years as they observed the effects of those cycles on all living organisms. Humans like animals and plants are affected

by nature’s cycles so it is not surprising that the study of nature was the first basis in their understanding of vital energy. Knowing that there can be no effect without a cause, the predictable seasonal patterns pointed to the existence of a cause.

Unlike ancient Greeks and Egyptians who attributed cause to the whims of various gods, the Chinese simply saw chi (energy)

as the mover of matter but not as a deity. They saw this energy being responsible for cyclical and predictable stages and changes.

First, they broke down energy in its basic yin and yang components. Then they evolved the more complex and subtle Law of the Five Elements, which includes the energies symbolically named Wood  Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water, and the multiple aspects of their interrelationship.

TCM evolved during an era when the metaphysical beliefs of Taoism prevailed in China, and therefore it was influenced by Taoist beliefs and related cultural implications. Taoists believed that to live harmoniously man needs to be in accord with the energetic laws of nature. They saw a strong parallel between the cycles of nature (the days and the seasons) and the life cycle of man.

When we respect and revere natural cycles and rhythms in our lives we actually create momentum for wellness. This momentum is fueled by energy, the energy that is created by the very act of living in harmony with these natural cycles. By doing so, we allow ourselves to give greater and well deserved meaning to these cycles and, ultimately, our entire lives.

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Photo by Jackson David from Pexels

Earth Day 2020 Was the 50-Year Anniversary of the Premier Global Earth Consciousness Raising Event

Just four days before Earth Day is celebrated on April 22, we enter the Earth energetic season, the period between energetic seasons according to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). This is the 18-day transition period between energetic Spring and energetic Summer.

Each season, including the four 18-day between seasons periods, are associated with one of the five elements in TCM and the transition period beginning April 18 is associated with the element of Earth. With worldwide heightened consciousness surrounding Earth Day, there couldn’t be a better time to bring natural living in concert with the Earth into practice.

Partake of the mystique of quantum energetic formulated plant-based skincare for your exalted natural beauty and well-being. Subscribe for a discount promo code, plus get truly unique holistic beauty tips and offers.

Earth Day is celebrated on the same date, April 22, every year.

Founder Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1995 for having founded the earth-conscious organization which was ultimately responsible for the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the passage of the Clean Air, Clean Water, and Endangered Species Acts.

At the time of founding, Nelson saw forming the Earth Day organization as a big gamble in an epoch of enormous civil unrest, escalating pollution, and a conservative establishment that had deeply dug in to the pursuit of progress at any cost.

He persuaded Pete McCloskey, a conservation-minded Republican Congressman, to serve as his co-chair and recruited Denis Hayes from Harvard University to serve as the org’s national coordinator. At the time, Hayes built a national staff of 85 to promote Earth Day events all across the country on April 22, a day falling between college Spring break and final exams.

In 1990, Earth Day went global.

Hayes involved 184 countries to reach out to hundreds of millions of people. By the time 2010 arrived, Earth Day organizers and supporters became faced with “climate change deniers, well-funded oil lobbyists, reticent politicians, a disinterested public, and a divided environmental community” according to earthday.org...

Despite these challenges, Earth Day prevailed and Earth Day Network reestablished Earth Day as a “relevant, powerful focal point.”

Earth Day is today the largest secular observance in the world.

It’s elebrated by more than a billion people every year. Earth Day is a day that calls us to action by evolving our attitudes and behaviors to more conscious ones and through our collective numbers provoke our representatives in government to make policy changes.

The pursuit of a clean balanced environment urgently continues as we more and more obviously perceive the effects and ravages of climate change with each passing day. To learn how you can get started in assisting the Earth Day organization to leverage the power and momentum of 50 activist years in a time that is near dire for our environment and very survival, visit their countdown to 2020 site here.

Making changes in our lives that will be kind to the Earth and to our bodies, minds and spirits begins with the simple everyday choices we make.

Pay attention to choices like the products we bathe in, the products we purchase to moisturize our skin or the manner in which we seek to uplift our emotions. 

PHYTO5 five element skincare is natural, holistic and is founded on principles based on the Earth’s natural cycles and rhythms. High grade essential oils of flowers and plants combined with natural extracts, vitamins, minerals and other oils coalesce in leading edge formulations designed to nourish, revitalize and uplift skin and hair.

The unique proposition of PHYTO5 is the vital energy balance aspect of the energetic line products which contributes to our vital energy balance, a prerequisite to wellness. Our proprietary formulation of these lines enhances the vibrational frequencies of PHYTO5 products to the quantum level. PHYTO5’s five element lines (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) are formulated to help bring balance to skin, scalp, body and emotions.

PHYTO5 does not test on animals nor have any individual ingredients we use in our formulations ever been tested on animals. We design our packaging with the environment in mind.

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Image courtesy of spirit111 on Pixabay

Eucalyptus Essential Oil: Amazing Remedy for Skin, Body and Emotions

Eucalyptus essential oil is a remarkably potent oil that is steam distilled from the tree’s leaves and twigs. With an aroma that’s clean, crisp and cleansing, it blends beautifully with lavender and rosemary (see Earth element Skin Toner). In addition to its rather cure-all physically therapeutic qualities as decongestant, antiviral, antibacterial, antimicrobial, antifungal and analgesic, eucalyptus is very beneficial to help shift and uplift emotions and clear a confused mind for better concentration.

Eucalyptus is a fast growing evergreen Australasian tree that has been widely introduced all over the world. Because of the oil’s purifying, cleansing, clarifying, and immune-boosting properties, it is ideal for use in skincare and in aromatherapy. For this reason, eucalyptus essential oil is often used in PHYTO5’s Earth element line of skin and hair care. 

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Because of its its soothing, stimulating, and anti-bacterial properties, eucalyptus oil is a popular ingredient in balms, inhalers, massage oil blends, and dental hygiene products. It provides support for the respiratory system and soothes aches, pains and physical discomforts. Add analgesic anti-inflammatory eucalyptus essential oil to a warm bath to soothe stiff and sore muscles.

Eucalyptus essential oil will moisturize an itchy scalp and remove dandruff flakes. Enjoy eucalyptus essential oil synergistically blended with other essential oils and unique ingredients in PHYTO5’s Citrus–Cypress Shampoo. A natural insecticide, this oil has even been known to eliminate lice.

In addition to soothing irritated skin caused by wounds, cuts, burns, sores, stings and bites, it relieves pain while protecting skin lesions from infection and promoting quicker healing.

Eucalyptus essential oil “clears the air” both literally and figuratively. It can help you move emotional issues that are stuck or blocked as well as relieve headaches or mental exhaustion. The aroma boosts circulation to the brain and helps jumpstart the mind out of sluggishness so to speak. A rejuvenation of spirit often results.

• Place two to four drops (don’t overdo because it’s powerful) on a one-inch square piece of cotton cloth and sniff gently when you’ve become emotionally upset.

• Place a tiny bit of eucalyptus essential oil in a lit diffuser while meditating to help you get past a nagging issue, when you need some relief from mental overload, or when you want to make a positive change in your life.

This may help you ward off getting a cold as the 18-day period of Earth transitions to the next season, in the current case, Metal and Fall: place a very few drops of the oil on a small piece of cotton cloth and keep it under your pillow. This form of aromatherapy may help boost your immune system and keep you impervious to colds and flu.

If you already have a cold, cough, or sinus infection, diffusing four drops of the oil for 20 minutes three times a day can help bring you relief. This practice can help to clear nasal passages as well as eliminate harmful airborne bacteria.

Photo by Georgia de Lotz on Unsplash

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Sources:

Young, Kac. Healing Art of Essential Oils—A Guide to 50 Oils for Remedy, Ritual, and Everyday Use. Llewellyn Publications,U.S., 2017.

Kirkwood, John. The Way of the Five Seasons: Living with Five Elements for Physical, Emotional and Spiritual Harmony. Singing Dragon, 2016.

Earth Element TCM: Get Your Best Lifestyle Tips for TCM's Fifth Season

According to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), energetic Fall begins August 7 every year. But in TCM energetic Fall doesn’t immediately follow Summer as it does in most people’s minds. The season called Earth does. In fact, there are four 18-day transition periods of the Earth element throughout the year(1)—one after each of the four seasons of Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter.

“Why is it then that Earth is most specifically awarded the place between Fire and Metal? The qualities of nurturance, abundance, fullness and ripeness align it naturally to the time of harvest, that time of year when the energy is neither rising (Fire) nor falling (Metal), a period of balance and harmony. Earth finds its natural place in the seasons of nature’s maturing.” —John Kirkwood, The Way of the Five Seasons: Living with Five Elements for Physical, Emotional and Spiritual Harmony

Earth Element TCM

TCM urges us to live in harmony with the seasons and their respective elements for our best health and enjoyment of life. Each season and element in TCM possess many attributes and conditions, including skin conditions and emotions. Because the five element lines are quantum energetic, able to move towards the deepest core of the mind-body system, these lines also balance emotion.

• Spring: Wood. The quantum energetic Wood line clarifies oily skin, lightens spots and stimulates blood flow and vital energy for a matte finish. Transform emotions of anger and lack of confidence to feel more kind and confident.

• Summer: Fire. Quantum energetic Fire line products soothe irritated sensitive skin, reduce excess redness, cool and calm skin and balance the energy of red blood circulation. Bring feelings of joylessness or over-the-top expressions of joy to a state of joy-in-balance.

• Fall: Metal. The quantum energetic Metal line eliminates impurities, decongest s and brightens dull skin, plumps fine lines and balances the energy of blue blood circulation. Balance emotions of worry and agitation and know that all is well.

• Winter: Water. Quantum energetic Water line skincare super-hydrate mature very dry skin, increase elasticity and balance moisture retention. The line gives you a sense of zenitude.

• And there’s the additional fifth season: Earth recurring four times a year. Quantum energetic Earth skincare detoxifies impurities, balances blemishes and acne, reduces enlarged pores and encourages the energy of lymph circulation. If you’re out of balance in the Earth emotion you’ll feel overwhelmed from over-caretaking causing you to feel unstuck or unable to finish projects. Feel more free to express yourself creatively.

Earth Element TCM General Lifestyle Practices

We cannot separate ourselves from nature. Humankind lives an integral important part of it.

For this reason, living in harmony with the rest of nature all around us, and especially with the Earth element TCM can help build and strengthen a physical body with internal systems equilibrium.

Eat, exercise, sleep and wake in alignment with the energy of the season and its element.

Give, love, contemplate, and nurture yourself in alignment with the ways of the Earth element TCM.

Your physical health will benefit and so will your entire well-being including emotional. It’s how you can better ward off illness and keep your mental, emotional and spiritual aspects in balance and thriving. Earth element TCM lends itself perfectly to care and health of your body.

Partake of the mystique of quantum energetic formulated plant-based skincare for your exalted natural beauty and well-being. Subscribe for a discount promo code, plus get truly unique beauty tips and offers.

The ancient Chinese intensely and over time observed the human body and how it functions.

They also observed the movements of the heavens and climatic conditions. They realized that each element in TCM embodied an entire set of unique attributes.

These attributes include color, taste, smell, sound, direction, weather condition, emotion, skin condition and organs. For example, the color for Earth element TCM is yellow, and the organs are stomach and spleen.

Earth Element TCM Insights for Harmonious Living

The Earth season offers us time to think about harvesting what we have sown in the previous season.

Earth is simultaneously two energies:

• a time of decrease or slowing down (the yin energy aspect)

• and abundance (the yang energy aspect).

For the Earth element TCM, you might find it helpful to incorporate the following practices into your everyday life:

• Observe the fruits of your labor in many arenas of your life:

  • your relationships

  • your level of joy and happiness

  • the care of your heart, both literally and figuratively

  • the care of your digestive system

• Contemplate the harvest aspect of your life. Notice areas that are bearing fruit and those that aren’t. Learn from this and give fruitful areas more focus and let go of the fruitless ones.

• Focus on nurturing yourself. Let your intuition show you how.

• Support your digestion not just of food but your thoughts and emotions. This enables your thoughts and emotions to reach your mind and spirit.

• Wind down your pace of living. Gather in all the energies you’ve created, lived and spent throughout the previous season.

• Recognize and appreciate the bounty of the earth. See how you can be bountiful and generous in your life as you give to others and yourself.

• Get down to what’s truly necessary in your life. What is needless or a distraction? Now take steps accordingly. This is an important practice as you prepare to enter the next energetic season. You want to bring your best energies to it.

• Observe and mirror nature at this time of year. The cycles of nature metaphor teach so much. Contemplate how seeds you plant (both physically and metaphorically) reap similar kinds of harvests. Think about the seeds you’ve sown and know that harvest comes from that planting. Then every harvest bears the seeds for the next season of your life.

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Endnotes:

1. For your reference, the Earth periods of the year are:

• January 18 to February 4

• April 18 to May 5

• July 20 to August 6

• October 21 to November 7

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Source:

Kirkwood, John. The Way of the Five Seasons: Living with Five Elements for Physical, Emotional and Spiritual Harmony. Singing Dragon, 2016.

Photo courtesy of Brigitte Tohm at Unsplash

There Are Really Five Seasons: Understanding the Rotation of the Seasons According to Chinese Medicine

The ancient Chinese saw how the cycles of the seasons profoundly impact everything from weather to plants and crops, animals and even human mental well-being. They surmised that to each season corresponds a specific energy that influences all life forms. They concluded that in addition to the cyclical movement of yin and yang, illustrated by the repetitive cycle of day-night, there must also be changing energies causing, and therefore related to, seasonal changes. The ancient Chinese subdivided yin and yang into five phases, also called elements which they named: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water.

But why five rather than four phases to correlate with the four seasons?

Since all these energies were seen by the Chinese as coming from the earth, they surmised that at the end of each season the energy goes back to the earth for its transformation before appearing as the energy of the next season.

This transition period necessarily repeated four times a year became known as the Earth season. 

A little arithmetic made it clear that each energetic season is approximately seventy-two days and that the Earth season occurs for approximately eighteen days four times a year (for a total 72 days out of 365).

The Earth element seasons or “between seasons” periods are:

• January 18 to February 4

• April 18 to May 5

• July 20 to August 6

• October 21 to November 7

PHYTO5’s Earth element skin and haircare products are formulated to help bring balance to what we call Earth imbalance.

An Earth type person whose skin is out of balance will manifest some or all of these: blemishes, toxicity, acne, psoriasis, enlarged pores.

Earth element products support balance by helping to detoxify, purify and normalize the skin using natural unique ingredients like: high grade essential oils of lemon, cypress, and eucalyptus. 

Lemon essential oil is an anti-inflammatory, anti-irritating and astringent that relaxes nervous energy while attenuating wrinkles. Lemon essential oil is best known for its ability to cleanse toxins from the body and purify the skin. It is widely used in lymph drainage treatments and to rejuvenate energy.

Recommended in treatments for conditions caused by poor circulation, anti-infectious cypress essential oil supports the body to remove excess water and salt that can lead to fluid retention. It also supports circulation. 

Partake of the mystique of quantum energetic formulated plant-based skincare for your exalted natural beauty and well-being. Subscribe for a discount promo code, plus get truly unique beauty tips and offers.

Eucalyptus essential oil is primarily used for its soothing and relaxing properties.

The synergistic proprietary blend of essential oils supports emotional balance when lightly inhaled. Earth types who are out of emotional balance will tend to worry, feel stuck and stagnant. They often have challenges saying “no” to others in favor of focusing on taking care of themselves.

One of the imbalances of Earth types, however, tends to be lack of boundaries. It is evidenced in the volunteers who never say no and the friends who always offer a shoulder to cry on to the detriment of themselves. They have difficulty separating their lives from the lives of their friends or clients. They have forgotten how to take care of themselves. They have fallen into the groove of reacting to others rather than responding with awareness. 

Just one drop of Earth element Phyt’Ether serum lightly inhaled, for example, may enhance your innate but temporarily blocked sense of knowing and creativity. The aromatherapeutic fragrance of the Earth element product may help to open up abilities within you to begin new projects with clarity and focus.

In balance Earth types are the people with the sunny disposition. They are very nurturing, caring and are wonderful friends. Earth types accept everyone into their world for they feel a kinship with all other human beings. When in balance, Earth types are very even, serene centers of gravity around which people love to gather. Tolerance is their guiding principle. They are able to feel empathy for another’s pain and can quite easily return to themselves without having taken on that pain. Balanced Earth types can do this because their boundaries are very well established within themselves. They give selflessly and are always available for their friends.

If your skin is nicely in balance, now is the time for you to use Earth element products as well.

Editor's Note: This post was originally published April 14, 2016 and has been updated for freshness, accuracy, and comprehensiveness.

Last Days of The Current Earth Energetic Season According to Chinese Medicine: Our Awareness of Its Influences Can Help Us Live In Balance with It

The Earth element or between seasons period in Chinese medicine corresponds to what we might think of as the ending of each season and is related to the concept of transformation. Although the Earth element is often associated with late Summer or Indian Summer, it 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.

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.

Partake of the mystique of quantum energetic formulated plant-based skincare for your exalted natural beauty and well-being. Subscribe for a discount promo code, plus get truly unique beauty tips and offers.

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 current Earth energetic period ends on 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 (beginning February 5) and Fire elements (beginning May 6 and running to July 19) in TCM defined by a rising and peaking yang, and unlike Metal (August 7 to October 20) and Water elements (November 8 to January 17) 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, counsel and advice.

Earth types are quite good at maintaining familial and social 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, and a 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.

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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.

The Fifth Energetic Season: How Transition Periods Between the Seasons Work According to Chinese Medicine

As keen observers of nature, the ancient Chinese realized that the transition from Winter to Spring, for example, would never happen in just one day but over a transitional period of time. They discovered that understanding the transitions from one season to the next held vital implications for the health and well-being of humans, flora and fauna.

The Chinese deduced that these transitional periods would necessarily happen four times a year–after Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. The sum total of these periods constitutes what they called the fifth season.

On an average, with variations depending on what band of latitude we live in and given that a year has about 365 days, it can be calculated that each season would have 72 to 73 days each. If the between seasons period happens four times a year, each transition period would be about 18 days each.

Partake of the mystique of quantum energetic formulated plant-based skincare for your exalted natural beauty and well-being. Subscribe for a discount promo code, plus get truly unique beauty tips and offers.

It should be understood that even when the energy of a season ceases to be “pro-active” it has a residual effect from its momentum, with more or less effects according to where you live. That is the reason that the symptoms, or manifestations of Winter will continue for a while past the end of the energetic season of Water / Winter. But, the new Earth energy is what becomes pro-active, affecting all living organisms, until it ceases its activity in favor of the next energetic season; although, again, there is for a while a continuation of its effects super-imposed onto the ones of the new season. 

How does this movement into the between seasons period of Earth affect your skincare regimen and your choice of skincare 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.

For example: The energetic influence of one of the four major seasons will, for the most part, cease to be proactive for 18 days between that season and the next. The seasonal energetic activity “returns to Earth” before it reappears when the next energetic season commences.

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 should not 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 beginning January 18 their condition will worsen.

During the eighteen-day between seasons period of January 18 to February 4, Chinese medicine indicates it is the most beneficial time to address the issues of the Earth skin conditions. People with Earth imbalance are the ones who need to switch PHYTO5 skincare 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 providing hydration and skin 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 U.S., it is important to prolong the use of the Water line past January 17 unless their dominant concern is the set of skin conditions associated with the Earth element. In that case, switching to Earth is recommended. 

There are a total of four eighteen-day between seasons periods for Earth throughout the year. The other time periods are April 18 to May 5, July 20 to August 6, October 21 to November 7.

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.

Partake of the mystique of quantum energetic formulated plant-based skincare for your exalted natural beauty and well-being. Subscribe for a discount promo code, plus get truly unique beauty tips and offers.

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.