Chinese Medicine offers us tried and tested ancient wisdom when it comes to health. The Chinese have known for thousands of years how best to care for, and nourish our physical and energetic body. One of the earliest surviving texts “The Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine” was written in times well Before Christ. Teachings from Chinese medicine are based on the principle that we are part of nature and to honour the natural cycles of nature as well as our own assists us to stay in good health. Illness prevention is a primary aspect of Chinese Medicine which is what I am all about, especially having spent many years working in hospitals. I have seen the extremes of physical and mental problems that occur when the body’s cries for help are ignored for way too long. I have a very strong purpose to give people the skills to care for themselves, avoid the hardships of hospitalisation and take the pressure off our struggling medical system.
So what is important to know to care for yourself in winter?
Being a cold season, excessive cold in the body can create illness, beyond just the common cold. The energy of the kidneys and the bladder are particularly susceptible to the cold, which is why people tend to want to go to the toilet so often in cold weather. There are also some not so obvious physical signs that the body is out of balance and needs some support. Cold causes contraction in the body and restricts flow, causing these types of symptoms:
Tight muscles, cramping, arthritis, aches and pains
Poor circulation, cold hands and feet
Asthma, tight chest and shallow breathing
Colitis - inflammation and discomfort in the intestines
Difficult and painful menstrual flow
The fluids of the body, bone marrow and the reproductive system is governed by Kidney energy.
Inadequate kidney energy or imbalanced kidney energy can result in these types of symptoms
Fluid retention, swollen ankles and bloating
Dehydration evidenced by dry lips, throat and mouth, low energy, dryness in intestines
Low libido, insufficient lubrication
Knee pain, low back pain, weak legs
Fatigue
In Chinese Medicine, kidney energy is a most precious aspect for health and wellbeing as it is considered to hold our life-fire, essential essence and reserves of energy. In our Australian society, we are not so accustomed at taking care of our kidney energy and tend to abuse it by burning the candle at both ends, take on high stress lives and have poor sleep hygiene (eg. exposure to screens before bed, and lack of wind down time and bed time rituals). Emotional states of anxiety are related to kidney and bladder problems, which makes this issue a high priority to get on top of. Also contributing to imbalances in kidney energy is not allowing insufficient recovery time in periods of illness or after high activity periods. We tend ignore our body's needs (eg. not keeping the body warm enough) or tend to battle on with any stress or obstacle and use our mind to overcome any sense of physical or emotional weakness. Eg. Soldier on, avoiding any judgements about being soft or precious (inflicted by self or others). In fact many of us have become exceptional at over-riding our body’s wisdom with our strong minds and wills, and that is how first, I ended up consulting a Kinesiology practitioner. The strength of my mind suppressed my emotions and my body’s calls for help, so much so, that it almost destroyed me at merely 17 years of age. So of course, I want to reciprocate that gift and give everyone the opportunity to have a healthy, joyful and fulfilling life.
So here are my…
Secrets to Keeping Your Inner Fire Burning in Winter so that you can experience the fullness of your life force and remain healthy and resilient.
#1 Stay warm and protect yourself from the outside cold - especially in the Kidney area - mid to low back. Cover up when you go out into the cold. In Chinese Medicine scarves are not a fashion accessory, they are medicine. Wear them around your neck, your waist, your ears, whatever youneed to do to stay warm do it!
#2 Stay warm on the inside. Avoiding too many cold drinks and foods will help you to stay warm from the inside out. Choose warm herbal teas, soups, stews, roasts, coffee, hot chocolate, red wine for example. That doesn’t sound too painful does it? Winter is the perfect time to enjoy warming times, foods and drinks with friends and family. Lots of pleasure on offer here in winter. This will feed your essential spirit as well as your physical body’s energy. Specific foods that support Kidney energy and body warmth are:
beef and lamb
chicken, salmon, sardines, mussels
barley, millet, wheat germ
mung beans, kidney beans
walnuts, chestnuts, pine nuts, sesame
beetroot, fennel, spinach, parsley
onion, leek, chives, shallots
potato and sweet potato
spices such as fennel seeds, ginger, cloves, black pepper, nutmeg, cardamon, cinnamon
#3 Take time to withdraw a little from the usual hectic pace of life and nurture yourself with some good quality time and self care practices. This may be meditation, or simply periods of deep breathing if that is easier to achieve. This is excellent for helping to connect with the calming and restorative power of the breath and shifting the body out of fight, flight, action ACTION, anxiety states of being and into a more receptive space for rebuilding your body’s energy levels. If movement is more supportive for you to calm anxiety and stress, put the music on and nurture your body with any activity that makes you feel good... walking, dancing, stretching etc.
#4 Get plenty of sleep. If you are frequently anxious or worrying about work, family, decisions, finances, relationships, then already you are losing valuable kidney energy. If these things are also affecting your sleep and you are highly strung, it is highly likely that even when you are sleeping, you are not dropping into a deep sleep and waking up feeling tired. This is a complex issue that I see frequently in my Kinesiology clinic and I suggest you phone me to talk about strategies to improve this situation as good sleep is essential to every aspect of your health.
A multi-pronged approach is best practice for maintaining good health. Every person is so individual in relation to their body’s needs and imbalances. So if you want to be really effective with managing your health routine this winter, I recommend we catch up for a Kinesiology consultation. The muscle monitoring used in Kinesiology gives us feedback about exactly what it is that your body needs for health.
Or if you would like to discuss any of the issues in this article, Phone Simone on 0427 320 302 for a complimentary phone consultation.
Or email your name and phone number to info@soulnurturing.com.au and I can ring you for that personal heath appraisal.
Reference: Wong, L. & Knapsey K. (2002) Food for the Seasons, Eat well and stay healthy the traditional Chinese way, Black Dog books, Fitzroy Australia