Winter is the most yin point of the year: dark, quiet, the season of rest. Nature conserves itself in stillness, stripped back to the essential. Bare trees, less birdsong, hibernating animals, little activity in the garden – life seems dormant, waiting for Spring. In being able to be still and quiet, nature allows itself time to recover from the activity of the year, a necessary pause before the push of growth in Spring. In Chinese Medicine, it is the season of the Water Element.
The Water Element
In acupuncture, winter is the season of the water element. Water gives us our reserves, the creation of power and ability to store it. It is cleansing, helping us to eliminate toxins and to carry nutrients through our blood stream enabling our cells to repair themselves. The water element also gives us our endurance, enabling us to draw on our reserves when we need to: years ago this was the survival through a harsh winter, now it is more often in times of stress. Water is the element of will and determination, of ambition -it gives us the determination to fulfill our ambitions.
Without rest, we cannot keep going indefinitely. When we observe nature, we appreciate the need for rest and recovery before the colour and activity of Spring.
When someone’s water element isn’t working correctly it can result in either… or a need for adrenaline or drama. A healthy balance of water, in conjunction with the other elements (Wood, Fire, Earth and Metal) is what we should all aim for.
How can we help ourselves?
- Find time to be quiet. We have become so used to living life at full speed that this can seem uncomfortable. But time spent hibernating – curled up with a good book, or simply enjoying the stillness – is a wonderful counterbalance for all that activity we experience throughout the rest of the year.
- Winter allows us to pause and reflect on the year past, to learn from our experiences. Grab a pen & paper – or simply reflect on the past year. What has (and hasn’t) worked? What did you learn from it? What would you do differently?
- Moving on from from past experiences, start to thing about the future year to come. Just as seeds hold potential for growth, our reflection and time spent on ideas hold the possibilities of the future. What do you want to focus on next year?
- Eat warming foods. It sounds simple, but when there is less warmth outside, we need to use food and drink to maintain our energy balance.
- Look outside at nature: less light, quietness & stillness around us, a sense of dormancy. It’s the natural time to replenish our energy and build up our reserves.
So sleep more, do less, eat warming, nourishing foods. The stirrings of Spring will come in due course. In the meantime, enjoy the rest.
We all have all five elements (Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, Water) in us. When they are balanced, our energy flows well. When not… we feel out of sorts, not ourselves. If you’re not feeling quite yourself, or ready to embrace the sociable side of you, get in touch… Acupuncture helps restore the natural balance of energy within us to help us back to health.