To Sleep Like A Baby

By

Travis Cunningham LAc. MSOM DICEAM

(The Elusive) Good Night Of Sleep

How long has it been since you’ve had a good night of sleep? Can you remember what it was like?

Do you remember falling asleep? Staying asleep? Or, how you woke up? Do you remember the dreams you had? Or, do you only remember the feeling of restfulness upon waking?

One of the most challenging things to consider when we contemplate sleep, is just how unconscious a good night of sleep can be. We require nothing to sleep well. All humans must sleep. But how much? And, to what quality? What is required and what is optimal? What does sleep do for us? And, how can sleep be corrected if it becomes problematic?

If we take the basic premise that sleeping well is a natural process, we encounter our first problem…

“If a good night of sleep happens unconsciously, how can we consciously change it?”

And thus, (the internet) spawns a million suggestions. Searches, studies, science - all seeking to answer the same basic questions.

One of my teachers used to say that “if we look at the disease, we will find one thousand medicines to treat it. But, if we look at health, we will find only one cure.” Before we can learn to treat a problem, we must first understand what it is like to have no problem. So, what is healthy sleep?

Defining Healthy Sleep

The first thing that one might notice in the analysis of healthy sleep is that sleep - all sleep, is a rhythm. Just like breathing, eating, urination, defecation, movement and rest, sleep is a rhythmic process. When a person generally sleeps well, one night of poorer sleep doesn’t bother them so much. When a person generally sleeps poorly, one night of good sleep doesn’t benefit them so much. Many people who have chronic insomnia will actually report that they feel worse, when they (rarely) get a full night of sleep. We can make sense of this fact with the simple understanding that sleep is rhythmic. And, the effect of a single “beat” of sleep, is not nearly as impactful as the timbre of a repeated rhythm.

When we compare sleep to other rhythms, like eating, we find that sleep is a longer rhythm. Sleep is longer; both in the time that it takes to engage in, and the time that it takes to influence as a habit. When we are younger, we can live with poor sleeping habits for a longer period of time without feeling the negative effects on our vitality. As we age, poor sleeping habits catch up with us more quickly and become much more difficult to correct once they are set. In the traditions of East Asia, this is explained by the concepts of Yin and Yang.

In youth, we are more Yang. We have access to more energy and are able to make changes in our lives more easily. As we age, we become more Yin. We become more stable, (hopefully) more grounded and wise, but with less capacity to quickly change and shift. It is advised that we establish good habits when we are youthful because it is easier to keep these habits as we get older. While I believe that any habit is changeable at any stage life, sleep is a rhythm that is easier to correct in our earlier years.

It is important to discuss the longer rhythmic nature of sleep right away because if we wish to change a longer rhythm, we must expect that it will take a longer period of time to shift than other activities. When I work with adults in the clinic for sleep, I tell them to expect that it will take a minimum of three months to shift the basic pattern and possibly longer if there is a standing history of insomnia. Good sleep takes time. It takes effort to create a positive sleeping habit, before good sleep can become effortless once again.

Sleep & Time

Sleep, just like any rhythmic process is inextricably connected to time. The connection to time has two aspects. First, we have the duration or amount of time a person is sleeping within a day or night. Second, we have the time during the 24 hour day that a person chooses to sleep. While at first, these two aspects of time seem to be separate topics, at a closer glance we will find that they overlap and influence each other.

In East Asian medicine, there is a keen interest in the efficiency and quality of nature. Ancient people observed that all creatures followed the circadian rhythms of day and night. Human beings tended to sleep during the night time and stay awake for most of the day. Humans generally followed the cycles of the Sun, and were more active when the Sun radiated its light from the sky.

As human beings evolved with the Sun’s cycles, our physiology “learned” to become more efficient when we follow them. We have naturally more energy to act during the day and more proficiency to restore ourselves through resting at night. In modern times, we can easily live outside of or contrary to these natural rhythms. But we inevitably pay the price through inefficient restoration and a challenged expression of vitality.

Many modern people may push against the idea that for optimal vitality, we must adhere to the circadian rhythm - resting and waking with the cycles of the Sun. These people may insist that they feel better staying up late at night, and waking in the late morning or early afternoon. I can honestly say that I have not (yet) seen a single person in clinical practice to make this claim who has not obviously damaged their health because of it. Sleep, as we saw before, is a longer rhythm. It is harder for most people to see the damaging effects of an inefficient sleep habit in the short term. But over the course of weeks, months and years, the deficit will show itself.

So what does a sleep deficit look like? For some people, it can simply mean that they require more hours of sleep to function normally than they might. The lack of efficiency in restoration means that the body needs more time to recover than it could otherwise. In traditional medicine, we think of a healthy sleeping habit to (generally) require between 6-8 hours of sleep within a 24 hour cycle. Most people trend closer to the 8 hour mark with what they need, then the 6 hour one. This need can also fluctuate with the seasons - trending a bit longer in the winter and a bit shorter in the summer.

Problem One: Needing More Sleep

If a person finds that they need more sleep than 8 or 8.5 hours to feel rested, it is a sign that their sleep is inefficient or in deficit. I’ve treated patients who claim to need 11 or even 12 hours of sleep per night to feel rested. This is a sign of a profound deficiency of vitality that the body is trying to rectify by sleeping more. In traditional medicine we would say that the body is having a difficulty storing its vitality. The need to sleep for this many hours obviously effects the person’s daily life. I’ve also noticed that a huge percentage of these patients struggle with depression. In these cases, there is good news. If we can help to restore their vitality, the person will generally need fewer hours of sleep and their depression will either lift or at least be less problematic for them.

In East Asian medicine, we see this pattern of sleep coincide with feelings of cold in the body, weak digestion and malaise or fatigue. We call this Yang deficiency with Yin sinking. The warm and active quality of Yang is deficient and unable to transform or utilize the nutritive substance of Yin. This Yin substance “sinks” in the digestive tract, causing looser stools and a general feeling of heaviness in the body. The remedy for this pattern is treatment which targets warming the Yang, making it strong enough to transform the Yin substance and lighten the body.

Problem Two: Being Unable To Sleep

The other possibility for inefficient sleep or sleep deficit, is that a person may be unable to sleep or unable to sleep deeply. These people generally learn to sleep for fewer hours than the 6-8 that is considered normal or healthy. They basically never sleep well or feel rested, but may report feeling worse when they (rarely) do get a decent night of sleep.

While this may appear different than the first type of problem, it is actually the same. Both problems come from inefficient sleep or a lack of restoration. In East Asian medical diagnosis, I find that most of these patients still qualify as Yang deficient. In these cases the Yang is not only deficient, but also floating. These people can tend to have an overactive mind when they lay down to sleep, feel warmer at night or experience night sweating and have very vivid dreams. Underneath the superficial heat, there is cold. Sometimes you can feel this cold when you touch their feet or lower abdomen, especially when compared to the temperature of the neck.

These people would be treated differently than the first type, given that their presentation is not the same. I find that working with these folks can be a bit more challenging, because they will often feel more tired when we start treatment. These feelings of tiredness are often what they have been avoiding during the day, by use of stimulates or stimulating activities. Unfortunately, they must begin to feel their body’s fatigue in order to restore their vitality through sleep.

Can It Change?

In every case of insomnia, inefficient sleep or sleep deficit that I’ve seen thus far, the answer has been yes - it can change. The more important question is how much of a priority is the person willing to make their sleep? Sleeping well is a by-product of living a life where good sleep is possible. If we live contrary to the body’s natural rhythms, we cannot expect our sleep to be efficient or restorative. But if we are willing to change, so can our sleep. So how can we get our sleep back on track?

Step One: Empty The Stomach

A famous Chinese medicine doctor once said, “if a person tells me that they have a problem sleeping (any problem sleeping), I tell them the same thing: No food after dark. If they can adhere to this rule alone for two weeks, about 60% of sleeping problems will resolve.”

This one sounds a bit strange at first but when we take a closer look, it makes quite a lot of sense. When we go to sleep at night, our heart rate decreases and our body’s surface becomes cooler. A complex chain of events begins to happen involving many organs, nerves, blood vessels and the hormonal system. In East Asian medicine, we call this phenomena Yin ascending, Yang descending or the communication of the Heart (Fire) and Kidney (Water).

If we go to bed and our stomach is still full, our body has to ramp up its metabolism to digest the food. Our heart rate increases, and it can even feel uncomfortable to lay down. When our stomach (Earth) is full, the pathway for the heart (Fire) and kidney (Water) to communicate is “blocked.” This can inhibit the quality of a person’s sleep or even prevent sleep from occurring at all. The first and clearest step to getting better sleep is to increase the amount of time between your last meal or snack and your bed time. I recommend people work toward 3 hours between the two, if possible.

Step Two: Create A Slide

If you have any difficulty getting to sleep, its unlikely that you’ll be able to do so for awhile without a routine before bed. So create one. This routine will look different for every person. But the routine should include the general feature of moving from more activity to less. I call this “creating a slide.”

Keep in mind, that by activity, we don’t only mean physical activity. Modern people are less and less physically active as our work becomes more closely engaged with technology. For some of us, our evening routine may need to include physical movement to release the activity in our nervous systems. There are many great practices for this - from gentle Qigong, to Yoga. My favorite is actually just walking. Remember the cheesy phrase: Whatever it is that you do to unwind, make sure to include your body and mind.

Step Three: Swing Out To Swing In

Many people have a difficult time sleeping because they lack basic movement or exercise during their day. But by engaging in a short exercise routine, people can dramatically enhance the quality of their sleep at night.

There are many studies that have been done on this subject alone. Some of these studies have analyzed specific data on the cycles of hormones and the assistance that day-time exercise can provide.
In East Asian medicine, we can summarize this phenomena quite simply: Yang activity benefits Yin restoration. Swing out, in order to swing in.

Step Four: Create A Break In The Static

So many cultures around the world take a siesta or a mid-day nap. Interestingly enough, if we look at the times of the day that most cultures take siesta (1-4PM), these are the clock-opposite times that most Americans struggle to sleep at night.

If you ask people about how they sleep, many people who can fall asleep easily will struggle to stay asleep between 1-4AM. East Asian medicine is a medicine that looks at opposites (Yin & Yang). If there is a problem that regularly occurs for someone at 3AM, we might look at adjusting the person’s conduct at 3PM to change it. For example, If a person is regularly waking up at 2:30AM and unable to fall back asleep, one way to change this dynamic would be for the person to take a short nap at 2:30PM. It sounds strange, but it totally works!

Another way to think about the helpfulness of mid-day rest is what I call, creating a break in the static. First, imagine that during the work day, we accumulate stress or a type of pressure in our nervous system. To me, this stress feels like static electricity, so I call it static. As the static builds without a release point, our nervous system continues to get more and more stimulated. If this continues all day, when we reach the day’s end, we may experience the “tired but wired” phenomena. We feel very tired, but we cannot sleep.

By taking a mid-day nap or short resting period, we can provide a natural release valve for our accumulated stress. Now before you instantly write off this idea by telling me that you don’t have time, hear me out. A break even as small as 5 minutes can significantly shift the state of accumulated stress within the nervous system. I’ve worked with all types of busy people. If you prioritize it, you can create the time.

What can you do with this time? The best thing that I’ve found, short of a quick nap is a mindful breathing practice or a shaking exercise (scroll down the page to see the exercise). If you make the time and participate every day, you will feel the changes.

Step Five: Get Help

If you’ve been struggling with your sleep for a long time, or even a shorter period of time, the quickest way to get better is to receive help. I’ve specialized in helping people with their sleep since beginning my training in East Asian medicine. Not being able to sleep efficiently is a huge burden - one that I know from my own experience.

It is possible for your sleep to improve if you are willing to receive help and participate in the process. If you’d like to take the next step, follow the links below to read more about treatment for insomnia or sign up for your first appointment today.

Treating Seasonal Allergies With Chinese Medicine

A Spring In Your Step

Dear reader,

I am writing to you in early Spring. The weather is still cold here. Frost covers the ground at night and is breached by sun in the early morning. It is still too cold to wear a light(er) jacket. And yet, the first flowers have started making their appearance.

As I notice the crocuses waking up on my morning walks, I find myself contemplating the meaning of Spring. In the historic and cultural medicine of China, human beings witnessed the transitions of nature. The qualities that belong to these transitions were described as Qi.

I think people make too much of the term Qi. If we just look at how things move and change, it follows to use a word that describes the quality of this change. That which moves behind the appearance of things, could be a simple definition of Qi.

The Qi of Spring is said to be like wind. Wind is movement or a quicker form of change. In Spring, we transition from the cold Qi of Winter to the hot Qi of Summer. What force can propel such a change from one opposite to the other? Wind. Wind necessitates change. It propels our bodies to find a new balance of adaptation with the environment around us. The Chinese say, that the fluids of our body have to become thinner in Spring. Traditionally, the density of our body’s fluids have to do with their ability to hold heat. In the cold Qi of Winter, the body must have the thickest fluids. In the hot Qi of summer, the body’s fluids must become thinnest. In the Spring then, the fluids must begin their thinning process.

The pressure to adapt to nature is seen as a necessary part of life in traditional medicine. There is no way to become immune to change. A failure to adapt to the circumstances outside of our bodies creates an adversarial relationship with the Qi of nature. This adversarial relationship is called a “strike” in traditional medicine. An external strike against the body is the body’s failure to adapt to the new circumstances surrounding it.

From the perspective of the body, this dynamic feels like the Qi of nature is striking it. It’s important to understand that there is no malicious intent from the Qi of nature. The body simply interprets the change as a strike because it isn’t prepared for the shift. The body then goes into a defensive and adaptive process. This process, we know as disease. In some cases, the form that this disease takes is called allergies.

Allergic to Adaptation

In biomedicine, we understand an allergy to be a reaction from the body’s immune system toward a particular substance that the body comes into contact with. The immune system recognizes this substance as a hostile presence and mobilizes its resources to attack. The following symptoms we are all familiar with…

• Itching

• Sneezing

• Coughing

• Phlegm or congestion

• Dry/tearing eyes

• Dermatological or digestive problems

• And more…

Regardless of the type of symptom, traditional medicine views the cause of this disorder to be a failure of the body to adapt. The remedy then, must not only be about treating the above mentioned symptoms, but helping the adaptation process of the body to complete in live time.

If the nature of a problem is adaption, our next question would then be, “how can we aid the adaptation process?” Luckily, there are many answers to this question. Some, are actions we can take ourselves. Others, require aid by a trained practitioner in the arts of Chinese medicine.

A Simple Exercise: Shaking

Many of the ancient practices of China that have been crafted to assist the body and mind to adapt are not esoteric or outlandish. These practices often fall under the category of hygiene. Though, in this context, we don’t only mean getting cleaner. We mean instigating the vital forces of the body toward a more appropriate kind of circulation.

1. Stand in an even posture with the feet shoulder-width apart.

2. Allow for a very slight bend in the knees (making them “active,” and not locked)

3. Close your eyes and begin gently bouncing - allowing the whole body to pulse and move.

4. Allow the mind to drift to the various parts of the body - especially places of tension. Shake loose any feeling of stuckness.

5. When you feel your practice coming to a close, stop shaking and remain still.

6. Allow the mind to become quiet and feel the residual waves of internal activity.

7. When you are ready, gently re-open the eyes.

This shaking technique is often performed at the beginning of a Qigong practice. Its purpose is awakening the movement of Qi and blood in the body and to release blockages within the channels. The first time you do this practice, it is recommended to do so for only one or two minutes. After you get comfortable with the practice, you can increase the shaking time to five or ten minutes. In certain styles of Qigong practice, adept practitioners will even shake for as long as forty-five minutes to one hour! For our purposes, this amount of time is unnecessary.

The practice of shaking can be done on its own without any other practices or intentions. It can be practiced any time of day or in any season, but it is most beneficial to practice first thing in the morning and in the Spring season. This is because in both of these times be it daily or seasonally, the Qi of nature is beginning to move once again. If we instigate a similar quality of movement in our body, it helps the body to adapt and line up with the quality inherent in nature at that time.

This gentle practice of alignment prepares the fluids of the body for proper balance for that day. If we continue this practice for many days consecutively, it prepares the fluids of the body for proper balance for that week, month, and season. This is an excellent technique to use to help the body adapt to the seasonal transition and prevent complications like colds, flus, and the present of seasonal allergies.

Traditional Medicine Interventions

Depending on the person’s constitutional tendency as well as the status of the vitality in the body, more intervention may be required than simple hygiene practices. The medical interventions of herbal medicine and acupuncture are uniquely equipped to aid a person in this adaptation process to a deeper level. If done well, such interventions can not only alleviate the symptoms of conditions like allergies, but help the body to adapt and therefore, prevent the symptoms from reoccurring in future seasons.

In order for the intervention to work, each treatment must be individualized to the person and their circumstances. All generalized patented formulations and protocols of medicine are flawed. These formulations are unable to comprehend the needs of the person in the here and now. It’s for this reason that we do not recommend any medicines for general supplementation but suggest that each person be evaluated through consultation with a qualified practitioner.

If you are interested in this personalized type of care, click on the “schedule now” button below to book an appointment at our clinic in Portland, Oregon.

If you’d like to read more about how we treat seasonal allergies clinically, click the link below to access our clinic’s allergy treatment page.

Qi Node 10: 夏至 Xiàzhì (Summer Solstice)

Yang Is in Control

Yang qi has finally achieved its position in leadership. For many months it has been growing in strength and clarity. Initially emerging from the heavy weight of the Winter’s dominant Yin, the seed of yang burst from the Earth as the upsurgent growth of Spring. Yang developed and matured as Yin continued to decline — the teenage boy holding grandmother’s hand as they cross the street. By the beginning of summer several weeks ago, Yin had all but vanished and Yang was a young adult, asserting his dominance and sure in his righteous abilities. By the time we reach this Qi Node, Yang has grown into a mature adult. His a leader of industry, a general of armies, the chef de cuisine at a high-end bistro. Yang’s energy is directed, intentional, and forceful. Up early in the morning and late to bed at night, he is able to get things done like no other time in the year.

In modern Western culture, Yang’s characteristics are often the most celebrated qualities we aspire to as people. We are surrounded by popular attitudes that tell us to do more, be more, reach for more; that rest and relaxation, idleness and flights of fancy, are the purview of the weak-willed who are not likely to ever achieve their goals. Even among people who actually take time away from work, DIY tasks, overwrought family vacations, and on-going social engagements fill the space. Thus, Summer seems like a perfect season for our culture, one that we can more intuitively understand and which fits our tendencies more directly. And that is mostly true. Certainly better to be burning the candle at both ends when Yang is available to assist your efforts. But what happens when Yang’s counterbalance, Yin, is so very weak as to be almost forgotten? What do we risk by allowing Yang’s dynamic activity to drive all our activity when Yin cannot restrain Yang’s effects on its own?

Striking a Balance

Like so much of Eastern philosophy broadly, Chinese Medicine and the Daoist/Confucian cosmology upon which it is built urges us toward a kind of reciprocity, a give and take disposition that encourages us to conduct ourselves in such a way as to not allow any part of our experience to pathologically dominate any other. During this Qi Node, that means taking steps to leverage the power of Yang to our advantage while still throttling the intensity that unbridled Yang will bring. It means that we should lean in to the extra energy and motivation many of us have to get up and do things during the summer season: working in the yard, DIY projects, hikes and camping trips, playing with the kids or the dogs at the park. But it also means that we avoid direct sun exposure at the hottest parts of the day. It means that we stay hydrated and take long rests in the shade. It means giving ourselves license to lounge around and it means remembering to eat whole meals even when the weather is particularly warm. All of these more Yin aspects of our daily lives help to protect the hidden seed of Yin Qi while Yang is raging and also serves to anchor some of the strong Yang force so it doesn’t whip into a truly pernicious frenzy and cause health or wellness problems related to heat and toxicity. Just like needing to avoid intense activity in the dark part of winter because Yang is not available to support that movement, so in Summer we must actively engage in Yin nourishing activities because Yin is too weak to restrain Yang on its own.

Yin and Yang are not the Same

While Yin and Yang stem from the same source and they are mutually dependent and mutually transforming, they are not the same thing. Yang is active, moving, hot, and bright. Yang does not want to rest, to sit still, or to stop. It is endless expansion, growth, creation, and consumption. Yin, by contrast, is heavy, substantive, cool, and wet. It wants to contain and to nourish, to fill and to restrain. Yang is resistant to the natural cycle of ebb and flow while Yin relaxes its grip on dominance with relative ease. It is for this precise reason that the time of Yang dominance demands even more caution from us that Yin dominance. The explosive force of Yang qi is disinclined to let go of its superiority as summer wanes and can become reckless and damaging if we expose ourselves to it. While Yin at its height poses danger to good health, it allows itself to fade into spring with infrequent death throes while Yang continues to trumpet its superiority long after it has declined in Fall.

Practically this means that we are more at risk for heat conditions causing acute health problems like heat stroke or dehydration but also for that heat to linger in the body, contributing to heat conditions in Fall and Winter like upper respiratory infections, sinus infections, influenza, and other unpleasant diseases. Additionally, the mismanagement of our conduct during the pernicious nodes of Summer can lead to more insipient conditions like cardiac diseases, irritable bowel, and anxiety but allowing too much of Yang’s defiant nature to linger in our bodies.

What to do

• Design, create, renew.

• Cook outside, not in direct sunlight.

• Eat whole meals, even if you’re feeling hot.

• Drink lots of water with cooling ingredients added like cucumber or lemon.

• Make a salad of fresh garden ingredients like tomatoes, eggplants, and basil.

• Enjoy some fresh cheese and a glass of rose or a cup of green tea.

• Exercise earlier in the day keeping your heart rate from getting too rapid.

• Rest often, in the shade or anther cool place.

Qi Node 9: 芒種 Mángzhǒng (Grain Matures)

This is 3rd qi node of Summer and comes after the 2nd moon of the season. MangZhong finds itself at a crossing point between nascent summer qi and the intensity and grandeur of summer solstice where the potency of Yang is on full display.

As is often the case, the name of this node is a direct reference to the agricultural history of humans and how the rhythmic nature of growing things for survival has shaped our understanding of time and activity. MangZhong is sometimes more literally translated as “Grain in Beard” meaning that the early spring wheat, rice, or millet plants (grains in general really) have matured enough to have a “beard” of individual grains on their stalks. This image is the fulfillment of spring’s promise — that new life and abundance are returning. Here, the grains have grown and expanded and will mean the continuation of the cycle as it is eventually harvested, processed, eaten, and stored over the next several months, leading us back in to the retreat of late fall and winter.

As we mirror this maturation in our daily lives, this is the perfect part of the year to do things. Take trips. Be active. Multitasking is even ok. The planning of Spring is complete and now it is time to execute those plans. Don’t keep planning your jam sessions but instead rehearse diligently for the next gig coming soon. Take that story that has been rolling around in your head for the last few months and put it on paper. Build out that new deck and patio cover. You’ve been waiting and conserving all year and now you can really get in to it.

Your body is supposed to grow and expand just like the grain maturing so stay active, and maintain a strong appetite with a balanced Chinese medicine diet. Two large meals during the day, especially at breakfast, is ideal. Green tea throughout the day and a small and very light dinner serves your body the best. You can make use of light broth soups that are slightly salty in the evening meal position or other easy to digest cooked vegetables and grains.

As always, the Chinese cosmological viewpoint encourages balance and self-control. Even though this is the season for doing, there are risks to this part of the year, just like any other. AS the hot qi of the summer peels away from the wind qi of spring, it can be driven deeply through the pores of the skin and affect the heart and the emotions. Emotional outbursts are more common this time of year and can actually serve to purge some of that accumulated heat, but be careful to not find yourself stuck in a pattern of intense emotional churn. Once the venting is done, further exasperation will cause damage and lead to deficiencies in the coming months. Insomnia patterns can often start during this part of the year too. Make sure your bedroom is cool at night and even through the light is hanging around later, don’t push your own bedtime much past the Sun’s. Remember to breath deeply into your belly and avoid being overly baked in the sun.

Qi Node 8: 小满 Xiǎomǎn (Grain Sprouts)

Yang qi’s transformation from dormancy in Winter through the rebirth of Spring has now finally manifested as a fully mature Yang. At this point in the calendar, much of Yang’s early impulsiveness, and even recklessness, it showed in late Spring has settled down. Yang has a discipline and dedication to doing and growing that shows in the seedlings taking hold in the fields.

For us, the 8th qi node marks a distinct shift toward consistent activity. Get up and move around. Working in groups to accomplish larger tasks is auspicious this time of year, with a greater likelihood of smooth interactions and successful completion. Socialize with friends, enjoy the growing warmth, and involve yourself in things beyond your personal comfort and your routines.

Qi Node 6: 谷雨 Gǔyǔ (Grain Rain)

This is the first of the interseasonal transition nodes in the year. Each season belongs to one of the five Chinese phases of qi movement:

Spring: Wood

Summer: Fire

Fall: Metal

Winter: Water

But what of the fifth phase, Earth?

The nature of Earth is to hold space, to be the literal ground upon which everything else is built. It functions as the counterpoint to the ephemeral nature of Heaven by being solid, heavy, and slow to move. This constancy is exactly what is necessary when the qi of the seasons shifts. Moving from any one seasonal qi to another would be jarring without a stabilizing force. The upward and outward movement of Wood, for example, would be severely exacerbated by the intense vertical nature of Fire and would likely result in stronger heat pathogens, more violent storms, and irregular plant growth that could result in die-offs and less yield. All these problems are prevented by the nature of Earth, which presents at four qi nodes throughout the year, each placed between seasons so that Earth can be a neutral meeting place, a context for one season to hand off its reigns to the next season without jostling for control or position. Grain Rain is the first of such Earth influenced Qi nodes.

Of course, this node has its own flavour beyond being an Earth node. It represents the increasing warmth of Yang qi and thus infuses the growing process with a tendency to expand and to replicate. Blossoms appear everywhere, nectar-rich fruit trees call the pollinators from near and far, and the ground is abuzz with activity, promising future abundance. The booming sound of thunder forecasts a healthy coming season and functions to welcome the potency of Summer Yang Qi.

Now is the time to make your own transitions:
Graduate from school, take that new promotion, move to a new house,
play music, and dance.

Special Note: All Earth aligned transition qi nodes pose potential health problems related to Chinese medicine dampness. For Grain Rain, this usually means Wind Dampness showing as nasal congestion, dry throat, seasonal allergies, and indigestion. In many ways, your experience during this node highlights your conduct from last autumn and your investment in cultivating the qi of Spring. If you find your health to be less than optimal, this Fall will provide you another opportunity to make a shift that could benefit you next Spring. Each part of the cycle gives us insight into the way we have adapted to previous parts of the year and provides the opportunity to conform our conduct to our circumstances. Every moment is an opportunity to leverage our activity and headspace in the service of our own wellbeing.

Qi Node 5: 清明 Qīngmíng (Clear and Bright)

From the equality of Yin and Yang during the previous Spring Equinox qi node, now Yang qi emerges as a pure and glowing pristine version of itself, fully reborn into all its active and moving glory. The lengthening days are very obvious now and there is more energy and motivation to spur new growth and the coming abundance of Summer. Yang is fully leading the calendar now. From this node until Summer Solstice, Yin will continue to fade into the background, which should remind us to be mindful of our Yin resources as they are not as abundant through the warm and energetic months of late Spring and Summer.

Culturally in China and other parts of the diaspora, Qing Ming is a festival time that involves abundant rites and sacrifices for the Ancestors, one of two major festivals focused on respecting the relationship between those that are alive and those that are not. Qing Ming is a celebration of the Revered Dead (Yin aspect), a thank you from the living (Yang aspect) for having made it through another Winter. Graves are swept, flowers laid, incense burned, and stories are told. Simultaneously, Qing Ming festival is a time for planting seeds, flying kites, getting outside, and spending time with friends and relatives. It is the perfect opportunity to remember what has past and be hopeful for what is coming.

Practically, the arrival of Qing Ming marks the perfect opportunity to finally pull the trigger on all the projects, ideas, and activities we have been planning and preparing for. If the weather is harmonious and the frosts have passed where you live, it’s time to start putting some plants in the ground that you prepared these last several weeks. It’s time to begin training for that marathon you are going to run this summer. It’s time to break ground on that expansion or to start producing the test versions of that new product you want to develop. It’s go time.

Remember too though that while the vigorous and moving activity of the warmer seasons can begin with this qi node, your conduct should still crescendo at the summer solstice in June. Learning how to modulate our enthusiasm is one of the great challenges of modern life. We treat a lot of things as on or off; do or don’t; when, in fact, healthy living follows gradual increases and decreases over the course of the year. So even though it’s exciting to finally get to do some of the things you’ve been anticipating since January, slow your roll. It’s happening. No need to shove.

Qi Node 4: 春分 Chūnfēn (Spring Equinox)

Equality of Yin and Yang

At the Spring Equinox, Yin and Yang are equal, insofar as there is an equal number of daylight and nighttime hours on the day of the equinox itself. Yang has been agitating and quivering since the last qi node, and as a weakened Yin submits to Yang’s movement and growth during this qi node, Yang is able to finally stand up on its own. At this point in the annual cycle, Yang has acquired enough maturity to direct itself in a particular direction and no longer needs the direct guidance and control of Yin, now an aged grandmother. Ironically at the moment when Grandma may not remember all the details of the past or when she might be less able to physically engage with the world is exactly the time when young Yang has realized that Grandmother Yin has a lot of experience and wants to take time to ask her questions and have her help him understand his role. When Yin was potent and endlessly supplying this wisdom, Yang was dormant or too young to grasp the importance of its lineage and its heritage.

It is important to note that though we talk about an equality of Yin and Yang at the equinox, we do not mean that there are equal parts yin and equal parts yang in the cosmos. Yin as a force is always the larger and substantive body while Yang is much smaller in scale but more frenetic in power. That is, even at equinox when we think of the force of Yin and Yang having come to some sort of balanced proposition, there is still vastly more Yin than there is Yang in the firmament. Hence the irony in the metaphor from earlier: Yin is touching all things in all directions, and at the moment when Yang is strong enough to take advantage of that knowledge and reach, Yin is less able to provide counsel and comfort.

Using the Natural Rhythm to Prepare Ourselves

While the changing dynamics of the Yin and Yang relationship can read as ironic and unfortunate to our human sensibilities, the reality is that we have observed this change year after year, and we can leverage those observations to our benefit. We know that the short days of winter are a time for introspection and reflection. We know that there is wisdom hiding in the dark hours of winter evenings and that the time often spent with family and dear friends is an opportunity to learn and absorb their experience. We know that has we move into the late days of the Winter season and the daylight begins to return, we will feel the energizing effect of the coming Spring. We know that we will feel more motivated and inspired to “do,” and we know that if we used the Winter to expand our wisdom then we will be able to carry that knowledge into the potent activity of Spring and Summer.

Human beings are the bridge between Yin and Yang, between Earth and Heaven, Terrestrial and Celestial. By virtue of this position we are able to learn and evolve so that the natural movements of the seasons can serve our health and happiness goals — so that we are not the Yang princeling realizing that his aging grandmother can no longer teach him what it is to be a good king. We know that Yin will decline and Yang will return and so we can use each season to reflect on our past efforts, organize our activities, make our hopes manifest, and then gather and store the fruits of our labor.

Conduct of the Spring Equinox

1. Plans and actions are deepened and enhanced

   1. Finalize the garden layout and the summer project list

   2. Start learning a new skill or hobby; do a deep dive into academic or intellectual study

   3. Find new recipes that feel comforting and tasty

   4. Begin the new expansion in your career or your business

2. Winter’s lethargy has relaxed

   1. Start exercising a little more intensely, adding in heavier resistance

   2. Get back to mild cardio for short bursts

   3. Till the garden and move the soil

3. Neigong for the qi node is best at 6am

   1. Face the rising sun and inhale deep into your belly

   2. Imagine that you are inhaling the the pure Yang qi from the sun as it crests the horizon

   3. Watch it flow into your lungs and as you exhale it is pushed throughout your body, refreshing your organs, limbs, and joints.

Qi Node 3: 惊蛰 Jīngzhé (Insects Awaken)

“And the ground began to tremble…”

This qi node is a time of awakened movement, the earliest stirring from life that has been in a state of partial awareness — the half-dreaming quality of the time before sunrise. While the return of Yang qi was marked with the beginning of Spring one month ago, it is not until this qi node that the yang qi has truly opened its eyes and begun to stir. In many places there is a subtle wind that blows regularly but is not particularly strong and has a green, fresh quality that belies the eventual coming of Spring.

This qi node is a significant turning point for many people’s emotional and motivational headspace. In many parts of the world, Winter has an exhausting quality (mostly because we modern people have a hard time embracing the slow and constrained tempo of Winter, and our modern social and economic structures do not allow us to take more time for ourselves and our families in any consistent and impactful way.) But at this point in the early new year, many of us can see the changes in our physical environment enough to know that the Yang we have been craving these many months is on the rise.

Like much of early Spring however, people should still be very cautious during this time of the year because we can mistake the early stirring of Yang qi for its full and mature self, inspiring us to vigorous jobs, hours in the garden, or longer hours at work. Even the smallest taste of the qi that Yang promises us, and we are suddenly trying to put a new roof on our house with only a rickety ladder and an old hammer. Even though you can now feel that something is different, that the warmth of summer is indeed going to return, resist the temptation to immediately start making big moves.

Now is still the time of planning and organization but in a more concrete way than the brainstorming sessions from a month ago. You can start to write the list of seeds and plants you want to buy for your garden, maybe sketch out its layout for the year, take measurements for home or yard improvements and spend time online costing out your projects, hunt online for the best reviews of books for a new hobby you want to start or do some comparative shopping for tool or equipment upgrades you’ve been considering. You can leverage some of this new Yang qi for more focused planning but if a baby reached out to touch the stove, you’d admire it’s tenacity but certainly correct its activity to prevent harm. You are the baby right now.

Dragons Wake from Hibernation and The Winds Return

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Chinese style blue dragon dyed onto silk

There is an ancient image associated with this time of the year as well where the dragons who have been hibernating in the high mountain lakes begin to stir from their deep winter slumber and will soon break through the thawing ice weakened by their agitation. This annual escape marks the return of thunder and lightening to many observed weather patterns and an increase in windy and blustery days. Also, because the dragons represent potent Yang Qi, this classic story reminds us that just as the dragons have brought yang back to the atmosphere, we too can observe the return of Yang to our daily lives in a meaningful and useful way.

With the beginning of Spring one month ago, Yang was a seed just beginning to germinate, but now it is pushing toward the surface of the soil (and maybe the melting snow). As it shows itself above ground over the next few weeks, it will still require tender care and protection from cold and frost just as we humans must ease back into activity and avoid the temptation to run around in shorts and tanktops at the first sign of a sunny day. Yin is contacting from is dominance at the end of January and it’s strength is spent, but that doesn’t mean Yin’s power has completely receded, and unwary exposure to drafts and the stirring winds of Spring can set us up for congestion, headache, watery eyes, and fatigue through out the Spring and Summer.

It is worth noting as well that some of the symbolic representations for this qi node depict the agitation of worms as they wriggle toward the surface of the soil. The movement of these insects stirs the qi of the soil and encourages the seed of Yang to germinate, just as the Dragons’ stirring encourages Yang in the atmosphere. Interestingly, the Chinese word for an earthworm is dì lóng 地龙 which can be translated into English as “earth dragon.” And so form follows function, even at the level of language.

Qi Node Quick Notes

Best Time for Qi

5 am
The hours just before dawn.

Phase

Wood
Movement upward and outward.

Direction of Activity

Neigong facing the rising sun
Don’t exert yourself. Just play and experience it.

Qi Node 1: 立春 Lìchūn (Spring Begins)

Yang Qi Reemerges, A New Year Begins

It might seem strange to have a picture of an icy twig for the Qi node named “Spring Begins,” especially since the name in English comes with lots of expectations of flowers and growing plants and abundance that will come later in the year. But each season in the Chinese calendar begins when the environmental aspects of the previous season recede enough to show the next emerging layer. In this case, the might of Yin Qi reached its zenith in December during Winter Solstice, and though Winter has often felt colder and heavier since then, the truth is that Yin’s expansion after Solstice is driven by the momentum of her growth and not by the potency of her qi. By the time we reach this Qi node, that momentum has been exhausted and Yin qi begins to recede back toward is dark, moist, and nourishing core. As it does so, the retreat exposes the tiniest aspect of Yang qi that has been hibernating deep within the enveloping Yin. This exposure causes Yang to stir and marks the change in the season and setting the stage for Yang’s growth and eventual dominion over Summer.

A NOTE ON THE WEATHER:
Most people associate the seasons with the weather. It’s a totally natural thing to do and often the weather corresponds nicely to certain qualities of the season. But weather is only an aspect of cosmological qi. It is a tangible manifestation of seasonal qi but is not the qi itself. If you live in a cooler climate and you use weather as your primary guide to seasonal shift, then it would be impossible to imagine that Spring begins in February when everything is still covered in feet of snow. Similarly, it was hard for folks in warmer climates to internalize the retreat and cold of Winter solstice when, in many places, they were wearing shorts and flipflops at Christmas. Weather is only an aspect of the qi, not the qi itself. With an increased awareness of this cycle, you will be able to feel the changes in the season irrespective of the temperature or humidity outside and the attitudes and conduct that embody that season will feel increasingly natural even if its 75 degrees outside in December.

Conduct During this Node

Don’t get too excited: While Yang qi has reemerged, it is an infant — weak and dependent on the nourishing presence of Yin. Even though there is a bit more light in the evenings and even though you might feel the slightest lift in your step, it is not the time to start training for your marathon. You can begin to plan your Spring garden, buying your seeds for sowing. You can start to organize your fitness goals for summer and imagine what the training regimen might look like. You can watch some videos about that new hobby you though about over the Winter. But at its core, Spring Begins is just a marker along the annual cycle. One that tells us that change is coming but is certainly not here yet. Going to be early, slow starts to the morning, easy activity, avoiding sweating, and all the usual Winter conduct remains but you can start to get up in the morning ever so earlier.

Renew social connections: much of winter is about retreat and restoration which is often done in small family groups or alone. It was seasonal to minimize social interaction and to not over-extend and so your social interactions are at their most infrequent at the end of Winter. Now it is time to slowly reinvigorate those connections. Have a few friends over for a simple dinner together. Go to a play or a music event with a few people. Start to rekindle the interconnectivity that will help encourage the growth of Yang over the coming. Remember to take it easy though. Baby steps.

Environmental qi is now best around 3am (which emphasizes the continued importance of sleep) and physical activities should remain indoors where it is warm and free of drafts.

What to Do:

• Continue with easy, non-exertive exercise

• Plan your Spring garden. Buy some seeds.

• Crack into your stored pickles from the Fall to access some of that delicious Summer vitality.

• Call your friends for a casual dinner hang

• Check in with your body and feel the very earliest shift toward lightness

• Feel the excitement of the coming Yang but resist the urge to run out into the cold and do too much.

Qi Node 24: 大寒 Dàhán (Great Cold)

Sensing the Coming Change

Less sunlight, cold temperatures, dense rain, and often deep snow are some of the weather-based markers that have indicated this Yin time of the year. As we have talked about in the previous Qi nodes, we have been living in a time of expanding Yin power that came into its own grandeur during the Winter Solstice and has continued to expand itself outward, growing colder, wetter, darker, and more profound. We have talked about fatigue, natural melancholy, and self-reflective nostalgia as the physical and psychological markers that are common to this time of the year. And we have talked about leaning in to the natural rhythms of any part of the year so that we can have the fullest experience available.

Now with this last Qi node of the year, we can start to feel something slightly different from what has been “in the air” for last several nodes. Now that Yin has expanded to its fullest self, it has exhausted the last of its momentum and its decline accelerates. Yin in decay is a much different creature than Yang at the end of its cycle. While Yang can lash out with heat, intensity, and violence, Yin’s death throws are more like a vacuum pulling inward, or a whirlpool in the middle of the deepest, darkest lake.

During this final node of Yin’s dominance, it can be difficult to find our motivation to do almost anything. Activity is exhausting. Creativity is elusive. And feeling like a distinct individual driven toward goals and ends is less certain. It can sometimes even feel like the boundaries between what we are and what everything else is has become looser and less distinct. The great and expansive pool of Yin can dissolve our sense of “I” and turn us into the fertile ground from Yang is about to begin its rebirth. But despite this deep sucking inward, there is a change in the air. The grounds are beginning to shift because Spring approaches.

Navigating the Whirlpool

The wisdom necessary to experience the Qi of any given node without saddling ourselves with any preference or distain for one node or another is sometimes difficult to come by. Because of cultural pressures and sometimes overdeveloped senses of productivity and value, many people don’t want to be decoupled from their goals, however temporarily. And many of them definitely don’t want to feel awash in an eddy of universal inertia spiraling the metaphorical cosmic drain.

And yet this moment exists nonetheless. Feeling the pull toward dissolution and then resisting it is part of the human experience for most of us who remain embodied on this plane. Though some of us may resist less and end up exiting our embodiment, joining the flow of ancestors and history moving in the myriad directions of Dao. But most of us will pass through this cycle of Yin’s decline as we have dozens of times before and as our ancestors have done through countless cycles over countless eons.

Experiencing the “Ghost Nodes”

The feeling of disconnection is what marks this, and many of the Winter Qi nodes, as “ghost nodes.” Here I use the English word “ghost” because it’s perhaps the best word to capture what we’re going to discuss, but, like so many English words, it is loaded with expectations and is overly specific in meaning, especially as it tries to describe much more loose and open ended Chinese concepts. We’re talking here about the Chinese word 鬼 (guǐ) which is a literal ghost (ie the disembodied spirit of a former person), but it’s not Casper and it’s not poltergeist. The transition from living human to ghost is the normal process of dying from a Chinese Buddhist and Daoist perspective. These 鬼 (guǐ) exist as ancestors and continue to influence the living and will eventually “die” a second time as they dissolve into whatever is next for them. If you’re a modern Western person, this might sound something like a soul but that word isn’t quite it. 鬼 (guǐ) are not the “true” version of a person, finally manifest after they cast off their imperfect body. They are not divine in nature, and they don’t retire to any sort of heavenly reward (different Buddhist interpretations might include a Nirvana-peace plane for fully enlightened people, but we’ll stick with the folk Daoist folk tradition here). 鬼 (guǐ) are just people in a new form. Sometimes they last for a while and sometimes they don’t. Depending on circumstances they could also become 餓鬼 (èguǐ) or “hungry ghosts” and those are potentially more malevolent in nature (though still not horror movie ghosts).

One of the key components of 鬼 (guǐ) however, and how they relate to any group of Qi nodes, has to do with their inability to have dynamic human experiences as they did before they died. That is, their patterns become fixed or limited and/or they have a hard time distinguishing themselves from other things around them. This growing inability to define self or discern the nuances of appetite and conduct are key components of 鬼 (guǐ) and ultimately will lead to their dissolution and second “death.” It is even possible for living people to become 鬼 (guǐ) before they die, embracing certain disempowering philosophies or theologies or, on the other end of the spectrum, by overly asserting their “realness;” trying to hold on to power and purpose beyond its correct context. This is a sticky idea. I know.

The important part of the discussion is the idea that “humans” are dynamic creatures with complex and evolving appetites that exist as part of, and in relation to, the movements of the natural world. 鬼 (guǐ), by contrast, are limited in their choices and experiences. Their appetites have limited focus and their conduct no longer embraces the meta-principles of ebb and flow, yin and yang. These last several Qi nodes have taken on aspects of cosmic 鬼 (guǐ). That is, they have eroded our own sense of self and pushed us to confront the realm of past experience, old wisdom, nostalgia, and regret. The potency of these 鬼 (guǐ) qualities is such that it can feel like we will never emerge from the weight of them.

But of course we will. The cycle always continues turning. It is a circle after all, and not a line. Picking a beginning and an end is an arbitrary distinction. But knowing that all the elements of experience create the whole of this cycle is important to remember. January is not July, and each has its own distinct and important contexts to experience and embrace.

Qi Node 17: 寒露 Hánlù (Cold Dew)

Yang Is in Its Final Retreat

Cold Dew marks the point at which Autumn shifts toward Winter. Temperatures are becoming cooler, especially in the mornings when there is an almost icy dew that covers the plants. This qi node marks the finally retreat of Yang as it drains downward and inward toward the vastness of the growing Yin. The quiet that has been the theme of Autumn now moves toward silence.

Historically, outward activity appears to cease. Animals are burrowing in for the coming Winter. Plants are shedding leaves and drawing fluids back toward their centers. Healthy human bodies that had their Yin fluids near the surface of the skin during the Summer to protect against the heat, evaporating as sweat and cooling the system, can now feel that moisture thicken and concentrate, pulling inward, encouraging a kind of conservation of resources that will become the theme of Winter. This transition of fluids has been ongoing throughout Autumn and often contributes to seasonal allergy and congestion in people who have some imbalances at play. Now that process is nearly complete and embodies a kind of slowing and simplifying that are key to a successful Winter.

Conduct During this Node

The key to this qi node is to recognize its call to slow down. Make your morning and evening processes more ritualistic, creating routines to carry you through the coming cold and dark. It is no longer a time for impromptu adventures or unplanned events. Retreat, relax, restore. This is the mantra for the Winter that is about to bloom.

Environmental qi is now best around 7pm and physical activities should be moved indoors where it is warm and free of drafts. Sweating should now be avoided however so that those nourishing fluids can remain internal to support your organs and body systems instead of being drawn to the surface.

What to Do:

• Take in your final harvest from the garden

• Preserve and can the fruits of your labors. Make jams and pickles!

• Restart your sourdough mother for all your Winter baking needs

• Retire vigorous cardio exercise in favor of indoor calisthenics and deep stretching

• Get back into your favourite book or podcast series

• Make a cup of coffee or tea and start letting your mind wander in the early morning

Qi Node 15: 白露 Báilù (White Dew)

Yin Descends to Take Charge

Yang has continued to collapse as part of its regular cycle and is no longer violent and pernicious. The dew begins to appear in the early morning as a whisper of the coming cooler season and its eventual snow. Days tend to still be warm but evenings are increasingly cool as Yang ebbs, and Yin begins to coalesce and strengthen. These cool early mornings are a time for clarifying the edits demanded of the fall season and to appreciate a kind of graspable stillness only available during nodes of nascent Yin qi.

At this point in the year, Yin is like a young girl taking her grandfather Yang by the hand and showing him around his house. He may not remember where he left the paper or the remote or that he needs to cook lunch for himself, but she is his helper. He may not be as invigorated as he was in years past, but she reminds him of his youth and her presence forces him to remember things he thought were lost to time. She, meanwhile, listens to his stories and encourages his reminiscence because there is wisdom she can absorb and integrate into herself as she grows and takes a larger and larger role in daily life.

Activity Moves More Indoors

Outdoor exercise should be minimized and activities that induce a lot of sweating should be edited down. Preserving your body’s fluids during this time of the year is essential, as the fall season is dominated by dryness and a cooling wind that can exacerbate yin deficiencies if we aren’t mindful of our activity. Eating in the evening should grow increasingly light, with meals becoming more vegetable and broth based to supply essential moisture during the dry time. Avoiding eating after 7pm is increasingly advised to avoid overtaxing the waning yang qi who is weakest in the evening phase of the day.

Classical Prescriptions

Enjoy foods from this time of the year. Squashes and final tomatoes. Corn and wheat being harvested. Potatoes before they are prepared for storage. Fill your diet with moist foods and focus your eating to the daylight hours.

If you carry latent heat conditions, especially damp-heat conditions, start your morning with a barefoot walk in the dew. Dress warmly and then go out and take a five minute stroll through the wet grass. Feel the wet and cool entering your body. Then return inside and dry your feet, rub them to get warm, and immediately put on socks.

Continue the cognitive editing you began with the first moon in autumn and begin to organize it into your “intellectual harvest” of habits and activities that will serve you well in the internal and reserved season to come.

Qi Node 12: 大暑 Dàshǔ (Greater Heat)

Yang Can’t Accept Its Decline

Since Solstice, Yang Qi has been on a gradual, annual decline. One month ago, there was no greater potency on the planet than the active and energetic force of Yang qi, and that purposeful and directed energy manifested itself in the human experience. It was warm, hot even, but not scorching. We were ready to get outside to work in the yard; go camping, fishing, rafting; to build that new deck and spend some time enjoying it. We used the intensity of Yang to manifest all the reflection, organization, and planning of the previous two seasons, and its been great. The thing is, Yang doesn’t want to admit that Summer is already slipping away, that fall is quickly approaching, and it does not want to cede its position as Big Dog.

No matter what, the annual cycle moves forward and Yin is about to return, nascent and small, but return nonetheless. Yang has begun to age out and instead of recognizing that his work is done and that he has accomplished so much, he doubles down on his heat and intensity and takes on a quality that the classic texts refer to as “pernicious” (有害 Yǒuhài).

Practically this means that the quality of the environmental heat during this qi node can be particularly harmful. It bakes the earth, forcing the last of Spring rain’s dampness up toward the surface. This thrust of deep moisture helps the summer crops to reach their final stage of maturity, but it also exposes us to a surge of warm dampness that can take hold in humans and cause illness later in the year. The combination of heat and damp is particularly complex to manage because it is a mixed disease pattern manifesting symptoms across various body systems and because this combo makes resolution of symptoms slow and complex. Wildfire and drought become pronounced during this Greater Heat node and even in places where it is wet, storms are more powerful with intense thunder and lightning. Yang refuses to go quietly into the coming darkness.

Conduct during this time of the year

Like so much of Eastern philosophy broadly, Chinese Medicine and the Daoist/Confucian cosmology upon which it is built urges us toward a kind of reciprocity, a give and take disposition that encourages us to conduct ourselves in such a way as to not allow any part of our experience to pathologically dominate any other. During this Qi Node, that means introducing some yin coolness into our bodies through food and drink to counterbalance the intensity of the heat around us. It means limiting vigorous activity after 12 or 1pm. And it means giving ourselves grace and space to soften our moods and resist embracing a flared temper or internalizing a rebuke.

When Yang Is Pernicious, It Can Be Damaging

While Yin and Yang stem from the same source and they are mutually dependent and mutually transforming, they are not the same thing. Yang is active, moving, hot, and bright. Yang does not want to rest, to sit still, or to stop. It is endless expansion, growth, creation, and consumption. Yin, by contrast, is heavy, substantive, cool, and wet. It wants to contain and to nourish, to fill and to restrain. Yang is resistant to the natural cycle of ebb and flow while Yin relaxes its grip on dominance with relative ease. It is for this precise reason that the time of Yang dominance demands even more caution from us that Yin dominance.

Because our modern Western culture has forgotten that not all days and nights throughout the year are the same, people are resistant to the notion that their conduct during a certain time of the year can have consequences for health and well-being at other times of the year. We want to keep going to the sauna during the summer and jogging in the snow in the winter. Of course, your body will try and do what you ask it to do, but remember that you should be more responsible about your demands. Treating every part of the year like every other part will put your conduct at odds with the season and thus require more resources from your system to accomplish whatever task you are demanding, leading to deficiencies and failures in your body in later years. Working with the season serves the ends of comfortable longevity and a life with reduced pain and discomfort.

What to do

• Relax in the shade

• Don’t forget to eat, especially breakfast.

• If you want to skip a meal because it’s too hot, skip dinner

• Drink lots of water with cooling ingredients added like cucumber or mint.

• Simple grains like cooked white rice are extra helpful because of the moisture they contain

• Have some fresh cooling fruits like melons between meals or at least several hours after eating.

• Exercise earlier in the day and avoid direct sunlight in the afternoon

• Take a cooler shower and wash your hair thoroughly

Happy Lunar New Year! The Reign of the Yang Water Tiger

Year Highlights

• Tiger years are years for changes in direction, for passion, for excitement, for doing

• Yang Water quality of the Tiger year will make the Tiger’s natural tendencies even more apparent

• Change is guaranteed but the quality and impact of that change will depend on how we used the stable, predictable energy of the Ox this past year

• It will be easy to get over excited this year and to make quick and passionate decisions. We should lean into those feelings but remember to not let our larger goals be undone by the potency of the Tiger year

And so the cycle begins again, an ever-turning wheel backward and forward through all of time and all of space, pushing and pulling all of creation inexorably through its own experience. Dramatic, right? A little flashy, right? Maybe a little egoistic and overwrought? Well, the Tiger year brings with it a kind of dramatic intensity that we haven’t seen in a while and, combined with the Yang Water modifier, gives us a coming year with a lot of potential for explosive change and intense shifts in trajectory.

In order to understand how this Tiger year is likely to feel, it might be best to put it in the context of the Yin Metal Ox year we just finished. The ox is a beast of burden, focused on getting the job done no matter the weather, the demands, the level of exhaustion. As a year, it is intensely focused on getting through and preparing the way for the next thing to come along. Oxen represent an adherence to tradition, to the ways that things have always been done, and they provide a kind of continuity with the past that is essential for building strong foundations for the future. Oxen are confident and strong, but they are not aggressive, not self-starters.

Many of us felt that plodding quality throughout much of 2021. The pandemic stretched on endlessly, work and activity fell into a kind of complacent repetition and the idea of going out and doing new things, traveling to new places, starting new projects, for many people felt exhausting and distinctly uninteresting. Better to just keep on keeping on. That Ox energy was compounded by the general qualities of the Winter season where we are drawn into reminiscence and nostalgia; reflection and melancholy, by the natural depth and intensity of the Yin portion of the year. By the time Lunar New Year rolled around this year, I know a lot of us were ready for a change.

The Tiger year, in general, is a stark departure from the traditionalist continuity of the Ox year. That this Tiger year is a Yang Water Tiger, further indicates the that the aggressive transformative energy of this year will be even that much more potent. Let me explain:

Without getting too deep in the weeds, it’s important to remember a few basic tenants of Chinese cosmology:

1. There are 12 animals that represent the qualities of a standard 12 year annual cycle: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig

2. Each of those animals is assigned a Yang or Yin Quality and a qi phase (sometimes called element) in an alternating order: Yang/Yin Wood, Yang/Yin Fire, Yang/Yin Earth, Yang/Yin Metal, Yang/Yin Water.

3. The combination of an animal and a Yang or Yin marker and a qi phase creates 60 unique combinations that repeat over and over again. This larger pattern is called the Sexagenary Cycle

This cycle is derived from some complex math rooted in the movements of celestial bodies like Jupiter and the Moon. Those astronomical observations served as pre-modern time-keeping devices and allowed ancient people to observe that seasons, environments, individuals, and societies were influenced by the qi present during their gestations and life spans and that such effects were repeated and somewhat predictable.

Now it is important to note that CHINESE COSMOLOGICAL WORK IS NOT ABOUT FORTUNETELLING. I know we have a predisposition to seeing a discussion of trends, norms, and pronouncements through the lens of carnival charlatans and UsWeekly horoscopes, but instead, try to couch the qualities of any upcoming year or season in your own experience. What do you feel in your body? What is the state of your mind? Are you motivated and if so, by what? Knowing more about the qi qualities of any particular moment in time can help us to compare our experience to what is happened around us and inform us if what we are experiencing makes sense with our context or if it is somehow aberrant, something for us to take a look at and maybe correct.

So back to the Tiger Year. Tigers in general are strong, quick, and aggressive. They are flashy in their coloration and historically, Tigers occupied the apex predator position with humans, often themselves responsible for human deaths. Tigers stalk their prey and can be patient in the pursuit of such a lofty and important goal nabbing their next meal, but by their natures, Tigers pace and stalk, they don’t sit and wait. This behavioural variance is the root of the shift from Ox to Tiger. While Ox was content to walk forward in a straight line, doing what is right and good and reasonable, the Tiger has no such patience. Tiger is ready to move, to do, to pounce. Thus, the Ox helped to carry the energetic hoarding of the Rat year forward to build a strong and resourceful foundation so that the Tiger has the best perch from which to take action.

Additionally, Tigers express complimentary but sometimes opposing qualities. They are primarily solitary creatures, but they have a strong urge to mate. Tigers present with aggressive posturing like growls, glares, and fang-baring but in fact rarely fight among themselves, instead choosing the show over the actual event. Tigers are incredibly quick and strong but also spend a lot of time relaxing and lounging. This type of opposing energy manifests in a Tiger year as well, where we can easily be caught up in something and taken to new places or levels of excitement, but we can just as easily find ourselves bored with the new activity and disinterested, looking for the next big thing. Tigers are a mighty force but are fundamentally unreliable, favoring action and passion over stability and predictability. This propensity for forceful and expansive movement has earned the Tiger image an association with the Wood qi phase (which also has an upward and outward movement) as well as the Yang quality (which is active, agitating, and ephemeral). Thus, all Tiger years are rooted in Yang Wood qi.

All of these Tiger qualities are all the more emphasized because, while all Tiger Years are Yang Wood years, each of them is further modified by its position in the sexagenary cycle, which gives this Tiger Year the addition of the Yang Water quality. In the 5 phase cycle of qi, Water is considered the mother of Wood, providing the necessary resources for qi to transform from the internally focused and contracting quality of water to the expansive and outwardly moving quality of wood. In this case that means that all the natural qualities of a Tiger year (action-oriented, impulsive, impatient, passionate, enthusiastic, dramatic, flashy, etc…) are made more obvious and more pronounced because water encourages wood to grow and expand. Add to that mix the Yang marker for the water part of this Tiger year, and we have an even more potent boost to Tiger’s natural qualities. In fact, the combination of all these particular pieces of the puzzle put the Tiger’s qi into an excessive position, asking all of us to pay extra attention to the flow of our bodies, minds, and emotions in this upcoming year because it will be very easy to be swept up into the intensity of the Yang Water Tiger.

These last few years have been challenging on so many levels and while the Tiger Year promises to help break us out of our rut, exactly which way that break will fall remains to be seen. Change is guaranteed but depending on how solid a foundation was built during the Ox’s tenure, will certainly shape how productive this Tiger change will be. All things must end though so even if the change is destructive and far reaching, it will be part of our challenge this year to incorporate that energy into our experience, not minimize judgement of one type of activity over another, and to recognize that nothing is exempt from the cycle of qi.

Qi Node 18: 霜降 Shuāngjiàng (Frost Descends)

Autumn Collapses into Winter

The retreating movement that has been increasingly dominant during the Fall season reaches a point where the Yin direction of inward and downward is now significantly more dominant than the Yang actions of upward and outward. This qi node marks a distinct change from adolescent Yin into a more mature Yin, one that is self-possessed, knows who it is and where its going. There is no illusion of Summer left.

Like the last qi node of every season, Frost Descends is also comingled with Earth qi. As the Metal of Fall becomes the Water of Winter, Earth stabilizes the pivot point so that one phase can become the next with a minimum of chaos. In truth, Earth is always present, underpinning all of the other elemental phases through the entire year, but it is during the transition points between seasons, where there is a sort of gap in the weave of the phases, that it is easier to see the supportive and holding function of Earth.

Conduct During this Phase

As the temperature continues to drop, it is important to stay warm. But even if the weather is not cold in temperature, stay out of drafts and avoid sweating. The qi is most potent at 8pm during this node meaning that instead of the seasonal qi infusing you with energy for the day, it is empowering the restorative process of sleeping. Rediscover a long evening ritual that culminates in relaxing into bed. Get excited about sleep and the dreamscape that it offers.

What to Do:

• Get all of your warm weather clothes organized and ready for daily use.

• Remind yourself to keep your neck covered when outside and stay clear of drafts, even if you live where the temperatures are not that cold.

• Reduce your screen time in the evening. Stop watching TV or scrolling on your phone at least 1 hour before you lie down to sleep.

• Return to an analog hobby or past-time: reading, knitting, puzzles, painting, journaling, etc…

• Embrace the slow-cooker, focusing on cuts of meat that have bones in them and require long cooking.

• No more raw foods.

• Don’t sweat.

2021: Year of the Yin Metal Ox

Understanding the Chinese Zodiac and Astrological Reckoning

Chinese Zodiac calendar showing the 12 animals and their corresponding BaGua Hexagrams

Like many great civilizations, the ancient Chinese spent time looking up at the sky, both at night and during the day, charting and counting the movements of stars and planets as well as documenting the terrestrial changes of seasons and shifts in the behaviours of plants and animals. These observations were eventually systematized into an analytical and predictive astrological model called the 12 Earthly Branches which, along with another counting system called the 10 Heavenly Stems, forms the basis for the 60-year Chinese calendrical cycle.

The 12 Branches were derived from observing the movement of the planet Jupiter as it orbits around the Sun. Likely because Jupiter is one of the more visible planetary bodies in the night sky, the ancient Chinese were able to observe that Jupiter orbits the sun about every 11.8 Earth years which can be rounded to an even 12 for calendar purposes (the reality that the cosmos does not function in whole numbers is reflected in the occasional need for mathematical functions like leap years to keep January where it is in the astronomical record as opposed to it slowly drifting toward July because of a rounding discrepancy. For more on the science of leap years and astrological adjustment, just find your way to a wikipedia rabbit hole). This number 12 accounts for the 12 months of the year and the 12 year cycle of the Chinese zodiac, now represented by the animals we have all come to know from American Chinese restaurant place mats.

The 10 Heavenly Stems have a slightly less exact origin story but the historical record of Chinese bronze statuary and tools depicting the stems dates back to at least the Shang dynasty (1550 - 1050 BC). Originally, the stems were names used to distinguish the 10 days of the week as well as naming Shang dynasty ancestors whose worship and consultation were crucial to the social and political order of the period. The inscriptions of these Stem names can be found on brass pots and censors along with honorific monikers like grandfather or mother. Exactly why these particular names were used or how they related to the tribal and governmental milieu of the period is informedly speculated but not known definitively.

As time progressed and societies developed and collapsed, the ideas of the Stems and Branches evolved and comingled with other philosophical concepts like Yin and Yang or the 5 Phases. The interplay of these mathematical and philosophical principles eventually coalesces into the sexagenary, or 60-year, Chinese calendrical system that is simply referred to as 干支 (Gānzhī).

The details of the origins for each half of the 干支 (Gānzhī) is incredibly interesting and somewhat complex on its face, but the important take-aways for us have to do with the nuance and complexity that is afforded by a system of astrological reckoning that has so many layers. Because the system is built around a list of 10 things plus a list of 12 things and then dividing that list into 2 sets (yin and yang) and then cross dividing the resulting list by 5 other things (5 phases, sometimes erroneously called elements), we end up with a list of 60 items that each have a particular nuance communicated by its stem, branch, yin/yang, and phase. This cycle repeats every 60 years with the astrological qualities of each individual year recurring in the environment and influencing life and the cosmos.

Interpreting and Applying the 干支 (Gānzhī)

It is important to note that the use of the 干支 (Gānzhī) to inform decision making or to predict outcomes is much more complex and nuanced than googling your Chinese horoscope and not wearing blue that day on the advice of some faceless internet writer (You can see my face by clicking here). A detailed reading of your individual birth chart and how it intersects with the details of any given year is essential to getting useful and actionable information specific to you. But we can talk about the qualities of any one of the 60 years in the cycle in general such that they can be integrated into your regular activity and planning for any given year.

The Ox is the second creature in the 12 Branch reckoning. Though it is worth noting that the entire system is a circle and so picking any point in the cycle and calling it first or second is an arbitrary distinction that has not always been the same throughout history. I think we feel most comfortable making such distinctions because of how we usually perceive time linearly and so it makes it easier to discuss and digest if we give something beginning and end points. I will use words like “first” as I continue to talk about the cycle, but remember that first isn’t more important or representative of a true, singular beginning; it’s just a place to start.

The Ox, in the most basic reckoning, is a beast of burden — a creature that pulls heavy loads and works long hours toward goals and purposes set forth by its human caretaker. The Ox has abundant stamina and ceaseless drive, but its efforts are not quick or impassioned. Its work is diligent, purposeful, and relatively slow. These characteristics mark the nature of an Ox year where grit and fortitude are key qualities to success during what could be a difficult year.

Importantly, an Ox is also a stubborn animal. Sometimes difficult to get moving or to follow even simple commands that deviate from what is “normal,” an Ox can be a trying companion and a difficult tool to wield. Similarly, initial movement can be the challenge of an Ox year — finding the will and drive to get things going. But once there is movement, the Ox is a master of repetition, building momentum through ritual and habit that are the secrets to its seemingly endless supply of energy.

Adding the Specific Layers of Yin 陰 and Metal 金 to this Ox Year

Taijitu 太极图 “Diagram of the Great Ultimate” showing how Yin (black) and Yang (white) flow one into the other and even at their greatest strength, always contain the seed of the other inside.

The added details that create the 60 year cycle from a 12 animal calendar are the addition of a Yin 陰 or a Yang 陽 characteristic and one of the 5 phases 五行 (Fire 火 (huǒ), Water 水 (shuǐ), Wood 木 (mù), Metal 金 (jīn), and Earth 土 (tǔ)). There are thousands of words written in English on the concepts represented by Yin, Yang, and the 5 Phases and over the course of blogs and other entries, we will be able to talk about each of them. For 2021, let’s focus on the two that affect this Ox year.

Yin 陰 is one part of a pair of categories that describe all phenomena in the cosmos. These categories are described as being mutually-dependent, mutually-transformative, and mutually-restraining. That is, Yin and Yang are rooted in each other and come from the same place (mutually-dependent), Yin and Yang are constantly changing into one another (mutually-transformative) and their natures are designed to counter-balance one another (mutually-restraining). That classic YinYang symbol (actually called the Tai Ji Tu 太极图 or the “Diagram of the Great Ultimate”) that was everywhere in the US in the 90s is a representation of these concepts in a single graphic.

For the Ox year, the yin factor suggests a more substantive quality (rather than an action/moving quality) where aspects of the Ox will accented by a tendency toward reflection, rest, and restoration. Once we add the phase into the mix, the story gets even more nuanced.

The Metal Phase 金 can be simply understood as the boundaries necessary for healthy living. This phase gives people the ability to know what is me and what is not me, what is appropriate and what is out of context, what is an open mind what is a closed one. Metal is an essential quality to balancing and navigating the often overwhelming number of inputs that we regularly have to deal with. Like many traditional conceptions of the world, this is just one small sliver of how we can understand the metal phase, but this aspect is especially relevant to our Yin Metal Ox.

So what is the Yin Metal Ox 陰金牛?

It is a year of reflecting on all the madness of the previous year: all the hoarding and frantic accumulation, all the fear and frenetic worry, and all the activity of a Yang Metal Rat (2020) striving to get what it thinks it needs to survive. Then it means taking the understanding derived from this self-aware reflection and plotting a steady course forward, editing the superfluous things gathered by the Rat and organizing what remains toward our goals and hopeful outcomes. And lastly, it means slowly and intentionally working on those goals. The Yin Metal Ox year is a year for doing but for doing in an intentional and methodical way, undistracted by wild passion or intense emotion. It’s not a year for creating things completely new but instead a time for discerning what has worked and what hasn’t and putting those lessons into well-reasoned actions that become habits. It is a year for recovering and rebuilding, for putting things in context for ourselves and for our communities, and for knowing that the cycle always moves forward.

Qi Node 23: 小寒 Xiǎohán (Lesser Cold)

Seeing with More than Your Eyes

Yin is the more subtle of the two interacting forces that shape the world around us. Remember that Yin is substance and form, heavy and deep, dark and complex and also remember that it is fundamentally mysterious. The nature of Yin collects and holds the wisdom of our ancestors, the knowledge of how life was lived and what was valued both for humans on this plane, and for every other being, and every other manifestation on every other wavelength and on every other dimension throughout time, space, and beyond. Woah! If you feel like you need to reread that sentence a few times — I had to rewrite it a few times so that it made any sort of sense at all. That’s because of the very properties of Yin the sentence is trying to describe. There aren’t any words that can capture it completely. How it works in our lives can be glimpsed and sometimes analyzed, but never truly known.

In particular, the dynamic of the 23rd Qi Node, 小寒 Xiǎohán, is even harder to discern. We don’t have the direct experience of an incredibly long night like at Winter Solstice, nor do we have the palpable change in the weather patterns that help us see the movement of Qi in the environment like in late spring or late fall. Instead, much of our ability to understand this node has to do with softer sensations like our emotional needs, our dreams (or lack thereof), and the reminiscence and reflection that move to the fore of this time of the year.

The Imminent Decline of Yin

A classic metaphor to qualify Yin at this Qi Node is the image of a dowager empress acting as regent for her young son. She has been ruling things for several years and her power is absolute (Qi Node 22: Winter Solstice), but the young emperor is getting older and it will not be much longer before she will have to cede the throne to her son. She is still very much in control of her surroundings, but she too is getting older and the knowledge that she will not be able to remain in her post forever is now undeniable.

This narrative helps us to understand the movement of Yin and Yang during this time of the year where Yin is still the dominant force, and its ability to shape everything in our environments is just like the powerful Empress Regent. Yang is young, just reborn at the height of the Empress’s power during solstice and is growing toward self-awareness every day. Yang is still vulnerable though and easily misdirected. It has little of its own identity and relies almost entirely on the nurturing depth of Yin to keep it safe. Yet despite this dependence, the Empress Regent Yin feels the drain of constantly nourishing her burgeoning young Emperor Yang more than she did in the past. Her resources are beginning to wane, and it is time to prepare for transition.

Experiencing 小寒 Xiǎohán

Often people start to inhabit an emotional space called the “Winter Blues” during this time of the year. It now even has a loose diagnosis called SAD or seasonal affective disorder and has been biomedically linked to reduced exposure to sunlight and lower levels of Vitamin D. In response to this biomedical explanation, there has been a proliferation of desktop lamps that mimic sunlight and an increase in supplements of Vitamin D to help “counteract” the effects of the season. Interestingly, even in more equatorial parts of the world where the variance in daily sunlight hours is much smaller than in more polar regions, many people still report feeling more melancholic, less-motivated, and nostalgic or regretful. Our modern desire to avoid these types of feelings has motivated researchers and product manufacturers to create tools to help us minimize these emotions and continually reorient ourselves toward activity and ebullience.

Why we are so driven as modern people to skirt any association with non-exuberant emotion is a much longer conversation of Western (read modern) people’s negative relationship with Yin stuff and the celebration, and even worship, of Yang stuff for thousands of years. For now, let me say that the movement toward inactivity, slower days, longer hours sleeping, deep reflection, a want to apologize for past transgressions, and a sense that there is a deep yawning void “out there” is completely normal and appropriate. It is the nature of Yin to stretch out endlessly in front of us during this time of the year, and as we stand on the precipice of that enormity, it can make us feel small, insignificant, and utterly without value in the great scheme of things. The beauty of looking at the movement of life through the various qi nodes and the seasons is that even in the face of Yin’s disconcerting profundity, we know that its overwhelm is temporary. It is a glimpse at what our, and many other’s, reality is made from and stitched with, but it is not an end in-and-of-itself. In fact, it is this very complexity that creates the nursery for Yang, for activity, for analysis, for execution of tasks and plans. So, sit with your reminiscence. Spend time with your feelings of inadequacy. Embrace your lack of motivation to do big things and make the things you do smaller. Take the experience of your past and the pasts of other people and begin the soft stages of imagining what the next year could be. Weave regret into the fabric of who you are so that you can rely on what it has taught you as you spin the cloth of a coming new year.

Conduct During the 23rd Qi Node

Historically, many Chinese people used this and the next qi node to begin cleaning the interior of their homes in preparation for the socialization of Spring. They spent time indoors and eschewed many social engagements (often because in Northern China it was literally too cold and snow-covered to go outside and travel anywhere), eating foods that had been long-cooked and then reheated or even eaten cold when the dish suited it.

For contemporary people, 小寒 Xiǎohán is an opportunity to think about the coming year. To take it easy and brew cups of coffee or tea to drink as you spend time with yourself or your immediate family and avoid overextending yourself in work, tasks at home, or social obligations. The time for revelry is coming in about a month, but it’s not here yet. Creative efforts should be limited to planning stages and brainstorming, but real creation, especially of anything new, should be tabled until later in Spring. Exercise should be slow and minimal, focusing on stretching, shaking, tapping, and simple calisthenics. Definitely no marathon runs or intense mountain hikes, and minimize your sweating above all else. That kind of vigorous activity demands that Yang qi get up from its nest and rise to the surface to provide the necessary energy and force to get those tasks done, and it is far too young and fragile to have such demands made of it. Yang will respond to your call (you are still alive of course), but the cost to its available resources later in the year will be greater and could reduce the amount of available Yang over the course of your life. It is much better to wait and sync those vigorous types of activities with the right seasons.

Take your time. Take your rest. Appreciate the constantly changing nature of your environment. After all, experience is the point of embodiment.

Qi Node 22: Winter Solstice

Seeing The Qi All Around Us

The movement of qi in the environment is an endless and inevitable process. Yin and Yang are constantly interacting with one another in the smallest of circumstances as well as on a cosmic level. Solstice days are great opportunities to look at the annual cycle when it has more clear definition. That is, Winter and Summer solstice have visible and palpable qualities that virtually any human being can see or experience making it easier to understand what all this discussion of qi movement is really getting at.

The Peak of Yin

Yin is one side of the Yin Yang movement that is represented by various related qualities: Darkness, moisture, cool and cold temperatures, substance, form, heaviness, history, blood, ancestry, rumination, nostalgia. Yin is the definition of substance and it transcends the boundaries of what we think of us the world around us and connects all the substantive material of the universe. Yin qi is profoundly complex and because of that depth, it is intrinsically mysterious. Even if you could stare at it endlessly, analyze it and take it apart, Yin qi would always seem entirely familiar and simultaneously out-of-reach. Yin and Yang both ebb and flow at various times in the year and Winter Solstice is the time when the Yin qi has gathered and matured to fullest self. It is now a powerful feminine force that is both nurturing and demanding.

Winter Solstice marks the longest night and shortest day of the year. In many parts of the world the temperatures are cold and the ground is covered in snow. Even if the weather does not make it as easy to see the strength of Yin where you live, rest assured that the forces at work in our environment are much more potent than the temperature of the air or soil. Even in warm or tropical climates, the qi of the Winter is more retrospective and reserved, demanding that we eat differently, think differently and conduct ourselves differently than we do in the Summer.

Your Food Should Be Warm and Slow-Cooked

Because there is less Yang Qi available in the Winter generally, but especially around Solstice, your meals should be prepared in a way that deeply extracts their stored flavors and natures. Soups, braises, slow-roasts, and simmering are all great ways to use cooking to dig into what is hidden deep, making it available to nourish your body. Season your meats and vegetables with mild, warm spices like cumin, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add some ginger and garlic to your sautee bases or in with your roasted vegetables. Take advantage of the squashes still stored from the end of the summer like Delicata, Kabocha, and Acorn. Drink a slightly salty broth with your meals or make a whole soup several times per week. This moisture helps to keep your digestion running smoothly. Avoid overeating as much as you can. No raw foods, smoothies, or salads this time of year.

Your Conduct Is Restrained

The enormity of Yin at the time of Solstice permeates our environs. People feel nostalgic or homesick, we yearn for connections with our friends and families, we are more oriented to naps and lazy days. These feels and inclinations are right and appropriate at this time of year. Yin gives us the opportunity to nourish ourselves from its depths — the same place that our lineage and memory come from. Even emotions that our Western culture categorizes as negative ones like sadness and regret are appropriate this time of year. Yin in its fullness makes it easier for us to reflect on the past and to glean wisdom from our actions both good and bad.

Significantly, the time around Winter Solstice is not the time of the year to start new projects, nor the time of the year to increase your marathon training regimen. It is a time for soft and mild activity that does not cause a person to sweat, for stretching and breathing. It is a time to imagine the possibilities for the coming year and to slowly organize your thoughts and goals. It is not time to plan exactly, just the time to wonder and hope and imagine. Let your mind be carried into the myriad variations of your life, your family, and your work.

Treating every month of the year as if it were July is like driving your car with your foot pressed hard on the gas. You can do it, but your fuel will not last and in many contexts, your driving will be dangerous. You can keep doing everything you do in the summer all through the winter but it costs more. You will require your diminished yang qi to rouse itself from its hibernation and to flare bright and strong for you to get things done the way you want. It will respond to your call but for how long and to what degree? Are you always fighting fatigue, drinking cups of coffee or cans of redbull? Is your hair thinner than you’d like? Your metabolism slower? your bowels less reliable? These and many more can all be signs of your yang qi being overextended and your body’s lack of yin nourishment. If we do what we’ve always done, we will get what we’ve always got. Can you begin to reorganize your life to allow for more replenishment? For more introspection? How can you take steps to ease the demands you place on your body? It can start with something as small as drinking tea while starting out your front window, thinking about the last time you spent with nothing on your mind.

You Are Enough

Listen to Travis Kern talking with friend, colleague and host of the Acusprout podcast Stacey Whitcomb as they discuss how Root & Branch got started, what it’s like to run a Chinese medicine pharmacy, and what the joys and challenges of this business can be.

Listen to more from Stacey at Acusprout by visiting their website here and then liking and subscribing to her show! Enjoy!