Staying Healthy thru the Seasons - Late Summer

Often associated with back to school, late summer, also known as ‘Indian Summer’, is the fifth season in Chinese Medicine cosmology. It corresponds to the Earth element. Earth energy is the mother, or the feminine energy that gives us our grounding and stability. It is also the season of nurturance and abundance.

Now is a good time to pause and pay attention to how the energy has shifted since the height of summer. The temperatures might still be high, but the trees and plants are no longer growing and expanding. Instead, their fruits have reached maturity and some have started going to seed. It is the final weeks of plenty before the energy drops down again.

If you haven’t visited your local farmer’s market lately, I invite you to take a stroll through and allow the smells and colors to flow through your body and spirit. Enjoy the plethora of fresh produce available in all shapes and sizes. Consider canning beets or tomatoes, pickling cucumbers, or freezing peaches and apples for a delicious pie later in the year.

In Chinese Medicine, the organs corresponding to the Earth Element are the Spleen and the Stomach. The color is yellow, the emotion is sympathy/worry, the sound is sing, the smell is sweet. According to the Chinese Clock, the strong time of day for the Stomach is 7-9 AM and for the Spleen 9-11 AM. In Chinese Medicine it is often said that if the digestive system is strong, the prognosis is good. It is considered the foundation of health.

As the energy in nature slowly begins its descent back down into the earth, good questions to contemplate are: What am I harvesting in my life right now? How can I nourish myself before we drop into the winter ahead? If your life is not plentiful, what do you need to do to make it so? What can you nurture to create abundance in your life?

If you are feeling less than abundance of energy and well-being, it may be time to start acupuncture treatments! If you haven't been in for a while, now is the perfect time for your seasonal tune up!