Fall, the Lung and Staying Healthy!

Here we are only one month into Fall and it feels more like Winter.  What does that tell us?  Well, it tells me that I better put my coat on and tune into the environment around me.  The days of eating salads and water ice are behind us; it’s time to break out the sweaters and hoodies and put the tank tops and tube tops (do people actually wear those things anymore?) back into storage. Speaking of storage…we need to start storing our Qi so that we can remain healthy throughout the rest of Fall and through Winter.  How do we do that?  Well I’ll tell you.

So as we begin to observe the world around us at this time what is one of the main things we see?  The beautiful changing colors of the leaves around us, right?  Why does this happen?  The tree is actually beginning to conserve its energy so that it will be able to survive through the darker and colder months ahead.  First it will use up all the nutrients in the leaves, mainly chlorophyll, and then it will shed those leaves as the energy and sap dives deep into the roots. Believe it or not our energetic bodies work in the same way.  In the Summer we are insanely energetic and vibrant; our energy is at its peak at its most yang, we are out and about enjoying the weather and the sun and loving the time of energetic expansion but as we move through Late Summer and into Fall our energy starts to condense and turn inward in preparation of colder/darker months. We need to tune into this shift so that we can stay healthy and not catch cold. 

Fall is the time of the Lung and Large Intestine, it is the time of “taking in and letting go”. In the most basic sense the Lung takes in and the Large Intestine lets go.  (got it?  If not you can call me and we can have a long discussion on how the Large Intestine lets go of things) So how does this relate to your health?  Our Lung is in control of what we call, Wei Qi, it’s our energetic field that keeps us healthy, in Western medical terms it can be looked at as our immunity. As our energy starts to condense and turn inwards so does our Wei Qi and if we are not careful we will get sick.  This is the time when I see people with sinus infections, horrible allergies, chest congestion, sinus headaches and the like. 

So what do we need to do to stay healthy?

• Stay warm (I know but unfortunately summer is behind us so put on that coat)

• Eat warm cooked foods (dairy is not your friend it creates phlegm, now garlic, onions, ginger, horseradish on the other hand are all beneficial to the lungs)

• Slow down a bit (don’t use up all your energy every day, save some for tomorrow)

• Practice breathing exercises (learning to breathe with the diaphragm and relaxing the muscles of the chest and shoulders, can be very effective at building the power of the Lung)
• Get Acupuncture!!!!!

I hope that we all have a wonderful and healthy Fall season.  If this is a time of year that you struggle with never hesitate to contact me to set up a treatment or consultation.

Be Well!!!