May 21st, 2011. "Grain Fills", the 2nd small Summer season arrives

      "Grain Fills" is the 2nd small summer season and the 1st small hot season. The celestial longitude reaches 60 degree. From now on the temperature will reach a new high level. But meanwhile the amount of rain will increase too, and it can still be cold during early morning and at night, also after rain. Make sure still cover yourself well during sleep to avoid catching cold.

  
      It is recommended to go to bed later but get up earlier. Here the "late" only means about 10pm in ancient time, or soon after sunset. As the sun rises early, so should we. This will guarantee us to take full advantage of the summer Yang energy. However, in these days if we do so, some of us may feel sleepy or tired during daytime. One way to adjust it is to take short naps during day time. That is noon nap for most of us. It doesn't need to be long and try to lie down instead of resting your head on the table or desk. Resting or sleeping on desk can cause temporary low blood pressure and lower the blood supply in the brain, which can make us even more tired. If you really don't have the luxury to take a good nap, you can at least take a short walk or meditate.
      
      Besides the heat, this is also a season with high humidity and sometimes wind. One common issue is skin problem such as rashes and rubella. TCM considers these issues have several causes:

1. Internal humidity meets external heat wind or cold wind, the "battle" takes place under the skin level therefore causing reactions.
2. "Overheated" stomach meets harmful wind, internal heat "trapped" at the skin level then cause reactions
3. Taking too much rich or heavy food that produce too much fluid inside the body, then being heated by body heat, the fluid starts to surface thus cause reactions.

Although they seems to be different, we can still see the common reasons which are:

1. The skin doesn't "breath" right. This is usually caused by cold. When the skin is hit by cold, pores will close.The solution is to make sure stay warm even in a hot day so you can sweat well. That is to allow the skin "breath" better so you will not retain fluid either. Avoid too much cold drinks and possibly try not to use air conditioner too often.
2. Too much unprocessed energy stays inside of the body. This is usually caused by inappropriate food. The solution is simple, eat light and mild food meanwhile take good care of your digestive system.

      Recommended foods include red bean, barley, green bean, cucumber, celery, water chestnut, black wood fungus, carrot, tomato, water melon, yam and fish. Avoid heavy and rich food such as fat, too much seafood, deep fried food, strong spices (raw garlic, scallion, horseradish, hot pepper, etc), especially for those who are not in ideal health condition. 

May 6th, 2011. "Beginning of Summer ", the 1st small Summer season arrives

      Many of us consider Summer solstice (around June 22nd) as the beginning of summer, but the Chinese sees that as the "peak" of the summer. And since that day on, Yang energy starts to drop and Yin energy starts to grow. Back to the real "beginning of summer", which indicates the end of spring and the beginning of summer season. This is also the last warm small season, and next small season will be the starts of hot season.

      For human beings, summer is the Heart (and small intestine) season. Ancient Chinese believed that summer energy directly connect and interact with our heart energy. Naturally, how to take care of our heart will be the main topic throughout the whole summer season.

      TCM describes heart as the "master of the body" or "the emperor of the organs". And heart is the "house" of human's soul or spirit. Therefore the word "Heart" in Chinese (心）has 2 meanings: the actual physical heart and the mind or consciousness (the acceptances or reactions to the external environment, such as mental activity, thought and emotions).

      Functions wise, heart is in charge of blood and pulse, also emotions ("Shen" 神, in Chinese). The first part is easy to understand as that is the known physical functions of the heart. Heart is also the organ of emotions, as we mentioned earlier that heart is the house of souls or spirits. In general sense, "Shen"(soul or spirit) means the external expression of human life, such as body shape, face color, eye expressions, speech, response, body languages or so. In narrower sense, it means the emotion, mental activities or consciousness. "Essence" is the material foundation of both human life and "Shen". "Shen" originally come from the "congenital essence" when the embryo is formed. During growth our Shen is supported and nourished by food and water we have. Shen also have two physical functions: 1, under normal condition, it accept and react to objective stimulations to conduct mental, conscious and emotional activities; 2, it acts as the master or conductor of life activities, therefore it is considered as the emperor of all other organs. All other organs work coordinately under the orders of the heart.
      
      Although summer has officially arrived, the temperature can still be low in early morning or late at night, and very different from day time. Therefore don't be too "excited" about the hot daytime and forget to wear enough for nighttime. Also, take full advantage of the summer Yang energy by going to bed a little bit late (not late late) and getting up earlier (with sun rise). A short nap at noon will be even better if possible. As the summer energy increases, we human beings sometimes are easily irritated. Therefore another key method for summer health preservation is "calm-cultivation". Try not to have strong emotional impacts, especially extreme excitement or anger. Do some activities that will calm the body and mind such as gardening, walking, fishing, meditating, Yoga, and Tai Chi. Summer is the heart season and "happiness" is the heart emotion. Stay in a happy but calm mood is the best way to communicate with your heart energy and nourish it. For body fluid, heart is connected with sweat, or we can say sweat is the "heart fluid". In this sense, according to the balanced theory, we DO need to allow our body to sweat in order for us to fit into the summer, meanwhile we also need to make sure that we do not over sweat so we won't lose our "heart fluid". Drink enough water to stay hydrated. During this small season (1st summer season), only milder exercises are recommended.
      
      Regarding food, as this is the time when our liver energy is getting weaker but heart energy getting stronger, the main rule is to help the kidney energy and balance the stomach energy. Lite and mild food is always recommended, plus food that are low in fat, high in fiber and easy to digest.