August 8th, 2011. "Beginning of Autumn", the 1st small Autumn season arrives

      From August 8th on, we have entered the season of Fall 2011. This is the first small fall season and the second rain season of the year. Fall is the season of harvest and withdrawing, in body organ it is connected with the lungs. The main character of the season is dryness.


      Being in between of summer and winter, fall contains energy patterns from both seasons and its own as well. In general it can be divided into 3 parts: early fall, mid fall and late fall.

• Early Fall: Also being called "prolonged summer", it carries the heat from the summer, mix with the humidity. During this time period the temperature is still high, lots rains, so we still need to make sure to avoid the harmful heat, make sure to hydrate the body, meanwhile be careful of the high humidity.
• Mid Fall: Less rain and dryer. Hot during the day but cold at night. The main harmful energy is dryness. Dryness hurts the lungs easy, therefore the important thing to do is to nourish the Yin energy, to moisturize the lung and strengthen the stomach. This is the time we will have dry skin, dry mouth, dry cough, hair fall or constipation. Make sure to maintain good humidity level indoor, drink enough water, avoid strenuous actives or over-working.
• Late Fall: Cold air arrives, combines with the harmful dryness. There may be cold wave to drop the temperature suddenly. It is a high season for many health issues such as chronic bronchitis, emphysema, arthritis, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Make sure to add clothes, especially for seniors and chronic patients. Also need to keep a positive mind and mood to avoid depression.

      Fall and winter are the seasons to nourish and preserve the Yin energy. In a sense, Yin energy can also be understood as all types of body fluid. Therefore in this dry season the first step to protect the Yin energy is to maintain a good body fluid level. We can reach that goal by drinking enough water. Also, fall is the time when mother earth offers us all the fruits, so this is the best time to eat some fruit to help the body as well. Many foods also helps with that goal, we will talk about that later on. Another simple way to acquire Yin energy is taking deep breath facing north, as the ancient Chinese believe South is Yang and North is Yin, so energy from north is also Yin.


      The autumn organ is the lung. Lung is like the autumn, which has the metal energy character. According to TCM theory, besides breathing, lungs' main function is controlling dispersing inward and outward, AKA "to rise" and "to drop". "To rise" is shown as sweating, coughing, tearing etc.; and "to drop" refers to the energetic function of lungs to help with urinating and defecating. The energy behind lungs' function comes from the "middle-Qi" or "central energy", which include the lungs and spleen energy.We acquire them through eating and breathing. Therefore to nourish and improve the lung energy becomes obvious and essential.

• Laughing and singing helps lungs to "rise": The emotion of sadness hurts the lungs. Therefore, try to maintain a happy mood, to laugh and sing can "open" the lungs and make the breathing system stronger and healthier.
• Cold training strengthens the lungs: This is strictly depends on the individual's health condition. Stronger people can do exercise in the cold weather, such as run and hike, to training the lungs and make it more durable. But this does not apply to anyone who is vulnerable to cold.
• Shower helps moisturizing the skin and lung: Since lung is connected with skin. To shower right will help to promote blood circulation and communication between lung and skin. The water temperature should be around 25 Celsius, and do not scratch or rub the skin too much.

      There is an old saying that "Cool wind arrives on the day of the beginning of Autumn". Although it is still going to take about another month for the heat to leave, we can start to sense the change of the nature. During this small season, the weather is unstable, one day can be hot and the next is cold. Even during the same day, there may be some cold and hot hours. Therefore make sure to be prepared. The wind is indeed cooler, and there will also be mist in the morning. We should start to adjust our daily schedule by going to bed earlier and getting up earlier. Going to bed earlier will help Yang energy to withdraw better and getting up earlier will help the lungs energy to rise. 


      As the weather being unstable, so will be human emotions. This is the beginning of "gloomy season" to some people. Human is part of the universe, so universe changes will affect human regardless. In autumn, human immune system will be weaker, plus the weather change, it makes us to get sick easier. Emotionally, when seeing the falling leaves and fading flowers, feeling the cold wind and rain, we simply become sad. No one wants to feel sick and sad at the same time, but if we don't do the right things this may happen. This is the risky time for depressed people. Therefore besides stay healthy and strong physically, to do activities that bring good mood is also the important part of autumn health preservation.


      Food wise, to fit into the withdrawing energy pattern, we want to eat food that helps the body to "close" and withdraw, instead of "open" and release. Sour taste is the taste to go after, many fruits offer that. Hot and spicy foods open and dry the body; they are the food to avoid. Also eat foods that nourish the Yin energy to fight the dryness.

• To Eat: Warm water, juice, light tea, soy milk, pear, orange, grape fruit, cucumber, tomato, radish, lotus root and seed, tofu, honey, sesame, sticky rice.
• To Avoid: Hot and spicy, bitter taste, garlic, scallion, onion, greasy food, hard liquor, deep fired food, puffed food. Also eat less melons, like water melon or honeydews, because melons in autumn are too cold for the stomach, overeating can cause gastro-intestinal issues like diarrhea and stomach cold.