August 7th, 2012. "Beginning of Autumn", the 1st small Autumn season arrives

    In 2012, the season of "Beginning of Autumn" arrives on August 7th. Celestial longitude: 135 degree. For some of the seasonal information please read this article from last year.

   There is no additional information for this small season at this moment.

July 7th, and July 22nd, 2012. "Light Heat" and "Severe Heat", the 5th and 6th small Summer season arrives

    In 2012, the season of "Light Heat" arrives on July 7th. Celestial longitude: 105 degree. The season of "Severe Heat" arrives on July 22nd. Celestial longitude: 120 degree. For some of the seasonal information please read this article from last year.

    Here are some additional information:  


    Speaking of drinking water, we do it every day and it seems to be too simple and even hasty. Good thing is that there have been more and more researches and discussion done on this topic. TCM always has opinions about how to and what to drink. Here are some tips for these couple hottest seasons:

1. Drink boiled cool or warm water. TCM advocates boiled warm water since ancient times and modern research results had also shown that boiled water has better structure (physical and chemical) for human body cells to absorb compares “raw” water. 
2. Plain water is the best drink in general. Everyone can drink plain water. Most people can also drink tea to take advantages of its health benefit. But different tea affects the body differently, so finding the right type of tea for you is as important. Juices also provide good amount of water for the body, but commercial juice products sometimes contains additives that are harmful. 
3. Temperature. If you have read enough of my writing then you know I’m all about warmer water. I do share this theory with people around me as well, but sometimes people just wondering what the actual temperature of warm water is. It is a tricky question because, again, everyone’s body condition is different so there is no fixed answer for it. Scientifically, or theoretically, for normal body condition the good temperature range is between 10-30 ℃. 
4. Salty water. When sweating too much, it is helpful to drink some light salty water. Commercial sports are usually salty is for the same reason, but again, additives can bring negative effects in a long run, it is always safer just drink you “homemade” salty water. 
5. Varieties. If you go to the water or drink sections of a supermarket, you always wonder, “What are the differences?” Well, I do the same so I’m not able to tell you exactly. But what I do recommend is drink various types of water or drink. Just like food, water from different source provides different energy force to the body, and we are working on creating a balance in our system.

June 21st, 2012. "Summer Solstice", the 4th small Summer season arrives

    In 2012, the season of "Summer Solstice" arrives on June 21st. Celestial longitude: 90 degree. For some of the seasonal information please read this article from last year.



    Here are some additional information:

    In TCM the Spleen-Stomach system is actually quite different from the Western medicine spleen-stomach system. Basically, the TCM spleen-stomach refers to the entire digestion system and spleen is related to body dampness the most. During the humid summer season, the spleen can be easily harmed. So during the rainy summer season we need to take extra care of the spleen system. The spleen-stomach system is considered as the “mother earth” for our energy system. After born, human’s life activities depends on how well does the spleen-stomach system process and transport the food and essence. Everyone was born differently, some are stronger than others. But if one takes care the spleen-stomach system well, one can still be as strong and lives a healthy life. For teenagers who are growing fast, eat more meat will help the system becomes stronger, but for seniors, massage the belly area (around navel area) works better. If you feel nauseous and have bad appetite in the hot days usually it’s because the spleen system is harmed by internal dampness. Mint and ginger root are the food remedies to go with, plus all kinds of beans. And again, spleen-stomach system likes to stay warm, but summer time most people would treat it in the opposite way. This is a common mistake we make. Try to stay on the warmer side, meaning if you have lots cold, you need to more heat to balance it.

    Since Yang energy reaches its highest level in this season, our body is affected in that way as well. Hypertension is one of the issues. There are too many information we can find about hypertension, here we will just share several simple tips from the TCM perspective: 

1. Avoid heavy physical activates and do not drink alcohol at noon time. Take a short nap and meditate if possible. 
2. Make sure to hydrate the body. We sweat more in the summer and this will make our blood thicker and flow slower. So make sure to drink good amount of water. 
3. Adjust your medication accordingly. Since the external temperature is high, our blood vessels sometimes expand and lower the blood pressure somehow. Also, when sweat we will lose more electrolyte. Many factors may change your needs for the dosage. Make sure to consult with your physician if you sense any difference. 
4. Sleep well. Try to follow a regular life schedule and make sure your mind and body rest enough. Remember noon and midnight is are the most important sleeping time.

June 5th, 2012. "Grain in Ear", the 3rd small Summer season arrives

    In 2012, the season of "Grain Fills" arrives on June 5th. Celestial longitude: 75 degree. For some of the seasonal information please read this article from last year.

    Here are some additional information: 


    As the temperature and humidity keeps increasing, chances of people getting infectious diseases increases as well. In Chinese traditions, starting from this small season into the next 30 days is called “the hundred-poison month”. Some insects, especially mosquito start to become more active, along with the humidity and heat, people gets infected much easier. Although it sounds serious, the ways to avoid get it is not hard. First, maintain good personal hygiene. Make sure to take shower in time, change clothes often and clean the living area well. Second, eat light food and sleep well. Eat light and fresh food to give your body a clean and active condition; sleep well to make sure our immune system is in good shape. 

    During this humid and hot season, many of us, either actively or passively, tend to use air conditioner quite often. Air conditioner no doubt was one of the greatest human inventions, but just like everything that exists, if there is one side, there must be another side. Many health problems are also directly or indirectly caused by using air conditioner. But the true cause of our health problem is actually the decline of some our body mechanisms. As we have mentioned, spring and summer are the seasons to nourish our Yang energy, which will “surface” to skin level during summer seasons. Air conditioner creates a unnatural cold environment that will suppress and harm our surfaced Yang energy thus cause many internal issues such as cold, skin diseases, joint pain and digestion issues. TCM sees “air conditioner syndrome” being the result of harmful cold invades the body system. Therefore the way of treating it is very clear and simple, that is to remove the cold from the skin level and dampness from the internal organ system. 

    Here we recommend a very simple and effective food remedy, fresh ginger root tea (drink). Ginger root is known for its functions of sweating, removing cold, warming the stomach and detoxing. If you use or have to use air conditioner very often, make this drink by simply slicing the ginger root into small pieces and steeping them with boiled hot water. You can also add a little bit of brown sugar or honey. With this drink you will feel heated and start to sweat, but this is the process of both the internal virus and cold being removed. When you have a cold or stomach issue you can also use this drink as the food remedy.But please remember, although it is a nice drink itself, the best time to drink it is morning or before noon time, drink much less or not at all in the afternoon and evening, especially before you go to bed. Also if you surfers from joint or muscle pain, you can make a bigger portion of this drink but use a warm towel to apply externally to the painful area. After all, the basic rule is to try to use less air conditioner possible.“A cool mind makes a cool body” is the ancient saying. Maintain a balance emotional condition is just as effective as a nice breeze of cool air.

May 20th, 2012. "Grain Fills", the 2nd small Summer season arrives

    In 2012, the season of "Grain Fills" arrives on May 20th. Celestial longitude: 60 degree. For some of the seasonal information please read this article from last year.

    Here are some additional information:

    As the heart (pericardium) being the seasonal organ, summer time is the season to nourish the heart system. The taste of the heart system is bitterness. In the hot summer days, bitter taste can enter and balance the heart system. In TCM this is known as “lowering the heart fire with bitterness”. When the heart system is cooled down in the summer, our entire body will feel right. This is the general rule but since bitter foods are usually cold in nature as well, so they are not recommended for those who has stomach issue (especially cold related).

    We love raw and cold food or drink in the summer as they make us feel cooled down and comfortable. But during early summer time as the weather and temperature has not stabilized yet, too much raw and cold will harm the digestion system and cause many related symptoms, especially for children and seniors. However, if we learn more about them and take them in the right way, these food and drink will then benefit us. First we need to know what are “raw” and “cold”. In general foods and drinks that are not cooked on fire are “raw”, such as fruit, vegetable, raw fish, raw meat and mineral water. Foods and drinks that have been stored in the refrigerator for a while, they are “cold” when being taken out of the refrigerator, such as leftover food, ice cream, cold drinks and yogurt. Here are some general tips about these foods and drinks.

1. Young children should not take “cold”, but some “raw” is ok. Young children are high in Yang energy, this strong Yang energy can help children to process the “raw” food without harming the digestion system. But “cold” food holds more cold energy therefore the chance of the cold staying inside the system and harm the spleen and liver system is higher. But if after heavy outdoor activity then take some “cold” drink or food is ok as the cold will be released with the sweat. 
2. One common mistake we often make is to drink “cold” during meal. It feels refreshing but internally it will lower the temperature of the stomach. Low temperature cause reduction of the stomach acid secretion and this can cause digestion related issues like bloating and chronic stomach diseases. Also, as the acid level decrease, more bacteria can survive then enters the intestinal system and cause diarrhea, typhoid and enteritis.

May 5th, 2012. "Beginning of Summer", the 1st small Summer season arrives

    In 2012, the season of "Beginning of Summer" arrives on May 5th. Celestial longitude: 45 degree. For some of the seasonal information please read this article from last year.

    Here are some additional information: 

    
    During fall and winter seasons we have talked about nourishing the YIN energy, when comes to spring and summer we will focus on how to nourish the YANG energy. The 3 summer months of the year have the strongest YANG energy, if we take advantage of these months we will receive stronger result, especially for those who suffer from cold and dampness related symptoms. Ancient wisdoms taught us that during summer we should NOT “loathe” the sun. No one really loathe the sun but today we do lots of thing to avoid it such as use air conditioner all the time, intensively usage of sun blocker, drink and eat cold, and sleep in the cold. Moderation is always the rule of thumb, enjoy the sun and heat doesn’t mean you have to be burned and have heat stroke. Simply try to use less air conditioner, especially in the car and bedroom (the 2 places where you have more control of). Also eat and drink less ice cold stuff. Sunlight is the ultimate source of YANG energy, and the best time to be in the sun is morning time around 9-10 o’clock when the temperature is mild and the oxygen level is high. So during this time go to the park or forest, facing the sun doing some aerobic exercise will be ideal.

    
    During noontime and midnight hours, our body’s YIN and YANG energy is doing the transition. The best thing we can do to NOT bother the transition is sleep. During summer time, as the heart being the main organ and its hour being 11am to 1 pm, a noontime nap becomes more important. Having a good noon nap not only will help us avoid the harmful noon heat, also recover us from the fatigue. Summer time the day is longer than night and people tends to go to bed much later and not have enough sleep. In order to increase the resting time for our body, a noon nap is necessary, especially for seniors who often have less deep sleep at night. On the other hand, 1pm to 3pm are usually the hottest time of the day. Too many activities during the hottest hours can cause harm on general body energy which can result in symptoms like dizziness, chest pain, heart-throb, dry mouth, nauseous and even fainting. Noon nap can pull us away from this heat and also ease the drossiness and fatigue caused by lunch. Here are some simple tips regarding noon nap: 

1. In general 30 minutes to 1 hour is the proper time for noon nap. A long nap can instead make people more tired and even increase the risk of stroke for some people. It can also affect our biological clock and lower the regular night sleep quality.
2. Do not lay down right after lunch. This will interfere with the digestion process and cause blood pressure drop or low blood supply in the brain. The correct way is to rest or slowly walk for 10 minutes after lunch then go take the nap. 
3. When we sweat more our blood becomes thicker and this is the predetermined condition for many symptoms. Make sure to hydrate your body well and avoid draught and damp cold area.

April 20th, 2012. "Corn Rain ", the 6th small Spring season arrives

    In 2012, the season of "Corn Rain " arrives on April 20th. Celestial longitude: 30 degree. For some of the seasonal information please read this article from last year.

    Here are some additional information:

    
    Again, as liver-gall bladder system being the organ system of the season, many symptoms are related to its condition. We have talked about the nature of the liver is “grow and express”, but the universal energy of this final spring season is usually very unstable. Caused by the quick switch between cold and heat or sun and rain, the liver system has to work hard to adjust itself in order to fit in. But due to many factors in life, especially emotional factors, our liver system often gets disturbed therefore interfered with its “grow and express” activates. When this happens, many liver system related symptoms will occur. Here we will just talk about more about depression. Like all the plants will grow with the spring energy, human energy shall be the same. However, when liver energy is “trapped” or “blocked” for whatever reason, it’s like a tree is being covered by a huge glass jar, many physical and mental symptoms will show. Depression is one the most common ones. TCM will treat depression through healing the liver’s “grow and express” function. Besides using herb or medications, here are some tips we can use in daily live to help ourselves with or at least prevent depression:

1. Look far. Literally, look into space or as far as possible. Sounds simple but as liver system opens at the eyes, adjust the eye can affect the liver system. We feel relaxed and refreshed when we do this, and this is the feeling when our liver energy is being “stretched” as well. 
2. Comb hair. Liver meridian energy ends at the very top of the head and all other Yang meridians also pass the head area. TCM call the head as “the meeting area of hundred Yangs”. Combing the hair often, using wooden comb or just your figures, is one of the oldest health preservation method in Chinese traditions. This simple activity can stimulate the meridians, increase the blood and energy flow, prevent common cold, brighten the eyes, improve sleeping quality and of course help the liver energy to function better. 
3. The figure tips. The very tips of all fingers are called “shi xuan” (ten dispersing points) in TCM. In acupuncture they are used in acute or emergency situations like restore consciousness (especially from heat stroke), epilepsy (excess wind type), coma and high fever. But by stimulating them often can also adjust our physical and mental energy flow, and release the “trapped” energy in our system 

    Back to the nature, in early spring seasons (Spring commences and Rain water) most of the health issues are often caused by wind and cold; In the middle spring (Insects awaken and Spring equinox) recurrence of old chronic is the main issue; Being the ending of the spring seasons, this is the season when people often catch cold that caused by heat and wind. Under warm and damp condition, many factors that can cause illness are being very active. Most diseases in this season are acute and heat-related, such as encephalitis and pneumonia. Everyone remembers SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, which was related to high dampness and heat condition according to TCM) in the year of 2003, and this was the season when it was at its most severe stage. So during this season we need to be cautious about catching heat and wind related cold. Mint or chrysanthemum tea are the easiest food remedies and if possible, burdock root is one of the best vegetable we can take in this season.