Thursday, December 6, 2012
December 7th, 2012. "Heavy Snow", the 3rd small winter season arrives
In 2012, the season of "Heavy Snow" arrives on December 7th, 1:18 am China time zone (+8). That is 12:18 pm Eastern Time (-5) on December 6th .
Celestial longitude: 255 degree. For most of the seasonal information please read this article.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
November 22nd, 2012, "Light Snow", the 2nd small winter season arrives
Happy Thanksgiving.
In 2012, the season of "Light Snow" arrives on November 22nd, 5:50 am China time zone (+8). That is 4:50 pm Eastern Time (-5) on November 21st .
Celestial longitude: 240 degree. For most of the seasonal information please read this article.
This is when we enter the last energetic section of this year, please go back to this article to have a quick memory-refreshing read about the energy pattern of 2012.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
Excerpt from "Huang Di Nei Jing" about winter health preservation
The following text is excerpted from <<Huang Di Nei Jing>>-"Su Wen", Chapter 2 : "Si Qi Tiao Shen Da Lun". Although it is short, it covers the core spirits of how to live healthily in the winter season.
"冬三月，此謂閉藏，水冰地坼，無擾乎陽，早臥晚起，必待日光，使志若伏若匿，若有私意，若已有得，去寒就溫，無泄皮膚使氣亟奪，此冬氣之應養藏之道也。逆之則傷腎，春為痿厥，奉生者少。"
Directly translated as:
"...The three months of winter, they are mean to be covered and concealed, water is frozen and earth is torn, do not disturb the Yang energy, go to bed early and get up late, must wait for the sunshine, keep the mind and spirit inside the heart comfortably, like keeping your private treasures you acquired, stay away from cold and stay warm, keep the skin closed and covered well to protect the Yang energy from leaking out, this is the way of hiding and storing in the winter. If disobey the kidney energy will be harmed and it will not be able to provide energy foundation for spring, there will be tendons related disease and the directions of energy flow will not be right, very little energy for birth will be provided..."
The key words of winter are "hide and store". The word "winter", in Chinese "冬”, also means "the end". After going through the previous three seasons, many plants will fade and die for the winter, and animals will either hibernate or migrate. Human as the "lord of creations" can actively modify the environment and living condition to survive the winter. Besides wearing warm clothes, heating up the house, "hide and store" also means to avoid being overactive and going outside too often.
"...do not disturb the Yang energy.." is the goal and basic requirement of winter health preservation. Yang energy in general is the force of life activities, and in order to preserve it, we need to follow these rules :
"...go to bed early and get up late, must wait for the sunshine...". Go to bed early to avoid the cold energy of night, get up later and wait for sunshine to warm of the cold air from the night before going out for activities.
"...keep the mind and spirit inside the heart comfortably, like keeping your private treasures you acquired...". This is the suggestion from the mental and spiritual perspective. The purpose is the same, to keep and protect the Yang energy. Mental and spiritual activities all consume energy, that's why this statement is brought up to emphasize the importance of cultivating the mind and spirit and its possible impact to the physical body.
When you "...stay away from cold and stay warm...", also "...keep the skin closed and covered well to protect the Yang energy from leaking out...". Here, "keep the skin closed and covered", has two meanings - wear proper clothes, and do not sweat too much or too often. I have mentioned in many articles about sweating being a way of releasing or losing the Yang energy. This brings up an old article I had about my opinions towards exercise in the winter. Every individual is different, I speak for the majority. The bottom line is, find out what type of the health condition do you have before looking for exercises to do.
"...If disobey the kidney energy will be harmed and it will not be able to provide energy foundation for spring...". Kidney is the winter organ and its energy character is "concealing and storing" the primordial and acquired energy. If the Yang energy is disturbed or harmed in the winter it will affect the kidney system first. Without good energy storage in the winter, the kidney system will not be able to provide the vital energy for the body to "birth" again in the spring. If this happens, then:
"... there will be tendons related disease and the directions of energy flow will not be right...". Liver is the spring organ and liver is the "son" of kidney. When the liver system does not receive enough energy from the kidney system it will affect the tendon system (liver is the organ that is in "charge" of the body tendon system). Symptoms can include weakness of tendons and muscle, and impotence. "the directions of energy flow will not be right" generally refers to symptoms of body temperature imbalance or circulation issues, such as cold hands and feet, hot flush, or even fever and flu caused by harmful heat.
"冬三月，此謂閉藏，水冰地坼，無擾乎陽，早臥晚起，必待日光，使志若伏若匿，若有私意，若已有得，去寒就溫，無泄皮膚使氣亟奪，此冬氣之應養藏之道也。逆之則傷腎，春為痿厥，奉生者少。"
Directly translated as:
"...The three months of winter, they are mean to be covered and concealed, water is frozen and earth is torn, do not disturb the Yang energy, go to bed early and get up late, must wait for the sunshine, keep the mind and spirit inside the heart comfortably, like keeping your private treasures you acquired, stay away from cold and stay warm, keep the skin closed and covered well to protect the Yang energy from leaking out, this is the way of hiding and storing in the winter. If disobey the kidney energy will be harmed and it will not be able to provide energy foundation for spring, there will be tendons related disease and the directions of energy flow will not be right, very little energy for birth will be provided..."
The key words of winter are "hide and store". The word "winter", in Chinese "冬”, also means "the end". After going through the previous three seasons, many plants will fade and die for the winter, and animals will either hibernate or migrate. Human as the "lord of creations" can actively modify the environment and living condition to survive the winter. Besides wearing warm clothes, heating up the house, "hide and store" also means to avoid being overactive and going outside too often.
"...do not disturb the Yang energy.." is the goal and basic requirement of winter health preservation. Yang energy in general is the force of life activities, and in order to preserve it, we need to follow these rules :
"...go to bed early and get up late, must wait for the sunshine...". Go to bed early to avoid the cold energy of night, get up later and wait for sunshine to warm of the cold air from the night before going out for activities.
"...keep the mind and spirit inside the heart comfortably, like keeping your private treasures you acquired...". This is the suggestion from the mental and spiritual perspective. The purpose is the same, to keep and protect the Yang energy. Mental and spiritual activities all consume energy, that's why this statement is brought up to emphasize the importance of cultivating the mind and spirit and its possible impact to the physical body.
When you "...stay away from cold and stay warm...", also "...keep the skin closed and covered well to protect the Yang energy from leaking out...". Here, "keep the skin closed and covered", has two meanings - wear proper clothes, and do not sweat too much or too often. I have mentioned in many articles about sweating being a way of releasing or losing the Yang energy. This brings up an old article I had about my opinions towards exercise in the winter. Every individual is different, I speak for the majority. The bottom line is, find out what type of the health condition do you have before looking for exercises to do.
"...If disobey the kidney energy will be harmed and it will not be able to provide energy foundation for spring...". Kidney is the winter organ and its energy character is "concealing and storing" the primordial and acquired energy. If the Yang energy is disturbed or harmed in the winter it will affect the kidney system first. Without good energy storage in the winter, the kidney system will not be able to provide the vital energy for the body to "birth" again in the spring. If this happens, then:
"... there will be tendons related disease and the directions of energy flow will not be right...". Liver is the spring organ and liver is the "son" of kidney. When the liver system does not receive enough energy from the kidney system it will affect the tendon system (liver is the organ that is in "charge" of the body tendon system). Symptoms can include weakness of tendons and muscle, and impotence. "the directions of energy flow will not be right" generally refers to symptoms of body temperature imbalance or circulation issues, such as cold hands and feet, hot flush, or even fever and flu caused by harmful heat.
Monday, November 5, 2012
November 6th/7th, 2012, "winter commences", the 1st small Winter season arrives
In 2012, the season of "Winter Commences" arrives on November 7th, 8:25 am China time zone (+8). That is 7:25 pm Eastern Time (-5) on November 6th .
Celestial longitude: 225 degree. For most of the seasonal information please read this article.
No additional information at this moment.
Monday, October 22, 2012
October 23rd, 2012, "Hoar Frost", the 6th/last small Autumn season arrives
In 2012, the season of "Hoar Frost" arrives on October 23rd. Celestial longitude: 210 degree. For most of the seasonal information please read this article.
No additional information at this moment.
No additional information at this moment.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
October 8th, 2012, "Cold Dew", the 5th small Autumn season arrives
In 2012, the season of "cold dew" arrives on October 8th,same as last year. Celestial longitude: 195 degree. For most of the seasonal information please read this article.
For readers from where I am (WNY area), we have had a unusual warm autumn so far, which is nice as it appears but not ideal for our energy to withdraw and store for the winter. The warm weather mainly causes 2 major health (energy) issue to the body:
1. It makes us sweat too much. Sweat is the the body fluid that connects with the heart system energy, over-sweat cause dryness to the body system. When the real dry cold comes, our body may not have enough good moisture to balance it.
Solution: Eat and drink sour, like seasonal fruits, juice and food that are in white color. Try not to exercise too much to over sweat. But meanwhile do not go the other extreme by using air conditioner or fan. Stay balanced, but towards the cool side.
2. Liver system energy being over active. Spring-like wind and energy directly activate the liver energy, which is totally the opposite energy we need in this season. This can cause symptoms like shoulders and neck tension and pain, high blood pressure, headache, digestion issue, irritability, or other emotional discomfort.
Solution: Eat less spicy food, again, stay on the sour side and add some sweet as well. Cultivate the emotional condition, avoid argument with others and try to understand the aggressive attitude of the others.
For other readers, if your area is also being warmer than usual, you can apply the rules above as well. If the weather pattern seems to be normal, simply follow the seasonal tips.
For readers from where I am (WNY area), we have had a unusual warm autumn so far, which is nice as it appears but not ideal for our energy to withdraw and store for the winter. The warm weather mainly causes 2 major health (energy) issue to the body:
1. It makes us sweat too much. Sweat is the the body fluid that connects with the heart system energy, over-sweat cause dryness to the body system. When the real dry cold comes, our body may not have enough good moisture to balance it.
Solution: Eat and drink sour, like seasonal fruits, juice and food that are in white color. Try not to exercise too much to over sweat. But meanwhile do not go the other extreme by using air conditioner or fan. Stay balanced, but towards the cool side.
2. Liver system energy being over active. Spring-like wind and energy directly activate the liver energy, which is totally the opposite energy we need in this season. This can cause symptoms like shoulders and neck tension and pain, high blood pressure, headache, digestion issue, irritability, or other emotional discomfort.
Solution: Eat less spicy food, again, stay on the sour side and add some sweet as well. Cultivate the emotional condition, avoid argument with others and try to understand the aggressive attitude of the others.
For other readers, if your area is also being warmer than usual, you can apply the rules above as well. If the weather pattern seems to be normal, simply follow the seasonal tips.
Friday, September 21, 2012
September 22nd, 2012, "Autumn Equinox", the 4th small Autumn season arrives
In 2012, the season of "Autumn Equinox" arrives on September 22nd. Celestial longitude: 180 degree. For some of the seasonal information please read this article from the past year.
Here are some additional information:
Regarding autumn being the season of "balance", and Autumn Equinox is in the center of the season. So keep yourself "balanced" is the general goal, which includes eating/drinking, physical activities and mental/emotional condition.
Scientific researches show that the ideal blood PH level is 7.35-7.45. If the number is off too much it may cause many health issues. This is when eating and drinking becomes important. A good combination sometimes is more important than what the food is. In general, vegetables and most the fruits are alkaline, and meat, dairy, grain products are acid. So make sure you have both to maintain a good balance of the blood PH level.
Second, maintain a good balance between active and resting. We've all learnt that life is active, but rarely do we emphasize that life requires good rest as well. And we should call that “active rest”, meaning we choose to rest, not being forced. Traditional Chinese believe in general 30 percent activity and 70 percent resting is the ideal combination for the body. Physical exercise trains our physical body. It will improve our oxygen intake, lungs capacity, increase blood circulation, digestion system movement and metabolism, to reach the goal of making our body strong and healthy. Meanwhile, active resting, or cultivating, trains our body essence, energy and spirits. When our body and mind are totally relaxed, our blood and energy volume will increase, and this is the ideal condition for our body to do self-healing.
Second, maintain a good balance between active and resting. We've all learnt that life is active, but rarely do we emphasize that life requires good rest as well. And we should call that “active rest”, meaning we choose to rest, not being forced. Traditional Chinese believe in general 30 percent activity and 70 percent resting is the ideal combination for the body. Physical exercise trains our physical body. It will improve our oxygen intake, lungs capacity, increase blood circulation, digestion system movement and metabolism, to reach the goal of making our body strong and healthy. Meanwhile, active resting, or cultivating, trains our body essence, energy and spirits. When our body and mind are totally relaxed, our blood and energy volume will increase, and this is the ideal condition for our body to do self-healing.
Finally, working on maintain a good psychological balance. This is always easier said than done. Everyone will have pressure and things to worry about. We may not be able to change things that bring us problem, but we can work on solve and react to it differently. Imbalanced emotional forces can directly affect our organs and health condition.(Regarding the 7 emotions being pathogenic factors according to "Huang Di Nei Jing") The rule of thumb is still to keep a opened mind, learn to see things from different perspectives. As a healthy mind will support a healthy body, and the healthy body will bring more healthy emotions.
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