Contents
These transitional, change-filled days at the junction of winter and spring in traditional Chinese medicine are considered the “fifth season”: for us, this is a time of special physical and mental instability, vulnerability. Some techniques of Chinese medicine will help restore balance and re-energize.
- Photo Shoot:
- THIBAULT JEANSON FOR PSYCHOLOGY FRANCE
Explaining the phenomenon of the transitional season, the Chinese draw a parallel with the Earth, the “heavy” element from the ancient Chinese philosophical system: the fifth season is the time of greasy earth, sticking to shoes, weighing down the legs, slowing down movement. It seems that each step requires us to double our efforts and takes more energy than usual. Together with Briton Derek Walters, an expert on the ancient Chinese language and the philosophical system of Feng Shui, and French naturopath Guillaume Gérault, we offer you several tricks to help ease the transition from winter sleep to blooming spring.
warm belly
In the evening, before falling asleep, put your right hand on your stomach and hold it there for 5 minutes, concentrating on the feeling of warmth emanating from your hand. Gradually, you will feel how the tension in the abdomen subsides. A relaxed, soothed stomach will be ready for a good rest. This simple technique helps not only to improve well-being, but also contributes to a sounder, deeper sleep. Eight hours of good sleep allow us to recharge our digestive organs with energy – and they will be fully prepared for the “digestion” of tomorrow’s impressions.
Five keys of harmony
Everything that we receive from the outside must be digested and assimilated – according to traditional Chinese medicine, this applies not only to food, but also to the air we breathe, sights, sounds, tactile sensations and various information that we receive from the outside world. Today we are surrounded by an overabundance of information – according to Eastern medicine, this depletes a modern person, because he does not have time to digest it qualitatively. And this saps the energy of the spleen and stomach, causing an overstrain of the entire digestive system, which is responsible for the assimilation of material and non-material food. Our five methods – special nutrition, breathing exercise, abdominal massage, tonic bath and work with emotions – are aimed at improving the functioning of the spleen and stomach.
Take a bath
“Rosemary essential oil or wormwood oil are great ways to recharge the spleen and stomach meridian,” explains aromatherapist Guillaume Géraud. – Seven to ten drops of rosemary oil can be added to shampoo or bath oil, and then added to water. 20 minutes spent in a rosemary bath will improve the condition of the digestive system and cheer you up. However, people with cardiovascular problems should be careful: since the bath has a stimulating and tonic effect, it is worth making the water not too hot and reducing the time. When taking a bath, try to completely relax the stomach and focus on the feeling of lightness in the epigastric region – in the upper abdomen, just below the ribs.
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- Qigong and emotional energy
To sigh with a relief
This breathing exercise helps free the spleen and stomach from the effects of stress. Stand on the floor with your legs slightly apart. Inhale, mentally counting to eight and filling first the lower abdomen, and then the chest. Hold your breath for 8 seconds, then slowly exhale also for 8 seconds. Repeat this breathing cycle five times, inflating as much as possible while exhaling, and strongly drawing in the stomach as you exhale: this natural massage of the internal organs through breathing increases blood circulation and tones them.
Change your diet
In order to facilitate digestion, adjust your diet: give up cold water (especially during meals) in favor of a little warm, with a slice of lemon. It is easier to move the fifth season by dividing regular meals into smaller portions. It is important and thorough to chew food, making pauses between each fork brought to your mouth: if you are used to eating in a hurry, try stretching your meal for at least 20 minutes. The most suitable foods for these two weeks are vegetables or root crops with a sweetish taste, yellowish or orange color (carrots, pumpkins, potatoes, sweet peppers). Moreover, preference should be given not to raw, but to stewed, boiled or blanched vegetables. Try pu-erh tea: Chinese medicine especially recommends this type of tea, which has undergone long fermentation, for this particular period. It is better to drink it half an hour after eating.
Digest emotions
According to the ancient Eastern concepts of maintaining health, accepting one’s emotions is one of the main conditions for well-being. We, the children of modern European culture, often suppress our emotions and feelings, but at the same time endlessly chew on our experiences. Admitting to yourself that “it hurt me”, “I am offended”, “I am sad”, to see and name what our soul feels at this moment – this technique helps to significantly reduce tension and stress. Watch how emotions come and go, not trying to hold them, but not avoiding them either. Here is an exercise that will literally “lighten your soul”: take a sheet of paper and make a list of “undigested” emotions from the last week. Bring all the grievances, unspoken anger, unresolved conflicts into it, trying to describe your own feelings as carefully as possible. Analyze the reasons for the aggression of your opponents towards you. Fatigue? Excessive resentment? Or maybe jealousy? This helps to understand that some emotional reactions or circumstances have nothing to do with us personally. Get rid of negative emotions, make room for positive ones. Listening to pleasant music, reading poetry, walking in nature are considered ideal relaxation that brings harmony.