Five Elements for Five Seasons . While most of the zanier contributions to medical history have gone the way of the horse- drawn buggy (no one today would down a bottle of the dubious 1. Microbe Killer” that was all the rage until it began killing more than just microbes), some of the most ancient ideas about health remain relevant today. The fifth century BC Greek physician Hippocrates, for instance, declared that a person’s health was dependent on the balance of four bodily fluids that corresponded to the natural elements of air, water, fire and earth. By paying attention to this balance, he argued, we could improve our health. The same elemental idea – along with a fifth component (ether) – is echoed in the ancient Indian healing traditions of yoga, Ayurvedic medicine and vastu (the Indian equivalent of Chinese feng shui). And for thousands of years, Chinese philosophy has held that good health is a result of five elements – wood, fire, earth, metal and water – being in harmony. Five Element Theory Diet. According to the 5 Element Theory. Recipes (8) Hormones (1) Nutritional Supplements (7) Herbs (1) Minerals (1). Learn All the Major Dietary Theories. 5 Element Theory. Atkins Diet. This diet restricts carbohydrates. The Five Elements and The Five Seasons. The element of summer is fire. The Five Elements Theory of Chinese Cooking. Traditional Chinese Medicine Medicated Diet. Chinese medicated diet theory should help us achieve the. The fourth chapter is a collection of recipes based on. ![]() ![]() In addition to their role in qigong and internal martial arts, the five elements help determine the design principles of feng shui and the underlying structure of traditional Chinese medicine, including acupuncture and herbal remedies. While paying attention to the elements might sound like another bit of quackery at first, it has proven to be a remarkably constructive way to think about how our bodies work. Getting in touch with the elements can help us find better balance – in our bodies and our lives – and help us feel more connected to the natural world. The Elements at Work Today, Americans are rediscovering how attention to the elements can improve our health. From preventive and integrative medicine clinics to feng shui in our homes and offices to yoga and fitness classes, finding balance through the elements is coming into the mainstream. Thia Luby, owner of Yoga Imaging in Colorado Springs, Colo., teaches yoga poses that correspond to fire, water, earth and air. If we can balance our bodies and minds with the elements, we will be healthier human beings mentally and physically.”Luby, author of Yoga of Nature: Union with Fire, Earth, Air and Water (Clear Light, 2. ![]() Sunstone Yoga in Dallas, Texas, for example, offers five different classes, each one based on one of the five elements: wood, fire, earth, metal and water. These are the elements that lie at the heart of Chinese philosophy and its concept of healing. Within traditional Chinese medicine, a holistic, integrated system of thinking, each element also corresponds to a season, a compass direction, a life stage, a color, a shape and a time of day, as well as to aspects of the individual, such as emotions, activities, internal organs and the senses. This holistic, interconnected philosophy can guide us in using the elements to tend to our health. By focusing on each element and its corresponding season, we can see how the five elements can help keep our bodies in better harmony. Spring – Wood The element of wood is associated with spring, a time of birth and new beginnings. Haas, MD, in Staying Healthy With the Seasons (Celestial Arts, 2. ![]() Macrobiotic diet introduction, recipes and a cooking. Five Element Theory Imagine the following Five elements moving. According to traditional Chinese medicine, spring is the time for us to reach outward, develop deeper roots and remain flexible in the wind. In the body, that means paying attention to your spine, limbs and joints, as well as muscles, ligaments and tendons. It also means paying attention to your liver, which works to detoxify the blood and make bile to help metabolize carbohydrates, fats and proteins. To support liver functioning, think spring- cleaning. ![]() Drink plenty of fluids, and add lemon to your water, because ingesting some, but not too much, sour or vinegary foods will nourish the liver. Try eating light, raw foods like greens, sprouts, fruits, nuts and seeds. Avoid heavy or fried foods, anything with chemical additives, and alcohol. Since exercise and sweating aid liver detoxification, spring is a great time to develop a regular exercise program. In addition to diet and exercise, there are other ways to balance your wood element. Wood governs the early hours of the morning, when we first awake. Just as morning is a great time to plan the day ahead, spring is a great time to look at your life and where you want to be in the future. Summer brings fire through the heat of the sun, long days and energized bodies. Fire also rules the small intestine, which in traditional Chinese medicine is intricately connected with the heart. The small intestine transforms the foods we eat into usable components, which go directly into the blood. The blood moves to the heart and is circulated through the rest of the system. ![]() If you feed your body toxic food, the small intestine has little to work with when trying to pass on good nutrients. For this reason, it’s important to eat nutritious food year- round, but during the active summer season it’s especially crucial. According to Chinese medicine, you can also have too much or too little of an element, causing illness or physical or emotional difficulties. A fire deficiency is characterized by a lack of activity. In this case, it’s important to eat heating foods like peppers, ginger, citrus, butter, meats, corn, cherries and basmati rice. When fire is in excess, it often results in overexcitement, too much involvement and being overcommitted. To counteract this, Reichstein suggests eating bitter foods like romaine lettuce, dandelion greens, almonds and scallions, and cooling foods like cucumber, sprouts, watermelon, apples, lemons and limes. Avoid heavy foods like meats, eggs and oils. Summer is also an ideal time for power lunches, good conversations and warm gatherings of friends, as fire is associated with midday and connectivity. Summer is a good season to: Get plenty of cardiovascular exercise, because fire rules the heart and circulatory system. If you are fire deficient, eat warming foods, such as peppers, ginger, citrus, butter, meats, corn, cherries and basmati rice. If you have an excess of fire, eat cooling foods, such as cucumber, sprouts, watermelon, apples, lemons and limes. Set up power lunches and meet with friends, because fire is linked to social connectivity. Late Summer – Earth Earth is unique among the five elements in that it corresponds to two unusual time periods. First, it’s related to the short season called “Indian summer,” those last warm, light- filled days in September or October, just before the cool weather sets in. Second, earth is linked to times of change throughout the year: those few weeks between seasons in which autumn changes to winter, winter to spring and spring to summer. ![]() Earth is a stabilizing force during these times of transition. After all the activity of spring and summer, nature’s time to grow and bloom, earth can help us get centered and balanced in late summer as we organize ourselves for the autumn harvest and begin to prepare ourselves for winter, the season of rest. In traditional Chinese medicine, the earth element is associated with the spleen, pancreas and stomach, the organs of digestion and nutrition. The stomach receives the food you eat and starts to break it down. The spleen and pancreas then distribute the nourishment throughout the body. The pancreas also regulates your blood- sugar levels. Choose your sugars wisely during late summer to aid the pancreas. You might try some of the foods the Chinese consider sweet, like apples, cabbage, carrots, dates, figs, grapes, kidney beans, lettuce, milk, olives, peaches, pears, squash, string beans, sweet potatoes, tomatoes and walnuts. Also pay attention to how you eat, not just what you eat. Eating calmly and slowly and having reasonably sized portions will let your stomach and spleen work best. After eating and a short spell of relaxation, “the body needs to move a bit,” writes Haas. By paying attention to portions and slowing down when you eat, you can help the spleen. Throw a dinner party. Late summer is associated with community and mealtime. Autumn – Metal Autumn brings the harvest of crops, shorter days and preparation for winter. The metal element, from rough ore to sparkling gemstones, symbolizes the process of refinement and its resulting products. In this season, it’s time to make sure everything pure and necessary is used and maximized, and that anything unnecessary or wasteful is eliminated. The Chinese do not include the element of air in the five- element system as Western systems do. But metal has similar associations. In fact, she continues, “The inability to be open to new ideas or the rigid holding on to old thoughts and useful information could both point to an imbalance in metal.”Furthermore, metal is connected to air through the lungs. The lungs and the large intestine, associated with metal in Chinese medicine, both deal with purification and elimination. The lungs take in oxygen and expel carbon dioxide through breathing. The large intestine absorbs water and completes the absorption of nutrients, minerals and vitamins. It also holds and eliminates waste. Eating vegetables and whole grains is necessary for our bodies year- round. Because they serve as cleansers for the intestines, however, they have added significance in autumn, when it’s important to keep your metal element in balance. A balanced metal diet also consists of hearty, rich and warm foods, including meats, nuts, fish and oils, with hints of strong flavors like Roquefort, pepper and mustard. Root vegetables – such as potatoes, carrots, garlic and onion – are particularly healthful metal foods, as are thick- skinned fruits like bananas and mangoes. Cayenne, ginger and curry promote good digestion and elimination. You might also try practicing a form of breathing meditation for the health of your lungs. And weight training is a useful autumn exercise, as it balances the higher amount of protein and calories you crave while preparing for winter.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
October 2017
Categories |