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Woman Transitioning to Spring
Just as spring is a celebration of new life, rebirth, and growth in nature, the same holds true in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Living in tune with the seasons is an important tenet, encouraging us to mirror what’s happening outside in our own lives.
Thanks to the coronavirus crisis, this spring has been like no other. It has required us to live in a vastly different world with more stress, potential for illness, and time away from the people and places we love. That makes it more important than ever to focus on our own health and wellbeing this spring, says Meghan Mabe, a licensed acupuncturist and massage therapist with a master’s degree in Chinese medicine.
Spring is a time when the world starts transitioning from the dormancy of winter to renewal in the spring. The latter part of this window likely will be the time we emerge from our homes, ready to return to normal life. This year, it will be an even more meaningful rebirth.
Each season in Chinese medicine relates to a major organ and element. In spring, it’s the liver and gallbladder, paired with wood. An imbalanced liver and gallbladder can cause poor flexibility, shoulder and neck tension, allergies, headaches, dizziness, anger, and depression, Mabe says.
There are antidotes, though. In the spring, and especially during this time of confinement, it’s important to boost your immune system, stay calm, and prepare for re-entering the world healthy and as strong. These goals happen to align quite well with Chinese medicine’s emphasis on wellbeing in the spring, Mabe says.
In the spring, and especially during this time of confinement, it’s important to boost your immune system, stay calm, and prepare for re-entering the world healthy and as strong. These goals happen to align quite well with Chinese medicine’s emphasis on wellbeing in the spring.
“During the winter season, we have these seeds in us that germinate and change. We see patients have this pent-up energy within them,” she explains. “Spring is a good time of year to focus on our health externally and emotionally. We’re working on letting go and cleaning out what we’d like to see leave our lives and create what we’d like to introduce into our lives.”
To address potential springtime woes head-on, consider some of these Chinese medicine practices for a mental, physical, and spiritual spring cleaning.
1) Get moving
Most people aren’t as active in the winter months, making it important to clean out the cobwebs and get moving. Mabe recommends being gentle with the transition, easing into exercise with walking, yoga, tai chi, or any movement that helps you focus on your breath.
2) Speaking of breath
Breathwork is a great way to relieve stress and promote relaxation—important steps in our current time of anxiety. That’s because stressful situations cause us to hold our breath or breathe more shallowly, and viruses thrive in low oxygen environments, Mabe says. Instead, try breathing exercises like alternate nostril breathing or four-count breathing to increase oxygen levels and shore up immunity.
3) Ease into it
The days grow longer and the sun shines brighter, but that doesn’t mean you should dive fully into summer mode. Spring is a season of change, and it’s key to step gingerly into this new time to prevent colds and injuries. Dress in layers and eat warm, cooked foods to keep your body warm, Mabe says.
4) Functional food
Our winter diets often contain ample rich and heavy foods. Spring is time to shift what you eat to reflect this season’s colors and flavors: green and sour foods. Mabe recommends plenty of greens, such as kale or arugula, plus lemons—an excellent source of Vitamin C. Seek foods that boost your immune system, including bone broth, chicken soup, carrots and sweet potatoes for beta carotene, and anti-inflammatory ingredients like garlic, ginger, turmeric, and rosemary.
5) Spring cleansing
Many people tackle spring cleaning this time of year. In parallel, it’s also a great season for cleansing our digestive systems. Mabe suggests eliminating alcohol, caffeine, refined sugar, dairy, meat, and chemical preservatives, one category each day. For 10 to 15 days, eat fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, beans, and drink plenty of lemon water. Then start bringing foods back.
6) Prepare for re-entry
Try to stay calm by being in nature, using breathwork and meditation, or taking a bath—anything that promotes your own peace and calm. Before long, we will be able to return to our regularly scheduled lives. When that occurs, continue practicing good hygiene like hand washing and boosting your immune system with anti-inflammatory and Vitamin C rich foods, Mabe says.
Living in tune with the seasons through Chinese medicine is a powerful way to promote your own health and wellbeing while reducing stress and preventing disease—now more than ever.
Located in Bloomington, Northwestern Health Sciences University is a pioneer in integrative natural health care education, offering degree programs in chiropractic, acupuncture, Chinese medicine, massage therapy, medical assisting, medical laboratory programs, post-bac/pre-health, radiation therapy, and B.S. completion. Its Bloomington clinic is open to the public, and provides chiropractic treatment, acupuncture, Chinese medicine, massage therapy, naturopathic medicine, cupping, and physical therapy.
Telemedicine is a convenient way to care for yourself during these unprecedented times. Appointment times vary depending on service.
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