Winter is well and truly here! The days are becoming shorter, the air is crisper and its getting harder and harder to get out of bed on those early mornings and weekends are getting oh so much sweeter.
It is impossible not to notice the changing seasons around us and how it affects us all on a physical and emotional level whether or not we have recognised it yet.
Chinese medicine has long understood the importance of acknowledging the changing seasons and how to live accordingly to maximise our health and longevity.
Winter is the most Yin time of the year. Yin is cooling, slow, contracting and its energy moves inwards. In winter animals are hibernating and the trees are empty of leaves. When we look around us we see nature instinctively knows to move energy within and slow down. For us, it means we can take these winter months to turn our attention inwards, slow down and reflect.
This slowness provides the space and time to question what we want out of life, where we are going, if we are happy and ask if we are really living the lives that make us truly the happiest.
On a physical level we need to be doing what we can to keep ourselves warm! Our bodies are easily damaged by the cold so we need to do what we can to avoid any excess cold getting into our bodies. So this means no more cold raw salads, cold smoothies and cold icy drinks. It does mean lots of warming broths, hearty soups, roasts and warming teas like ginger. And keeping our feet warm!
In Chinese medicine, each season has an associated organ that is strongly influenced and affected by each time of the year. For winter this is the Kidneys. Being busy, burning the candle at both ends and not enough down time easily damages and consumes our Kidney energy.
The Kidney energy in Chinese medicine is the foundational energy of our bodies, which sustains us from birth to death. We need to continuously fuel and not be consuming our Kidney energy through overwork. We can almost get away with this (not really but almost) during the warmer months of the year, but this is definitely not the case during wintertime.
As we humans are not separate from nature, we too need to respect the laws of the changing seasons and incorporate appropriate changes into our lifestyles to reflect this.
Some ways to support and strengthen the Kidneys during the winter months is to REST! Engaging in reflective style practises like Yin yoga, Qi Gong, meditation and journaling are a perfect way to move into the Yin time of year.
Regular Acupuncture and Chinese medicine treatments are a wonderful way to support and strengthen our bodies and especially our Kidneys during the winter months. Your practitioner can support and guide you through lifestyle and dietary choices to best suit your body and your health.
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Lauren Curtain is a qualified Chinese Medicine practitioner, completing her 4 year degree at the Southern School of Natural Therapies in Melbourne.
She has a strong passion for all things Chinese Medicine, fertility and women’s health.
Lauren understands the importance of patient empowerment; she is passionate about educating patients every step of the way, providing realistic guidance they can start using as soon as they leave the clinic.
Lauren creates a warm, loving and judgement free environment for her patients. They feel comfortable and are able to enter deep relaxation and begin their journey of health and healing.
Her treatment techniques include a combination of Acupuncture, Chinese Herbal Medicine, cupping, gua sha, moxibustion, Tui Na (Chinese Remedial Massage) and lifestyle and dietary therapy.
She is registered with the Chinese Medicine Registration Board and a member of AACMA (Australian Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine Association). Her services are covered by most health care providers.