SEASONAL CHANGES; SUMMER TO "HARVEST"

Look out, we're moving into Pumpkin Spice Latte season.

The party called Summer is winding down.

My friends at the Pacific College of Health and Science (I used to visit them regularly for acupuncture and Chinese herbs) tell us about seasonal changes:

Whenever there is a season change, according to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) beliefs, the energy frequency of the body or a person’s “qi,” may not be in harmony with the season’s frequency. Therefore, a person’s qi may be blocked, which leads to negative side effects from bodily sickness to mood swings.

A most obvious seasonal affect change involves food.

Our bodies reflect seasonal changes in a variety of ways including simple ways like what we crave to eat. Sperber used an example: “Who wants to eat a big heavy stew in the middle of summer? No one.”

Fun facts to remember:

• TCM recognizes five seasons: Spring, Summer, "Harvest" (my term for late summer/early fall), Fall, and Winter. 
• Five elements are associated with the five seasons (in the same order as the seasons): Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. 
• The elements rise, like fire, and the elements fall, like water. Except for Earth which holds steady, neither rising nor falling. 
• Each element is associated with a body organ (same order): Wood = Liver, Fire = Heart, Earth = Stomach and Spleen, Metal = Lungs, Water = Kidneys.
• Five animals are associated with the five seasons (same order): Tiger, Monkey, Bear, Crane, and Deer. Some Qigong practitioners associate the five animals differently. This is the order often used, and the one I like. So there. 
• Living in the mountains of Colorado, it's clear that we're coming into "Harvest" season. 

Tomatoes are ready to be picked. I've already harvested my fresh peas. My jalapeño peppers are turning from green to red. I'm pulling out flannel shirts to wear for at least part of the day. My pumpkin blossoms are about to become pumpkins and my sunflowers are freakishly tall with HUGE flowers.

We're not just moving into cooler weather, we're moving into Earth season, Stomach and Spleen season and the season of the Bear. While I'm a huge fan of the summer monkey frolics, I'm ready to move on.





SPECIAL MESSAGE FROM OUR FRIENDS at Colorado Parks and Wildlife

Black bears in Colorado are entering hyperphagia and will spend up to 20 hours a day trying to search out and eat as much food as possible as they fatten up for winter...

Twenty chicken sandwiches, 10 large orders of french fries, 10 soft drinks and 10 milkshakes is the approximate fast food order needed to total 20,000 calories. That is how many calories hyperphagia, an increase in feeding activity driven by biological need, drives a hungry black bear to consume every single day as they pack on the pounds to build up their fat reserves to survive the winter.



Okay, no need to go food crazy, but we should consider how our seasonal biological needs shift. Like the bear, it's time to get our feet on the ground, clean the house and take care of home projects, settle back into the kitchen and make some comfort food. It is a time when we get to come home to ourselves, and absorb the fruits of our labors. Time to take care of the Stomach and Spleen.

During our practice "in a park" this week we tapped specific acupressure points; we acted like monkeys but started thinking about some sweet bear moves; and we dredged energy channels of old stagnant Qi and then cultivated new Qi, strengthening our immune system and general vitality.

After turning and twisting and warming up, we practiced Tapping the Eight Nests, unblocking Qi flow and encouraging movement of lymph. My teacher Alex Hui will explain and demonstrate.


Tapping and moving while focusing on specific points and areas of the body is essential. 

For example, tapping on Lung One and Two points boosts Lung Qi. 

After "Harvest" comes Fall when I am likely to experience respiratory problems. I can nip that in the bud by purging stagnant Lung Qi and replenishing it with new, clean Qi. 

The Kua (inguinal crease) is home to many lymph nodes. By tapping at and moving from the Kua, we can wring out those nodes and get lymph AND Qi moving. 

The diagram captured from a video by Steven Cardoza shows the Side Channels connecting the Lung points (near the shoulders) and the Kua (tops of the legs).



During our practice I also introduced bits of Bear movements. We'll finish those up this next week.



But, since we may not quite be ready to drop summer "like a hot potato" we continued with Monkey forms. You can find those on a previous blog post. Ready? Go!

Our Qi cultivation brought us back to Ji Ben Qigong forms which you'll also find on a previous post.


Enjoy!