Happy Wintertime to you! Metaphorically speaking, in Chinese
medicine’s Five Element Theory, this season is the phase of relative stillness
and the ”underground” unknown. It’s like
the murky bottom of the ocean. Indeed, water is the associated
element and blue is
the associated color. The kidney and
bladder organ/meridian systems are related to this phase.
Often, being with the unknown, observing without
evaluating, to see what emerges is the hardest phase to experience. There may be an urge to skip it. Before fully understanding the wisdom to be
revealed in this phase, one may prematurely jump into planning and structuring
the next step rather than simply being
with the unknown.
The challenging emotion of the Water phase is fear.
Sometimes the feeling is unwarranted and comes from an imbalance in the
kidney and/or bladder organ/meridians systems.
In wintertime in Central Texas, however, there’s often a very clear and real
fear of impending Cedar Fever. For the uninitiated, this is the allergic
rhinitis or sinusitis from which many begin to suffer. It directly relates to the plentiful cedar
trees that have begun to bloom and disperse their pollen.
In Chinese medicine, it’s important to treat cedar
fever on two levels. There are the acute-stage symptoms such as sneezing, runny nose, itchy ears, and itchy,
red and/or burning eyes. All of these
can leave a person exhausted. This is
the branch
aspect of the imbalance. Acupuncture
and individually-tailored Chinese herbal formulas provide relief and often help
someone smoothly sail through the season.
For lasting relief, a person’s constitutional
level or pattern also must be assessed and balanced. This is the root level of the
disorder. One patient may have a lot of clear mucus
drainage, often feel cold, get up several times at night to urinate and have a
history of shortness of breath, fatigue and asthma. Another patient may have thick yellow or
green nasal mucus, a flushed red face, strong thirst, and constipation as well
as be overweight. A third patient may simply
get a runny nose and itchy eyes during Cedar Fever season. Each person’s allergies will be addressed
quite differently in Chinese medicine.
If the root level is not addressed, the branch-level
symptoms will continue to manifest during Cedar Fever season. Although the best time to address
constitutional imbalances is months before
full-bloom allergy symptoms, they can be addressed at any time.
As Bob Flaws points out, there are also three free therapies that are crucial
for getting rid of these allergies:
- Diet
Strong digestive Qi, or Life Force, is important to fend off the allergic responses. What one eats and does not eat directly affect these dynamics. For example, although a completely raw foods diet has been popular and some raw veggies are valuable, too much of them requires too much digestive Qi and drains it. Eating plenty of veggies is very important but a general rule of thumb is to have the raw ones be no more than 20% of the diet. It’s better for veggies to generally be lightly steamed.
Chilled food and drinks are also harmful. Think of them in terms of the energy they drain from the body when they have to be warmed to body temperature. Sugars, including alcohol and sweets, also damage digestive Qi. The more oily and greasy a food is, the more it creates “Damp.” This clogs our system and contributes to allergy symptoms. All dairy and refined-flour products are Damp-producing.
- Exercise
Regular and adequate exercise greatly helps Qi move in a healthy way and not be stuck. It also strengthens digestive Qi. Those with a history of asthma are included but need no more than 20 minutes of aerobic exercise that is done in a way that does not induce an attack. An important first step for this population is to clean up one’s diet before starting an exercise program.
- Relaxation
Rare is the person who early-on did not learn maladaptive coping responses to frustrations, irritations and anger. When we feel stressed, most of us tense muscles in our upper back and shoulders, neck, and/or jaws. It’s also common to hold the breath. These responses only make respiratory issues worse. Therefore, deep relaxation practices need to involve the body and be more than mental experiences . My personal favorites are Qigong practices on DVDs by Lee Holden. His website is www.ExercisetoHeal.com
Besides these three important therapies, one can
also do home remedies such as Chinese self-massage at strategic points, seven
star hammering, Chinese medicinal porridges, moxibustion, and Chinese medicinal
teas. Talk with your licensed
practitioner of Chinese medicine or get a copy of Bob Flaw’s book, Curing
Hay Fever Naturally at Blue Poppy Press for more specifics on these
techniques as well as the three free therapies.
Janet Lee Cook
Licensed Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal
Prescriptions
512-826-1164
