Happy Winter Solstice! Chinese Medicine Health Hacks During Winter

It seems to be the season you either love or hate, but like it or not, winter is upon us. The Winter Solstice marks the day with the longest night and the shortest day of the year. At least the days can only get longer and lighter from here! 
Winter is the most yin time of the year. This means it's time to be more introverted and retrospective. Slow down and observe what is happening in nature and inside of you. The energy is cold, dark, quiet, and pulls inward to conserve strength for the springtime. 

The winter is all about the Kidney, so first let's take a look at what the Kidney means in TCM.

THE KIDNEY IN TCM

The Kidney's element is water, its emotion is fear, its corresponding yang organ is the urinary bladder, its taste is salt, it's color is black, it houses will power, it manifests its energy in the hair, ears, and bones, its planet is Mercury, its sound is groaning, and its direction is downward and inward. The Kidney's are the source of the body's yuan qi, or original qi. This means it stores the reserve energy you need to last for your entire life, allowing you to grow, prevent illness, heal disease, and age gracefully. Therefore it is important to nourish your Kidney qi during the winter months, when it becomes the most vulnerable.

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WINTER ADVICE

It is crucial to slow down both your mind and body during the wintertime. Gentle exercises are okay, but try to avoid marathon training or anything too aerobic. Become more in tune with your body's subtle processes and thoughts. Try a 15 or 20 minute meditation each morning or night to allow your kidney energy to become more grounded and secure. If you're not too keen on meditation, try journaling a couple pages per day to connect with your introspective side. Good quality sleep is one of the most important things you can do to replenish your kidney essence. It is important to go to bed early and wake up a bit later than usual (in somewhat accordance with the sun - although in some places it gets dark way too early to go to bed with the sunset). Try to be in bed around 10pm and wake up around 7am. If you suffer from insomnia, excessive dreaming, or poor quality sleep, try acupuncture. Poor sleeping is one of the most frequent and easily treated conditions in traditional Chinese medicine. Chronic stress and overthinking is also something that will put stress on kidney energy. We all know that stress can also greatly lower the strength of your immune system, making you more susceptible to pathogens! Try incorporating some stress relieving techniques into your daily schedule, such as deep breathing exercises, yoga, meditation, or any other simple relaxation technique that works for you.

HAPPY WINTER!

FOODS TO NOURISH THE KIDNEY

Try to cook warm, spicy, and hearty meals such as soups, stews, and porridges. Avoid anything too light (like salad) and cold (like salad...), fruit juices, alcohol, tropical fruits, and raw food.

• Anything black in color such as black sesame seeds, black beans, chia seeds, black wild rice, or black berries.
  
• Bone broth or any type of organ meat (sorry vegetarians).
  
• Vegetables such as winter squash, sweet potato, kale, onions, mustard greens, seaweed, yams, and turnips. 
  
• Grains such as oats, spelt, quinoa, amaranth, and millet. 
  
• Proteins such as walnuts, kidney beans, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, and chestnuts. Protein is warming!
  
• Fruits such as dates, blackberries, figs, cherries, dried fruits. 
  
• Spices such as ginger, cinnamon, rosemary, chive, salt, fennel, dill, anise, cumin, cayenne, scallions, and nutmeg. ​