ARE YOU FEELING MORE EMOTIONAL these days? Winters are like that, a more inward and sensitive time. Nature is in her resting season, quiet, withdrawn, deep in the earth and the roots, preparing for Spring. You also may be deeper within yourself, seeking replenishment, resting, reflecting, and being more aware of your senses. As the winter climates of cold and wet (snow, rain, or fog) chill you to your bones, seek inner warmth and spend more time at home with family and friends.
December 21st is the date of the winter solstice, the first day of winter and the day of the longest night. There will be more and more light from now on. Winter seems to be a time to stay active in order to keep your body warm and your energy moving; it is also a time to get plenty of rest, good nutrition, relaxation, and sleep. Dream time is very important to replenishing yourself.
According to the Chinese Five Element system, winter is related to the element Water. Are you aware that there has been the same amount of water on the planet since its beginning? Energy can be neither created nor destroyed—only transformed. Water is in the air, on and within the earth, and constitutes a major part of all living matter. This fluid is very adaptable, taking the shape of its container and changing form with cold and heat. It supports your being, both as a drink and when carrying you on a boat, a raft, or when swimming.
Water is the essential medium of your body, through which all things pass. This fluid of life is important for functions like the circulation of blood, which carries heat and nourishment throughout the body; the lymphatic flow, which helps to process and eliminate wastes and provides your ability to fight off infections and other foreign agents; and for the flow of urine, saliva, perspiration, tears, and sexual fluids.
“(In winter) people should retire early at night and rise late in the morning and they should wait for the rising of the sun.”
NEI CHING
Living near the ocean, I watch its ever-changing states and experience its power, its flow, its potential violence, and its peace. Water can be warm and loving, and cold and frightening. It is nourishing, refreshing, and invigorating. By looking at the element Water, you can see the analogy between the human body and the planet Earth. They both consist of 70-80 percent water. In fact, seawater is almost identical to blood plasma. Water is the circulatory system of the Earth. Clouds, mountain snow, lakes, rivers, streams, and the oceans are all part of this water circulation.
Winter is the season in which the Water element is most dominant. The bladder and kidneys, which deal with the body’s water, are the organs associated with the Water element and winter season.
Winter’s power is deep and yin. It is a time to conserve energy and resources and not be wasteful with your active, outward (yang) energy. You need special care in the form of nutrition, warmth, and rest.
The climate associated with the Water element is cold, and its direction is, appropriately, north. The kidneys are nourished by the cold climate, but extreme coldness or wetness can injure them. You must keep yourself warm and dry, especially in the winter, for those cold, wet days can bring out a deep stiffness or pain, especially in the back.
The flavor or taste associated with the element is salty. Most water is actually salty; even in your body, the water contains many mineral salts. If people crave the flavor of salt or really dislike it, they may have a Water imbalance. And eating too much salt creates a craving for water and may injure the kidneys. The Nei Ching says that too much salt will “injure the blood,” and the blood is correlated with the Fire element and the heart, which directly affects the kidneys. In Western medicine as well, too much salt is seen as the cause of water retention, high blood pressure, and kidney and heart trouble.
The Water element can be related to the emotions in general, but the specific emotional imbalance associated with Water energy is fear. This may be manifest as specific phobias; as a general anxiety about life; or as paranoia or negativity, in which one always expects the worst. Fear can be either a cause or a consequence of a Water imbalance. An illness affecting the bladder or kidneys may generate a fearful feeling; and fear can itself injure these organs, according to the Chinese system. During excitement or in change, one who has a Water imbalance may respond by trembling. This trembling represents a release of fearful energy and tensions. And although fear may block the expression of love, love and faith can transmute fear.
“The kidneys are the rulers over winter. Kidneys and bladder are related and have to be treated as one in acupuncture. Within the kidneys, ‘essence’ is stored, and they govern all that is secluded and dormant and that is hoarded up. Their condition is disclosed in the bones and head hair.”
CHINESE FOLK MEDICINE
The ears are the sense organ associated with the Water element, so that its sense is hearing. Remember that Water is the receptive element, which listens to sound and is open to energy input. It’s interesting that the kidneys and ears are shaped similarly, as is the human embryo. The embryo, and later the fetus, grows in the water medium, through which sounds travel to its developing ears. In traditional Chinese medicine, problems of the ears or hearing may reflect a Water element disharmony.
Two additional associations of the Water element are the groaning sound and the bones of the body. Groaning, or moaning, comes from deep within, and hearing its overtones in the voice may point to an imbalance in the Water element. Bones and bone marrow are body parts governed by this element. This includes all the bones: the skull, the extremities, and the spine, as well as the teeth and the bone marrow (the bone’s inner contents where cells are produced and used for growth and renewal in our bodies).
It is said that the kidneys govern the storage of the life force in the bones and marrow. People with bone problems may have a Water imbalance, while a healthy Water element keeps the bones well and strong. Expressions like “I felt it in my bones,” or “She cries in her bones,” suggest the relationship of the bones to deep emotional experiences. The winter is a good time to seek deeper and more intense body therapy to help get to those meaningful and emotional levels.
The Water element also relates to the sex organs and the sexual functions of the body. It rules over the genital and reproductive organs, and the urethral and anal orifices. It also relates to the urine and the sexual secretions. The health of the Water element affects the energy flow during the sexual act, and the health of the function of reproduction. Sexual fluids help lubricate and protect the sperm and egg. Problems like impotence or infertility may arise from a Water imbalance. An excess of sex and resulting congestion, as well as a lack of expression of sexual energy, may affect the kidneys and the balance of the Water element too. Healthy sexual relations require giving and receiving, or yang and yin, of both partners.
Each of the twelve meridians has the energy flowing through it predominantly two hours each day, as it circulates through the body. Bladder time is from 3 to 5 P.M., and kidney is from 5 to 7 P.M. (see chart here for other meridians). This four-hour period of the day is definitely a transition time, getting out of school, or work, and the time when sunset occurs and we prepare for night. During this period of the day we often need a little relaxation to become more receptive. Also, it can be a more emotional time for many of us. People who have a difficult time during these hours may reveal a Water imbalance, while those who do well and enjoy this later afternoon/early evening time are probably healthy in this element.
Water must stay in motion; it has a rhythm, a cycle which is primarily ruled by the movement and gravitational pull of the moon. The daily expansions and contractions of the oceans in the tides is like the breathing cycle of the Earth. The moon is yin, the receptive, feminine, dark principle, relating to the subconscious—the hidden, the emotions. Water in turn has these same characteristics. The state of Water in your body may reflect the state of your emotions. Like the planet, you can also have droughts and floods, stagnant pools and fresh-flowing streams.
We all have our cycles. Many of us have cycles in which held-in emotions are released, like the winter rains. Then, with the new awareness and expression of these feelings comes a real lightening up of our energy. Water, sometimes held in the body along with the emotions, can cause lethargy and slowness, irritability, and an inability to express ourselves.
From the Chinese viewpoint, individuals with deficient Water energy may find it difficult to slow down, relax or rest, with an inability to reflect clearly. A balanced Water element allows fluidity and flow, an ability to rest and nourish oneself and others, to guide perception and reflection, and have a ready expression of feelings such as love. Qualities of compassion, understanding, and responsiveness to needs and feelings of others are often seen as the maternal and feminine aspect of ourselves, and are also characteristics of the Water element.
The Oneness of the universe has two aspects which can be seen as dualities, as polarities, or even as conflicts. These are the two primary forces: yang, which seeks to expand into everything, and yin, which contracts or seeks nothingness, according to the Chinese system. Both Winter and water are the most yin parts of their cycles.
Most things exist as a combination of yin and yang, rather than as purely one or the other. Some aspects of yin are: cold, wet, receptive, deep, and inward. Yin relates to Earth and to form. Yang relates to Heaven and to energy, and is hot, dry, active, light, superficial, and outward.
We see these two forces alternately ebbing and flowing in nature and within our bodies through the year, in the monthly sun-moon cycles, in day and night, and indeed, in each moment—and in our breath and our heartbeats. “Lub-dub,” the heart contracts, empties, relaxes, and fills again. The cycles of yin and yang are like the heartbeat of the universe.
Our awareness follows the same patterns of change. Active awareness, expanding and relating to things outside ourselves, is considered yang. Drawing inward, listening, and being receptive, is yin. There is a constant shifting balance between the two. Day becomes night, night becomes day, light and darkness. Sunrise and sunset are times of the day when yin and yang are balanced. Each day, we wake up to the light, slowly unwind from our dream state, expand, and go out for work, activity, and sunshine; meanwhile, the yang is dominant. Later, we experience yin when we come home again for support, nourishment, relaxation, sleep, and the play with inner realities.
Similarly, in each lunar cycle the sun (the male, active, light principle) and the moon (the female, receptive, dark principle) go through many relationships. We experience this cyclical change internally as well. During the time of the new moon (when the sun and moon are in the sky at the same degree relative to earth), with its darker nights, our experience is most yin, concerned with inner needs, creativity, and with looking forward into the next cycle. At full moon, when the moon reflects sunlight at night (the sun and moon are 180 degrees apart in the sky relative to earth), our experience is most yang, often with bright and active nights, parties, and less need for sleep.
Summer/fall/winter/spring is a yang/yin cycle, too—daylight dominates for awhile, then longer nights return. Summer is the most yang season, with long days and lots of activity in the sun; then autumn brings increasing yin, until the winter solstice. Then, yang beings to increase until night and day are even at the spring equinox; and yang energy again predominates through the summer. Even though some climates may be warmer or colder, or have less distinct climatic changes, we must realize that the light/dark cycle is the important relationship for differentiating seasons.
During the winter, when the yin principle dominates our bodies as well as the climate, this aspect also characterizes the storage functions in the body. That is where the deep strength and stamina lie. In fact, the yin organs are the deeper, solid organs—liver, heart, lungs, spleen, and kidneys. In contrast, the yang principle is hot and dry; in our body, it rules the processing and eliminative aspects, and thus the hollow organs—the large and small intestines, gallbladder, stomach, and bladder.
Kidney—27 points
The kidney meridian begins on the bottom of the foot (the only acupuncture point of the bottom of the foot). It then runs along the inside surface of the ankle behind the ankle bone, up the calf and thigh, lateral to the genitals, then next to and parallel to the center line of the body, onto the chest and along the sternum, ending beneath the clavicle.
Bladder—67 points
The bladder meridian begins at the inner corner of the eye, travels up over the head and down the neck, down the back in two vessels, both parallel to the spinal column, then over the buttock and down the back of the thigh and calf and along the outside of the foot, ending at the edge of the little toenail.
Note: Meridians run on both sides of the body.
Winter is the strongest yin time of the year, and the two organs associated with this season are the kidneys and the bladder, both of which process the most yin element, Water.
The bladder is a thick muscular organ in the pelvis which stores and eliminates urine received from the kidneys. The Chinese consider the bladder to be the seat (or storehouse) of the emotions; if it is not functioning well, the rest of the system is stressed.
The bladder’s meridian, or energy channel, runs down the back along both sides of the spine. This meridian begins at the inner corners of the eyes, then goes over the head, down the neck and along the spine to the sacrum, and finally travels down the back of the legs to the little toes, where it ends at the 67th point on the outer side of the toenail.
“… the groins and the bladder are like magistrates of a region or district, they store the overflow and the fluid secretions which serve to regulate vaporization.”
NEI CHING
This energy channel is the main one on the back. Tensions and held-in emotions can easily cause congestion in this area and lead to stiffness as well as neck or back pains. So you must keep your back energy loose and flowing through stretching exercises and through freely expressing your feelings.
The kidneys filter the blood and keep the blood and the body clean and in balance. The urine made from filtering the blood passes from the kidneys through the ureters to the bladder and then back to nature via the urethra. The water balance and the acid-base balance in the body are maintained by the kidneys, which extract all kinds of substances from the blood—water; nitrogen compounds like urea and ammonia; minerals and salts, such as sodium, chloride, potassium; and any other chemicals and drugs not needed by the body. Several thousand quarts of blood pass through the kidneys daily, from which 160 quarts of liquid are extracted for further filtering. Most of this liquid is reabsorbed into the body by the kidney’s complex filtering system, leaving one to two quarts to be excreted. The kidneys use this large flow of fluid to collect, concentrate, and eliminate the body’s liquid waste.
In the Chinese system, the kidneys are perceived as storing the energy of the life force itself, and are related to birth, life, and death—the cycle of transformation. Look to the kidney energy first if there is chronic illness in the body. As the “seat of the will,” willpower itself is seen as coming from the kidneys, which also generate ambition, a desire to do something in one’s life. A lack of willpower or ambition may reflect a Water imbalance.
“The kidneys are like the officials who do energetic work and they excel through their ability and cleverness.”
NEI CHING
Other organs of elimination besides the kidneys and bladder are the lungs, large intestine, and the skin. The kidney and the skin both work to clear water from the body. Urine and sweat are both waste products of the blood, and have a similar chemical nature. When the kidneys are clearing toxins poorly or have too much to handle, the skin may have to work harder to help clear these wastes. This can sometimes lead to skin rashes.
High blood pressure is sometimes related to kidney trouble, too. Naboru Muramoto feels strongly that the kidneys may become contracted from the stress of toxic or heavy meat diets. This can lead to poor clearing of the body’s water and salts, which in turn increases fluid volume and places more work on the heart. Too much meat or chemical additives may also stiffen or clog up the vascular system, contributing to higher blood pressure and weakening the heart. In both Chinese and Western medicine, the heart and kidney relationship is a vital one.
To evaluate the health of the kidneys, examine the overall color, clarity, and tone of the skin. A bluish discoloration (or swelling) around the eyes may suggest a Water imbalance and indicate kidney trouble. The color blue is associated with the Water element, relating both to the deep blue sea and to the “blue” feeling of being down emotionally. Being very attracted to blue and wearing it regularly, or else really disliking it, may also signify a Water element imbalance. Instinctively, wearing a certain color a great deal may reveal the body’s attempt to strengthen a certain organ or element.
Another diagnostic clue in the Chinese system, relating both to the kidneys and to inner vitality, is the presence of the sparkle of life in the eyes. The vital “life-force” sparkle comes from the kidneys, although the health of the eye tissue itself is related to the liver and Wood elements.
The head hair is also a good health indicator for the Water element. Examine the texture and fullness of growth; is it too dry, oily, thick, or thin or balding? Any rapid changes in your hair may suggest an imbalance of the Water element. I believe that premature loss of hair is related to the same high protein, high animal fat diets that affect the kidneys and heart, possibly by clogging hair follicles and leading to poor oxygenation. Your genetic predisposition to specific problems such as balding can be helped or hindered by how you live your life.
Drinking plenty of liquids is key to blood and lymphatic circulation. It is also essential for cleansing the body through the kidneys and bladder.
Since the kidneys and the Water element are associated with the sexual and reproductive functions, they are related to the process of conception, birth, pregnancy, and mothering. Being receptive, able to listen to others, in touch with feelings, nourishing and loving—all are features important to having a healthy pregnancy and to supporting a child’s growth.
The woman’s egg must be open to the penetration by the man’s sperm. The uterus must be receptive to allowing the fertilized egg to create a home in which to grow—the womb, the container for new life. This growing embryo (and then fetus) survives, supported and protected in a water medium called the amniotic fluid, and is nourished by the mother’s blood and thus by her oxygen, nutrition, and vitality. In general, the Chinese consider pregnancy to be a yin state for the woman, who must concentrate on her environment within, and a yang state for the growing, expanding fetus.
The creation of a new human being is an important issue to consider in one’s life. Many feel that there is not much greater work or joy than raising a child or children. However, it does require a long-term commitment, the ability to give and to love, and the patience to listen and to teach. Other concerns often interfere with these responsibilities, and many children go through the important early years without the love and support that they need. This love in the early years helps toward inner contentment and the ability to function successfully and lovingly with the outer world.
During pregnancy, the prospective mother usually becomes more yin, sensitive, and emotional, all influenced by the increased hormonal output. For a woman to be totally open to entering this state while pregnant, she needs support from her partner. The man’s role during pregnancy traditionally has been supportive, both to provide shelter and food and also to give special care and love to the more sensitive woman. This is still important because excessive yang activities for the woman during pregnancy can create pregnancy imbalances and lead to difficulties in healthy birthing and a healthy baby.
It was necessary for all of us to have had a mother and father in order to arrive here on Earth. Men, women, and children have always needed this magical combination for growth, security, and physical, mental, and emotional health—the loving, nurturing and understanding comfort which has been associated with mothers and the guidance, stability, and care associated with fathers. These are not fixed roles, however; they are continually changing and vary with individuals. Men and women are both able to fill their children’s needs.
Traditionally, men often appear more yang, or outwardly strong, and women more yin, with a deeper emotional strength, which gives them the ability to deal compassionately and effectively with many childhood upsets. But men are becoming more concerned with being aware of and expressing their feelings. This in turn helps to facilitate more meaningful communication between men and women, and helps men be more sensitive and nurturing parents.
There is much to say about pregnancy, birthing, and child-rearing; many relevant and diverse books are presently available on these subjects. A couple of good books if you are interested in learning about yourself, your pregnancy, and especially if you’re considering a home birth, are Spiritual Midwifery by Ina May Gaskin and the people at The Farm in Tennessee, and Special Delivery by Rahima Baldwin. Realize that pregnancy is a state in which a woman needs to give to herself; and a man, to give his partner more support and nurturing. Communication on the emotional level is very important as it can help keep the heart well and the mind at peace.
A truly beneficial and fulfilling experience for two people is to choose to consciously create a child, serving the continuation of humankind. This takes a mutual decision, an understanding of the natural cycle of the woman to know when conception is possible, and clear mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual communication.
If one is not prepared to become a parent, there are many ways to prevent getting pregnant. The surest one is to avoid sexual relations with another of the opposite sex. The basic medical approaches for birth control in sexually active people have included birth control pills, the intrauterine device (IUD), the diaphragm and spermicidal jelly, rhythm method, and condoms. All of these have some advantages and some disadvantages, and all are in some way harmful, either by causing specific side effects or by failing to prevent conception. I feel birth control pills are especially dangerous and affect the kidney/Water energy and emotional balance.
In recent years, birth control in the form of hormone implants have become available. Because they provide a constant flow of hormone, they are even simpler to use than taking a daily pill. However, they must be changed once or twice yearly and have the same health concerns as oral contraceptives, with the additional risk of possible infection.
What used to be known as the “rhythm method,” having achieved greater acceptance as “natural birth control,” is still popular today, but requires more diligence and discipline to be effective. It also requires mutual responsibility between partners with the woman taking the lead by observing and understanding the nuances, or rhythms, of her fertility cycle. This is useful in conceiving a child, as the woman will know when she is ovulating. This method involves observing changes in the cervical mucus along with measuring the basal body temperature. Like a good nutritional program, natural birth control will be effective if you apply your knowledge.
During a normal menstrual cycle, estrogen stimulates the growth of the uterine wall and, along with follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), the maturation of an egg, or eggs. For ovulation to occur, the pituitary releases luteinizing hormone (LH) which causes an egg to be released and raises the body temperature about one degree Fahrenheit.
The egg, after leaving the ovary, lives only 12 hours and must have contact with a healthy sperm during that time to be fertilized. This is the only time of the month that a woman is biologically fertile. However, sperm can live from 24-36 hours. So for a woman to be assured of not getting pregnant, she needs to avoid sexual intercourse in the few days before she ovulates, and two to three days after.
The egg’s previous capsule, called the “corpus luteum,” makes and secretes progesterone after ovulation. This stimulates growth of the uterine wall (the glands and blood vessels) to prepare for the fertilized egg. The secretion of progesterone continues for approximately 14 days. Then if no egg has implanted in the uterine wall, the corpus luteum stops its secretion of progesterone, and the wall and uterine glands break down, resulting in bleeding—the menstrual cycle.
The effects of the hormones (estrogen, progesterone, FSH, and LH) create changes which may be learned and followed through the month, so that you can know exactly when your ovulation time will be. This is easier if you have regular menstrual cycles, but even if not, you can know at least the day on which you ovulate.
One thing to do is to follow the body temperature with a basal thermometer. Measure your temperature first thing in the morning upon awakening. It will rise approximately one degree Fahrenheit when ovulation occurs, and will stay at this level until the next menstrual period.
Also, the mucus secretions around the cervical opening at the upper portion of the vaginal canal change throughout the month. After the period there is usually only a little mucus, described as “dry.” It then changes to being more “wet” and as one gets closer to ovulation the mucus gets “sticky” and then stringy, called “spinn,” meaning that if you place some mucus between your thumb and index finger, then pull your fingers apart, the mucus forms threads or strings between them. When stringiness or “spinn” occurs, you are considered fertile and you should not have unprotected sexual intercourse that day or for the next three or four days.
After working with this process for a few months, you can know exactly what your cycle is. When you know your ovulation time, you need to abstain from intercourse at least two to three days before it and three days after it. Now, this is the catch, because you must know when you are fertile several days before ovulation. Thus, learning your pattern and abstaining at the appropriate times should prevent pregnancy. However, please realize that illness and emotional stress can affect your cycle and cause you to misjudge your fertile days. Therefore, you may want to consider using other protection, such as condoms, if you suspect your calculations could be off.
Of course, vaginal infections or having sex before checking your mucus may affect the quality of the mucus. Other symptoms that occur with ovulation besides sticky to stringy mucus and the rise in temperature may include breast soreness, “mittelschmertz” (pain secondary to ovulation), increased energy and sexual desire, and oiliness of the hair and skin.
Read one of the natural birth control books on the ovulation, mucus, and temperature methods before trying to put them into practice. It is very important that you know what you’re doing.
Dry or Wet Not Fertile
Sticky Getting Close
String or Spinn Fertile
There have always been some elements of risk with sexual behavior. In addition to the exchange of energy, there is also the potential exchange of infectious disease, commonly known as STDs (sexually transmitted diseases). These include syphilis and gonorrhea which are very painful but fortunately treatable; herpes and chlamydia which are uncomfortable, can cause infertility, and are difficult to treat; and HIV and AIDS which are potentially life-threatening. Suffice it to say, there is definite cause for care in all sexual interactions.
Contrary to popular belief, comprehensive sex education is no longer being taught in many of our public school systems, with the “total abstinence” or “just-say-no” approach gaining in popularity across the country. Thus, it is imperative that parents talk with their children about sexuality, the consequences of sexual behavior, and safe sexual practices. Whatever short-term embarrassment these discussions may cause is nothing compared to the long-term heartache of preventable tragedies such as teen pregnancy, illness, or even death. We must not be afraid to give our children the life-saving information they need to be wise, to be cautious, and to be safe. Parents need to be educated as well.
If you don’t know what you are doing and misuse your method of birth control or use none at all while having sexual intercourse, you may find yourself in a difficult situation. There is the potential, besides the joys of pregnancy and birth, for great frustration, sadness, anger, and spiritual upset when a woman and man find themselves having to choose a “therapeutic abortion,” or to have a baby when they are not ready.
Sadly, the responsibility to deal with this problem has often fallen on the shoulders of the woman. Each of us must choose for ourselves what we will do with our lives at any given moment, but the abortion of pregnancy should not be taken lightly. It may have physical, mental, and many emotional and spiritual side effects. It is never painless, but for some women it may be the best way out of a difficult situation.
Why do people have unwanted pregnancies and abortions? It has to do with sexual activity of course, but, like an illness, it also gives us a chance to take a look and understand ourselves better. In a sense, an unconscious desire is seeking to be known and become conscious, especially about our creativity.
Some women become pregnant easily while others often take months or years to conceive. This obviously involves both individual makeup, also appropriate preparation and the development of deep receptivity on the part of the woman, which depends on her sense of commitment and openness felt toward her partner. A pregnancy can create or strengthen bonds between the people involved.
Many women have told me their primary form of conception control is mental. By this they mean that, in addition to the obvious physical factors contributing to conception and pregnancy, there are also emotional and spiritual components that affect whether or not a woman conceives. I believe this is why some women conceive at times when, according purely to the physiology of their monthly cycles, they should not. There are also women who may wish to conceive and, despite circumstances which would seem perfectly conducive to conception, do not. After thirty years of medical practice, I have come to believe that there are certain aspects to the conception, pregnancy, and birth process that are mysterious, magical, even metaphysical. However, when a pregnancy occurs at an undesired time, it presents some challenging decisions for all those involved.
On a spiritual level, abortion can cause confusion, and what I believe are karmic actions, meaning they cause certain reactions which may appear as difficulties. Karma is a process of learning from this natural law of the universe. Each life crisis or illness has a lesson which, if we learn, we will not need to experience again. Yet, if we deny the potential learning this experience represents, the same lesson will present itself again and again, often more intensely, until we learn it. I have seen some women who have had a therapeutic abortion at one time, only to have difficulties or a spontaneous abortion or miscarriage in their next “wanted” pregnancy. Communication clears karma and learning our lessons will help prevent difficulties. Becoming responsible for our sexuality and its outcomes is a beginning.
When a woman becomes pregnant, she may feel connected to the spirit of the new being within her. If she alters the physical process, it is still important to receive the message that this being is bringing to the world. Communication with the spirit of the baby is possible and has been described by many women (as in Hygieia—A Woman’s Herbal by Jeannine Parvati). In an abortion, the woman or the prospective parents are choosing to grow and give birth to themselves instead of another being, but in this instance they must incorporate an awareness of the being that came briefly to inhabit their lives.
Another hypothesis is that although a woman may have a physical end of pregnancy, she and her body continue to be pregnant on other levels. She will, of course, need to replenish herself physically, but also she may be more emotionally sensitive and more in need of support in the months following abortion. Many times, these women have a difficult time emotionally or physically during the period around the time they would have delivered. I saw two women in my practice who incurred physical injury around their due dates. One even fell from her horse and fractured her pelvis. She called me right after it happened. I told her to go to the hospital for x-rays, and then the sparks went off in my brain and I remembered that she had had an abortion with much conflict months before. I asked her when her due date from that conception was. She thought and answered, “today.” This incident brought to me the awareness that I have just stated. This is not meant to be a scare tactic or to suggest that it happens a lot, but it should be something that is considered under these circumstances. I would like to see studied the state of women’s health around their estimated time of delivery after abortion.
I now tell a woman who has just had an abortion to care for herself as if she were still pregnant. She needs to eat well, rest, get proper exercise and fresh air, and give herself special nurturing. She should continue to be aware of the process of pregnancy and her emotional sensitivity, and take the week around her would-be delivery time to be with herself, or her partner if that is relevant, and to be open to any changes or new awareness she may experience.
As you move into winter, you need to adjust your diet once again. The weather is colder, so a diet that produces more heat is necessary. Days are shorter and you tend to have less physical activity, thereby burning fewer calories than you might during the more active summer. Don’t increase your food intake too much or you may gain more weight than you wish. A diet which is mainly carbohydrates and protein will produce the heat you need and perhaps give you a few added pounds, but with even moderate activity, you should stay in pretty good shape until spring comes and you can once again cleanse and lighten up.
Fruits are less available and form only a small part of the winter diet unless you live in a tropical climate. Vegetables can be eaten daily, some as salad, and others in cooked form, either steamed or baked. Some fried or sautéed foods fit more with the winter diet than in other seasons, though too much heated oil is hard on the liver. An occasional vegetable casserole might be good, too. Vegetable soups, especially on a cold or wet day, are nutritious, warming, and easy to digest. Since nature’s plants are in their deeper parts, root vegetables like carrots, turnips, onions, and potatoes are especially right for the winter diet. Garlic and ginger root will spice up your life, too, and cayenne pepper adds heat to your meals and warmth to your toes!
Cooked whole grains make an excellent staple in the winter diet. These complex carbohydrates burn well in the body as fuel and are good for the intestines and for elimination. Millet and buckwheat are good body heaters and less starchy than the other grains like brown rice, wheat, barley, or oats. If grains are cooked or eaten with beans like red adzuki beans, mung beans, black beans, or lentils, you will have a complete protein. Muramoto states that red adzuki beans are good for the kidneys while black beans assist the sexual function.
Millet and black beans (soak beans in water for 12 hours before cooking with millet) or brown rice, lentils, and sunflower seeds (ratio 2:1:1) can be cooked together by simmering slowly in one and a half times their amount of water. After about 40 minutes, dish out the mixture into bowls, and add a little fresh oil, tamari, cayenne, and nutritional yeast, or yogurt, curry, and parsley, and eat up. These grains and bean mixtures make complete vegetable proteins and are tasty, warming, and nutritious. Complete proteins contain all the essential amino acids which your body does not produce.
Nuts are good in the winter as a snack or in salads. You can make nut milks too, as described in the Late Summer section. Cow or goat milk products can be eaten somewhat more freely than in other seasons. Feta cheese, which is made from sheep’s milk, is one of the easier ones for your body to handle. It breaks apart rather than sticks together and the slightly salty flavor fits in with the winter diet.
For meat eaters, I would recommend primarily fish, particularly deep-sea fish like halibut and swordfish from non-polluted areas. Some chicken or red meat might be okay if you are sure the animals have not been fed with lots of chemicals and hormones to pump up their muscles. Occasional red meat stimulates and brightens up the blood, heart, and complexion, and is a great building food, but too much is over-stimulating and endangers the heart, blood vessels, and kidneys. After you begin eating less meat in your diet, you’ll become more aware of what effect it has on you.
The winter climate varies from place to place, with different degrees of coldness, wetness, and sunshine. You each have your own level of activity which varies as well. On a day-to-day basis the climate and your activities may change, but your body will tell you what to consume. You must listen.
Since winter is related to the Water element, let us look into the deep blue sea to find more healthful foods. I just mentioned ocean (salt water) fish, low in fats with high amounts of protein, minerals and vitamins, as a very good food source. Another great source of nutrition is ocean seaweed. Seaweeds are very common in the Japanese diet.
Seaweeds like kelp, dulse, nori, and hijiki are high-protein vegetables, high in vitamins E and A, and particularly rich in calcium, phosphorus, potassium, iron, iodine, and other trace minerals. They stimulate and strengthen the skin, hair, and nails, and nourish the endocrine system, especially the thyroid and adrenal glands. Seaweed can be eaten raw after rinsing off the salt, but they may be very chewy that way. Most often, they are eaten in soups, toasted to eat with rice or vegetables, or wrapped around rice with vegetables or fish, as in sushi. Sushi is a Japanese dish in which nori seaweed is rapped around white rice with the center containing a piece of raw fish, cucumber, or white radish.
There is even a seaweed product put out as a powder, sodium alginate, which when taken orally in capsules or tablets, two/twice daily, is supposed to assist the body in eliminating accumulated radiation and other heavy metals and toxins.
There is a wholesome sushi dish which was invented by Bethany Argisle, called “deep-sea divers.” Boil up a medium-sized pot of brown rice. Into a wooden bowl, place several chopped yellow or white onions, and 4–6 pressed cloves of garlic; cover the onions and garlic with cold-pressed olive oil, then squeeze two small or medium-sized onions, add a taste or honey or pure maple syrup, some cayenne pepper or hot sauce without preservatives, then add soy sauce, tamari, or miso to taste, and a splash of spring water or sake. Into this bowl add the brown rice and mix.
Now you’ll need about two packages of nori seaweed sheets to roll around that flavorful rice. Lay out one sheet of nori and place a couple of tablespoons of rice across the center. Along the top of the rice you can run cilantro (sprouted coriander), shredded or slivered daikon (white radish), or alfalfa sprouts. “Kim chee,” Korean spiced cabbage, can also be used in the center if you like your sushi hot. Then roll it up.
Each “diver” should be about 11⁄2 inches in diameter. Lay your “deep-sea divers” on a tray, cover, and refrigerate. After 8–12 hours, they will have congealed, the seaweed will be tender, and you can cut them into 2-4 inch lengths and serve. This sweet and sour version should be a big hit!
The soybean is another food whose use is growing rapidly. It is an inexpensive, high-protein (35–40 percent) food which is particularly important to the vegetarian since it is one of the few sources of complete protein and a good substitute for animal foods. It is still best, though, to obtain your protein from a variety of sources.
Soybeans can be sprouted, cooked as the whole bean, or used to make soymilk, tofu, and miso. They are not only rich in protein, but also high in many minerals like calcium, phosphorus, and potassium, with moderate amounts of iron, B vitamins, and other trace elements.
Tofu is soybean curd, and for a simple home recipe soak the whole beans 36–48 hours, changing the water every 12 hours. Then rinse and blend the beans with a little water and pour into a pot of boiling water. Bring beans to a boil and let cool. Then add nigari or lemon juice to coagulate. Let it sit for about 12 hours and the curd and whey will separate and both can be used, but the curd (tofu) made into cakes is more popular. Tofu is a tasty, nutritious protein food, with a cheese-like quality, but is much lighter than cheese. It goes well with most any vegetable dish and with grains, especially brown rice. Steamed, baked, or lightly fried in oil or water with other vegetables, it can be used in many ways. Onions, carrots, celery, tofu, and cashew nuts or sliced almonds all cooked together make a tasty dish. Tofu is great added to salads, or makes a wonderful salad dressing when blended with lemon, avocado, a bit of miso, and seasonings.
A tofu-avocado salad is a refreshing, filling, high-protein treat. Mash a half pound of uncooked tofu with one or two avocados, add a little ground sunflower seed/nut mix, a little olive oil, diced green onion and tomato, fresh lemon, seasonings like soy sauce, cayenne pepper, yeast, and basil. This can be eaten as it is, in a whole grain bread sandwich with alfalfa sprouts, or as a dip for chips, crackers, celery, or carrot sticks.
Miso is another important soybean product, also known as soybean paste. The soybeans are fermented and aged alone or with grains such as brown rice or barley to make several kinds of miso. It is an important part of the Japanese diet as a soup base, and its use is growing rapidly in America. It is rich in protein and vitamins and contains about ten percent salt.
Miso is an alkalizing food and its fermentation assists the body’s digestion and metabolism. In Japan it is also said to improve one’s resistance to illness. For those who wish to strengthen their systems, miso can be used daily as a broth, as it is said to be a good tonic. A teaspoon to a cup of boiling water is mixed. Do not boil miso as it can get very bitter and this destroys the living bacteria and enzymes. In Oriental medicine, miso has been used in the treatment of arthritis, colitis, diabetes, and hypoglycemia; for tobacco problems; and to assist in breast feeding. It is a great afternoon drink for those who suffer from late afternoon or post-work symptoms like headache, dizziness, irritability, or general low energy.
A good soup to have on the fire for your friends and family on a rainy day will combine the winter foods in a miso broth. Simmer some carrots, onions, and garlic in water in a stainless steel, porcelain, earthenware or iron pot for 15-20 minutes, then turn off the fire, add miso paste, a good squeeze of lemon, and whatever seasonings you wish. Stir, cover, and let the pot sit and cool for 30 minutes or so until it reaches a warm edible temperature. I like to add pieces of mochi, which is made from sweet glutenous rice and mugwort herb. It really thickens the soup and adds yet another nice flavor.
With the contemporary concern over x-rays and other forms of environmental radiation, you should know that both miso and seaweed are said to act in the body to help rid it of radiation, heavy metals like lead and strontium, and other toxic substances. In Hiroshima after the bombings, one hospital which served miso every day to all its patients observed a much lower incidence of radiation sickness and death than in the general population or at other hospitals.
“The minerals and enzymes contained in seaweeds aid the body in eliminating the effects of animal food and help it adapt to vegetal-quality foods. In addition, seaweed helps the body discharge radioactive wastes imbibed from the atmosphere (food environment too)! It has been proven experimentally that alginic acid, an important element in brown algae such as wakame, kombu, and other types of kelp, and hijiki, acts on metallic elements in the intestine, turning them into insoluble salts which are discharged from the body.”
All these highly mineralized ocean products come from the salty sea, and are good sources for our daily salt needs. Sodium chloride, NaCl, is consider the basic body salt, though any combination of a positively charged element(s) with a negatively charged one(s) makes a salt, such as calcium phosphate Ca3(PO4)2, the bone salt, or potassium chloride, KCl. Sodium chloride is one of our key body salts and aids in the distribution of water throughout the body. It is called the “electric salt” as it helps to circulate the current of life.
As vital as it is to human life, salt (NaCl) can also be a danger, especially in the amounts eaten in the average diet. Western medicine has observed its involvement in diseases like hypertension and congestive heart failure. Excess salt, creating water retention, can cause emotional problems and affect the kidney’s work in balancing body water. Salt use is commonly related to premenstrual tensions. Too much in the diet can create constipation as well.
It is actually the sodium of the sodium chloride that creates the main effect. Sodium is the key element in the blood and the fluids surrounding the cells, and takes water with it wherever it goes. Other sodium chemicals like monosodium glutamate, used commonly in Chinese cooking and responsible for many postmeal symptoms, and sodium nitrate, a carcinogen used to preserve cured meats, can create similar imbalances.
In Oriental medicine, it is thought that the right amounts of naturally occurring salts give power, strength, and energy, and support the kidneys and the Water element. However, too much weakens us and overworks the kidneys. A diet high in red meats and animal fats carries much concentrated salt and oil which over a long period affects the fine blood filtering membranes of the kidneys and, thus, their function. Both this diet and too much salt also can injure the blood, leading to vessel and heart problems. It is possible that salt, NaCl, is only of secondary concern to these other dietary dangers.
The body sometimes stores excessive amounts of salt. Some ways to eliminate this is to diminish the consumption of animal meats for a while in the diet and consume more fruits and raw vegetables. Also, a little alcohol helps clear salt which is possibly why meat eaters crave alcohol so often. Bathing, especially in a mineral bath or the ocean, helps to eliminate stored salt from the body.
Our bodies need approximately 500–1,000 milligrams of salt per day. This is less than a teaspoonful, but naturally occurring salts found in foods, both animal and vegetable, when spread through the day, can be handled more easily.
Nowadays, processing foods removes much of their natural salts, and then, for flavor, manufacturers add more salt (white sugar too) to many of these foods. Almost all packaged and canned foods have some salt added to them. This chemical can create physical and psychological addiction just as sugar does, and it starts early, as many commercial baby foods have added salt. Even the water of most cities has significant levels of sodium. Some cities in Texas, Missouri, California, Arizona, and New Mexico have very high levels of sodium in the public drinking water.
The table salt that most people consume is not good because it is refined through heat processing, bleached with chemicals to make it white, then another chemical, aluminum stearate, is added so that the salt flows well and does not clump. Natural salts like sea or rock salt crystals will stick together when they become moist. Seawater is about three percent NaCl and you can buy good sea salt in which sunshine alone has been used to extract it. I think this is the best salt to use if you have to use salt, but you must use it sparingly as it is concentrated.
There are good vegetable salts made of dried and powdered vegetables with some sea salt added; some are even made with low sodium concentrations. A high-protein form of salt flavoring is made from sesame seeds and sea salt. It is called sesame salt, or gomasio, and is made by toasting sesame seeds lightly and quickly in a dry skillet, then grinding them in a coffee or nut grinder, and mixing with sea salt. Use seven or more parts sesame to one part sea salt. Sesame seeds are a high calcium/mineral food and a good one for people who eat little animal products.
Most soy sauce sold in stores is mass-produced and contains preservatives. However, “tamari” soy sauce is a naturally aged and fermented preparation from soybeans, with only wheat, salt, and water. It is flavorful, about 18 percent salt, and can be used sparingly. It is especially tasty for grain dishes. Miso paste made in the U.S. is about ten percent salt, but when used in soups it dilutes to about one percent, even though it has a salt-quenching taste. You do need some daily salt in your diet, and the more you exercise and sweat, the more replacement of salt you need. Miso broth and soup are good ways to do this.
In general, however, it is best to try to get most of your salt intake from the wide selection of nature’s foods in which sodium chloride and other salts occur. It is not easy to break the habit of adding salt to your foods. It is very important to stop using refined table salt and products made with added salt. The fewer spices and added salts and sugars you use in your diet, the more sensitive your palate will become to the inherent taste of foods, and the more you and your body will enjoy these foods and the benefits that come with them.
Winter is the season of storage and preparation. You need to take special care with your activity level during the winter months. This is a busy time, with the holidays and all, but you must be careful not to run your batteries down. Plenty of sleep and relaxation from tensions will help to recharge you. Though this is a time of less physical activity, you still must keep your body in shape. Move every joint every day! Exercise, stretching, and dance forms which require good, deep breathing will help keep your energy circulating.
Deep breathing actually requires the use of your abdominal muscles to fully expand the lungs, filling their lower and upper parts. A complete exhalation empties the lungs via contracting the abdominal muscles. Complete breathing fully exercises the diaphragm, your breathing muscle. Air is most important to life; you can live a long time without food, days without water, but only a few minutes without air. “Life is in the breath, therefore he who only half breathes, half lives,” a Yoga proverb tells us.
The more you can get your energy circulating, open up your joints, and release your resistance, the more your body will clear out its excesses, such as too much food, drugs, emotions, work, tensions, etc. You will then feel lighter and better, stronger and clearer, and have more command of your creative, expressive, and communicative being. Two processes which will help you produce these results are ancient Eastern practices: Yoga from India, and Tai Chi Chuan from China.
Yoga is a multi-leveled discipline that generates health and flexibility. It can range from being simply a series of daily exercises called “asanas,” or postures, to a total lifestyle incorporating the regular practice of physical exercises or “asanas,” meditation, diet, and life philosophy. Yoga is a Sanskrit word meaning “union” or “joining together,” as in integrating the body, mind, and spirit. Its root is “to yoke” as to control or guide the mind. B. K. S. Iyenger, author of Light on Yoga, gives an analogy between the mind and a chariot, both being pulled by two forces, the animal and the breath. This analogy also applies to the Chinese system, relating the lungs (breath), the mind, and the animal spirit which represents the instincts and desires. By controlling the breath, we gain the strength to tame the desires and bring peace to the mind. A way to do this is by disciplined and regular practice of yoga called “sadhana.”
Creating new habits will help to replace the older ones. By practicing asanas (yoga postures) regularly, you can develop balance and agility, endurance, strength, and wonderful vitality. Yoga helps to relieve stress, bring relaxation, and maintain emotional harmony. It also helps to relieve stiffness in the joints, limbs, and spine. This is important to how you feel: a yoga proverb says “You are as young as your spine is flexible.”
Many people tell me that doing yoga helps them center themselves and puts them in touch with their bodies. Focusing the mind on the movements, as in deep concentration, helps you to feel the whole body and its areas of tension, and to relax and release these tensions. Yoga is wonderful for arthritis and as physical therapy for many illnesses. In stimulating the life force (prana), you increase your body’s healing powers, vitality, and strength.
There are many, many yoga postures, styles, and teachers. It is not a competitive sport. You must go at your own pace and watch and listen to your body. Each stretch is only that, a stretch, not a painful push. Joel Kramer, a yoga teacher, calls yoga practice “playing the edge,” finding how far you can go, the edge of your abilities. It creates subtle changes that you will notice. Use a flat floor or earth surface covered with a rug, a foam mat, or a folded blanket. Allow minimally 20-30 minutes daily for the exercises and relaxation. Wear comfortable, loose clothing. The early morning is a common time to practice, though you may find your body is stiffer earlier in the day. Late afternoon or evening is also a good time, or even before bedtime, but you should practice on an empty stomach, at least two hours after a meal.
During pregnancy, most postures can be done safely during the first few months; then more care must be observed. There are several excellent books available that guide pregnant women in proper yoga techniques; local teachers with experience for pregnancy may be the best choice. During menstrual periods, certain inverted postures are sometimes not recommended for women.
There are many books of yoga with pictures to display the many techniques and positions. In every city there are practitioners and teachers of yoga. It is best to have first-hand experience in learning a “set” which you can continue. This can be done in a couple of months. Discipline and continuation is up to you. Some books which are good teachers include Richard Hittleman’s Yoga: 28 Day Exercise Plan and Swai Kriyananda’s Yoga Postures for Self-Awareness. Both are simple, straightforward, and good for beginners. A more advanced but inclusive book is Light on Yoga, by B. K. S. Iyengar, who demonstrates his own amazing flexibility. There are a few good yoga books designed for the elderly, one being Easy Does It: Yoga for People Over 60 by Christensen and Rankin. A yoga book for children that is also fun is Be a Frog, Be a Bird, Be a Tree by Rachel Carr.
You don’t have to see the old image of yoga as being done by foreigners who go through many strange contortions or advanced postures like headstands or “full lotus” position. There is a place to start for each of you, but remember, go at your own pace. Yoga includes many gentle exercises geared toward complete breathing, relaxation, and gentle stretching.
These might include sitting cross-legged and breathing; lying flat on your back for deep relaxation, “savasana”; forward, backward, and side-to-side bending. As you gain comfort and flexibility, you can advance into such positions as the cobra, locust, leg clasp, plough, and shoulder stand. Most poses have beginning and intermediate stretches. The inverted poses like the head or shoulder stand, and the plough, and the abdominal lifts (sucking in the abdomen) all help to stimulate the abdominal organs, and especially the glands like the thyroid, allowing yoga to help reduce and regulate body weight.
Yoga generally enhances circulation and the functions of the organs, glands, and nervous system. And yoga is truly geared toward realizing the Self as it reawakens the great power that lies dormant in the organism and utilizes it for developing one’s potential.
Winning has to do with nothing other than feeling good about yourself.
Tai Chi Chuan, a flowing series of movements, is an ancient Oriental art used for self-defense, flexibility, and health. It means “the supreme ultimate” and is symbolized by the yin-yang symbol, for it promotes centering and harmony—a blending of the inner and outer, the mind and body, masculine and feminine. With these effects, tai chi is often considered a form of meditation and a martial art. It creates power and strength as well as grace and flexibility. There are a variety of forms and many teachers of this “dance of quiet motion.” Books are available with pictures of all the movements, but one must really learn tai chi from an experienced teacher.
The effects toward balance and coordination are subtle, but powerful. There are short forms with 64 movements and longer ones with 108 movements. Tai chi can be done slowly or quickly. Its origin is linked to the I Ching, the Book of Changes, an ancient Chinese text describing 64 different social situations and the possible changes that exist in nature. Tai Chi Chuan has names for its moves like “waving hands like clouds,” “single whip,” “grasping sparrows tail,” and “repulsing the monkey.” It is beautiful to watch, and replenishing to do.
It brings a sense of flowing like a river, a rhythm that simulates that of nature, and a circulation of the “chi,” or life force energy (called “prana” in India). From the back cover of Tai Chi—A Way of Centering and I Ching by Gia-Fu Feng and Jerome Kirk:
“(Tai chi is) meditation in movement, a philosophical system, a set of principles of self-defense, a prophylaxis against disease, and exquisite dance. It corrects your posture and enhances relaxation. It energizes your body and tranquilizes your spirit. It is a bridge between Eastern meditation and Western psychotherapy, integrating mind and senses. The effortless effort of its movements leads to the action of non-action and the ancient message of the I Ching.”
Tai Chi Chuan and yoga are more subtle forms of exercise than many Western sports. In winter, inner strengthening is important, especially helpful in clearing the possible body stagnation. As the seasons change, your activities and exercises will also change, but the balance of the inward-directed, stretching, and the outward-oriented activities must always be present. Remember, the yin and yang energies exist together as one; to be dominantly one or the other allows you to experience only part of life.
Each one of you has your own exercise rhythm. To learn a new practice, you might begin with the traditional form taught by an experienced teacher, then allow your own expression to happen. Both yoga and tai chi are body languages which mirror the movement of nature. They began somewhere, very likely with someone like you or me sitting around, who became inspired. The creative potential of the human being is beautiful and never-ending. If you observe children playing, you can see their flexibility and the many yoga-like postures they assume with their only teacher being their spirit of youth.
During the winter, when much of the energy is in the roots of plants, boiling up some herbal roots can be helpful for your roots, too. Many herb roots are body and blood cleansers as well, strengthening specific systems. For example, burdock root is good for the blood, lungs, and skin. Comfrey root helps the lungs and mucous linings, especially having a tonic effect on the intestinal walls, increasing your potential for assimilation of nutrients, a most important process for your well-being. You are not necessarily what you eat; more precisely, you are what you assimilate.
During this season, marshmallow root (Althaea officinalis) is particularly helpful for soothing irritations or inflammations in the kidneys and bladder. This root, made into a tea, and taken internally, acts as a diuretic, increasing the flow of urine and as a demulcent-emollient, meaning it soothes and softens body tissue. It can be used medicinally as a poultice to heal and allay sore and inflamed areas. A poultice is made by crushing the leaf or root, pouring just enough boiling water over it to make a thick paste and applying it to the appropriate area(s), then covering the poultice and area with a hot cloth or a hot water bottle.
Marshmallow root can be used as well both internally and externally for inflammation of the mucous membranes, especially bladder, vaginal areas, and rectum, or for inflamed bowels. It is also helpful for lung and bronchial complaints.
In winter, you also may need herbs which are body heaters. Cayenne pepper, for example, is a good natural stimulant in winter just as in summer. Ginger root (Zingiber officinale) is another good heater as it helps circulation and increases the strength of the Fire element.
Ginger root is simmered 15-20 minutes for tea or when used in cooking. It is a stimulating tonic for the stomach, increasing gastric secretions and aiding digestion. It helps to relieve intestinal gas, so it is helpful for digestive cramps and abdominal pains. It is also an herbal remedy for diarrhea. As a tea and compress, ginger root is used commonly for colds and bronchitis, and for suppressed menstruation. A small towel can be soaked in a strong, hot ginger tea and applied to the cold or congested area. When consumed hot as a tea, ginger facilitates sweating, so it is often helpful for fevers and colds.
Other bladder and kidney herbs include a berry, a seed, and a leaf: juniper berries, flax seeds, and nettle leaves. Juniper (Juniperus communis) acts as a carminative (relieves intestinal gas) and a diuretic as well as being helpful in vaginal and venereal diseases. It is good in combination with other diuretic herbs such as cleavers and uva ursi. Juniper berries are used as a preventive against disease when taken after exposure to illness or when resistance is low. The berries chewed or taken as tea can also be used daily when traveling to keep your resistance high.
Flaxseed (Linum usitatissimum), simmered and drunk as a tea, is useful in mucous and inflamed conditions and in problems of the urinary organs, soothing and cleansing the kidneys and bladder. Ground flaxseed mixed with water makes a good poultice on local inflammation and boils.
Nettle (Urtica dioica) leaves are eaten, drunk as tea, or made into hair shampoo or lotion for the complexion. It is a diuretic, tonic, and astringent and is considered an excellent herb for kidney trouble, backaches, or uterine problems. You can use it as a kidney tonic, building strength and energy when you drink it daily as a tea. Make the tea by adding one cup of boiling water to a pot which has one tablespoon of nettle leaves in it. Steep 20 minutes and drink.
The young leaves lightly steamed and eaten are high in iron, act as a blood purifier, and may assist in weight reduction. The (stinging) nettle plant causes a mild red, itchy skin reaction when used externally, and this action has been helpful for the joint pains of rheumatism.
A few herbal combinations for kidney and bladder problems can use any of these herbs just mentioned. For bladder infections, drink lots of tea made with marshmallow root, juniper berry, cleavers, and peppermint. A nice tea combination for winter is ginger root, flax or fenugreek seeds, and nettle. Fenugreek seed tea is also a good kidney and adrenal tonic and can be brewed with marshmallow root, juniper berries, cleavers, and nettle.
Nettle
Urtica dioica
To make super herbal teas, give each herb its proper place in the whole. Leaves and flowers go last in the pot, never boiled, while barks and roots need simmering for 15-20 minutes, and seeds for 5-10 minutes to extract their deeper essence before adding and steeping with other leaf and flower herbs in the teapot. Before drinking, let all herbs steep together in a teapot for 20 minutes.
Each herb can best give its essence to the mixture as follows:
Hard roots (e.g., comfrey, burdock)—Simmer 20–30 minutes.
Soft roots (e.g., licorice, marshmallow, ginger)—Simmer 10–15 minutes.
Barks (e.g., cinnamon, sassafras)—Simmer 10–20 minutes.
Seeds or berries (e.g., fennel, fenugreek, anise, juniper)—Simmer 5–10 minutes.
Leaves (e.g., peppermint, rosemary, nettle)—Never boil or simmer! Just place in pot and pour in boiling water. Steep 20 minutes.
Flowers (e.g., hibiscus, chamomile)—Don’t cook; steep 10–20 minutes.
Sample Tea Preparation
Using comfrey root, ginger root, cinnamon bark, fennel seed, peppermint, and chamomile.
To make 4 cups of tea, begin by simmering one full tablespoon of comfrey root in 5 cups of water in a covered stainless steel or glass pot. After 5-10 minutes, add 5 thin slices of ginger root and a few sticks of cinnamon bark. In another 5-10 minutes add a tablespoon of fennel seeds and let herbs simmer together for 5-10 minutes. This makes 20-30 minutes of simmering so far. Now pour all this into a teapot which has in it two tablespoons of peppermint and one tablespoon of chamomile, then let this whole formula steep together for 15-20 minutes. Pour and serve as is, or with a taste of honey and/or a twist of lemon. Enjoy!
Winter is the coldest and darkest of seasons. It is the time when living creatures go within, while nature’s crops are in storage. Nature and mankind are dominated by the yin principle. You must stay warm and it is important in winter especially to have a cozy spot to relax, sleep, and dream. Winter is the time of quiet preparation while awaiting the greening rebirth of spring with the rising winds, singing birds, and blooming flowers.
The winter season relates to the Water element and to the kidneys and bladder. These organs determine the water, mineral, and acid-base balances in the body by filtering the blood, making urine, and eliminating unneeded substances.
In the Chinese system, the kidneys control the life force energy; our vitality and longevity is said to be stored in the kidneys, visible externally by the sparkle or vibrancy of our eyes. Weak kidney energy may be experienced as lethargy or low energy and low vitality, while strong kidney energy may express the opposite, plus willpower and ambition, also ruled by the kidneys.
Fire
“The United States of America was officially founded in 1776, under the Chinese sign of the Fire Monkey. In Chinese astrology the monkey is the wizard of the impossible, brilliantly original and full of pleasure, with a natural talent for learning, inventing, and motivating, as well as being a quick-witted genius, trickster, and charlatan. As the Fire Monkey birth sign, this supports the United States with remarkable growth and dazzling accomplishments.”
HANDBOOK OF CHINESE HOROSCOPES
Theodora Lau
The Nei Ching says, “The kidneys are like the officials who do energetic work, and they excel in their ability and cleverness.” This ability and cleverness may be strengthened by nourishing the receptive (yin) principle, of which the kidneys are part, through deep relaxation and reflection. From this process a blending of the inner with the outer can occur, which can give rise to knowledge, wisdom, and clear guidance.
The kidneys and Water element rule over the emotions. Both water and the emotions are unpredictable. When flowing, all is well; but when blocked or stagnant, great pressure can develop or disease can set in.
Kidneys, Water, and emotions are all ruled by the yin principle, the moon, the deep and dark. These aspects may stimulate fear from within, the emotion governed by the Water element, and fear or lack of faith may injure the kidneys or create an imbalance of Water in the body. With attunement to the “feminine” power, deep strength and wisdom develop. Fear, ear, and hear are all associated with the Water element; the ability to listen before acting is important to the well-being of this element.
The winter diet should be warming and substantial, with more whole grains, less fruit, lots of steamed or baked vegetables, and more dairy and flesh foods if these are in your diet. Soups are wonderful during the colder weather. Ocean foods like fresh fish and the seaweeds are especially good now. Soybeans, one of the complete vegetable proteins, is a good food with many uses, whether sprouted or cooked, as soymilk and tofu; or fermented and aged to make miso.
Winter is a good time to do indoor exercises. Throughout the year, it is important to balance outward, energy-expanding activities like walking, jogging, tennis, and swimming, with quiet energy-accumulating, internally rejuvenating practices like yoga, tai chi, and breathing-relaxation. Keeping your spine and other joints flexible and mobile is important to how you feel. These practices can keep you young and vital.
Much of nature is hiding in her roots during the winter, gathering the energy to be reborn in the spring. This gathering of energy is important to us as well, and we may facilitate it by brewing herbal roots and drinking lots of good tea. Ginseng is a fine general tonic and rejuvenator, but burdock, comfrey, ginger, licorice, and sarsaparilla roots are also traditional energizers.
Vitally important to your health in winter, as in all seasons, is a balancing of the intake and output of your energy in the form of foods, feelings, and work. You need proper rest and sleep, relaxation and play, to balance the activity, stress, and work in your life. Creating and maintaining cleanliness within and without is also important to staying healthy.
The coming of each new season brings stress and change; illness can more easily overtake you then. But illness itself gives you the opportunity to reevaluate your life. However, if you do this voluntarily and change with the new season you may prevent illness. Winter is an important time to feel what your inner changes are and weave them into your dance of existence.
