From an Eastern perspective, autumn/fall is the METAL season, a time of harvest - a time to pull inward, to store up, and to prepare for the cold stillness of winter. Also, associated with dryness, the color white, a pungent smell, and rice. The metal element is associated with the energy of the LUNGS, which relate to the nose, our ability to smell, skin and hair, grief and melancholy, weeping sounds, mucus, and vigor.
The lungs are the most fragile organ in the human body (from an acupuncture perspective) yet also the most vital to our immunity. Because the warmer months of summer are so "scatterred and free" (from an energetic perspective), autumn is a time to contract and focus. Foods can be used to help nourish and protect the lung organ. Adding more SOUR flavored foods, such as sourdough bread, sauerkraut, olives, pickles, aduki beans, vinegar, cheese, yogurt, lemons, limes, grapefruit, and sour varieties of apples and plums nourish the lungs.
With the humidity of summer moving out and the dryness of autumn moving in, the body needs moisture. Symptoms such as nose bleeds, dry lips, dry skin, and thirst are common this time of year. Foods that moisten the body are spinach, barley, pear, apple, tofu, soy milk, honey, milk and dairy products, eggs, crab, clams, peanuts, sesame seeds, almonds, pork, and minimizing the use of salt.
Emotionally, the lungs are associated with sadness and grief. Lungs in harmony can feel sadness and grief for an event/person then let it go. Those with weak lung energy hold onto that grief and sadness, not letting the emotions go. Not resolving these emotions causes long term contraction of the lungs and impairs the overall energy in the body, as well as immune system. According to Paul Pitchford, "Virtually everyone with lung and colon problems, regardless of the source of the problem, has unresolved sadness that needs to be cleared."
Because the lung energy is outwardly expressed by the skin, often you can "see" lung energy in balance or disharmony. Healthy lung energy outwardly appears as soft, supple skin and lustrous hair. On the contray, dull or dry skin is indicative of lungs in disharmony.
This season it is important to stay hydrated (prevents dryness), choose sour foods (promotes constriction, thus nourishing lungs), and resolve any lingering grief or sadness.
|
