Autumn: immunity season
Autumn, immunity and the Lung season
In Traditional Chinese Medicine we look at health through a lens of the natural world. The five elements that represent the five stages that nature flows through, and thus our own internal world is reflective of. With the crisp cool air, days becoming shorter, leaves turning a brilliant display of colour and falling to the ground and snow on the mountain peaks, we are welcoming and now deep within the crest of Autumn and what we call in Chinese Medicine the Metal season. As days become even shorter and colder we move into Winter the Water season, and then into Spring the Wood season and so forth. One flowing inevitably into and helping to create the other until the cycle repeats.
What does this mean for our health and Acupuncture or Chinese Medicine medical care? Well each of the 5 elements and seasons corresponds to 2 human organs and how they function and relate to one another within the complexity of the human landscape. Chinese Medicine is based on the understanding that our internal weather is a reflection of the external climate and surroundings and their consistent ever changing nature.
So what does Metal season mean for us as humans? It is the season of the Lungs and the emotion of grief, paired with the Large Intestine organ and the process of letting go. You may notice these emotions surfacing this time of the year. These are some of the more difficult emotions to face and to feel. Chinese Medicine can offer support in processing emotion and how it may be showing up in your body. When we allow emotion to move through us rather than repressing and creating stuck emotion within the body, we can then move with greater ease and grace from one season or element of the cycle or of our lives into the next. We Then also avoid the physical manifestations of stuck emotion that are likely to surface one day in perhaps another season. You may also notice heightened lung specific issues this time of the year; asthma flare ups, cold and flus, allergies, respiratory difficulties, sweating or water metabolism issue’s. Not to mention the intensified rollercoaster of stress we’ve all been navigating as of late. You may be experiencing physical, mental or emotional exhaustion, or imbalance which of course is going to aggravate any underlying health concerns. The organ of the skin is an external manifestation of lung energy and health, anything skin related can also can be treated through this lens and might be worse for you at this time of year.
How does Metal season relate to immunity and to our immune systems? In Chinese Medicine your immune system is called Wei Qi and is governed by the lungs. It circulates between your skin and muscle and is always on the look-out to differentiate what will serve you and what will not. Wei Qi is created within the body from breathing in air and taking water and food in, this is then mixed with our prenatal Jing Qi (what we get upon birth from our parents). Exercising our lungs, breathing clean air and eating nutritious foods are evidently very important components to creating healthy and strong Wei QI or immune systems. Wei Qi is yang in nature, meaning it is strongest during the day and weaker at night, the Yin time. This explains why when you’re sick you often feel worse as night approaches and better as the morning turns into day. Your symptoms are dependent on the dance of yin and yang within the 24 hour clock and your immune system can fight better during the peak of yang.
Seeking Chinese Medical care can help tremendously any time of year to balance and harmonize with the seasons. There is no better time of the year to work with your lung energy and immune system on the treatment table and out in the world. If you have medical benefits it’s likely that Acupuncture is covered and the end of the year is fast approaching. You can expect any of or a combination of Acupuncture needles, Acupressure massage, Chinese herbs, lifestyle and diet coaching, and or cupping to treat your specific individualized needs.
Other ways you can support yourself this time of the year is simply to get outside, breathe in that crisp cool air as deeply as you can, focus on cooked warming nutritiously dense foods, and take in the beauty of the colours and the season around you.
Thank you for this insightful description! I understand why moving into fall/winter brings on a slight depression for me, accompanied with emotions unaccounted for. Very interesting.
Paula