Winter : Water Season

With the merriment of the solstice and celebration season over, we’re entering the height of winter, with long days of biting cold, leafless (and sometimes) snowy landcapes. Not long ago, this season signified a time of slowing down. Humanity, along with animals, retreated to the warmth of their dwellings. Time was spent in front of the fire, eating foods harvested from nature, and we made time to nourish our bodies, keeping them warm and hydrated. Instead of engaging in strenuous or exhausting activities, we allowed ourselves several months of peaceful rest.

Today, we trudge on through the cold, dash from work, to the gym, to parties. We’ve largely forgotten how to live with the seasons, and instead fight against the frosty air. While the majority of us can’t take off 4 months of work a year to indulge in self-care, we can make time for ourselves and ensure we give our bodies the things we naturally crave this time of year– warmth, rich foods, nourishment, a slow, slumbering pace, and rest.

Winter & the Water Element

Winter is ruled by water, the most nourishing and essential substance for life. This element stores much of our energy reserves, which is why rest is crucial in the winter. This time of year, over-work and lack of sleep easily depletes the water element and the kidneys, especially. 

The calling of water is to flow.  Water moves effortlessly and takes the exact form of whatever contains it. A balanced water element is able to move smoothly through the season with strength, courage, and willpower. There’s a sense of flow and ease, and an alignment to one’s purpose or destiny, and an unequivocal depth, darkness, and mystery to this element. Thus, it makes sense that in this murky depth he emotion associated with the water element is fear. In appropriate amounts, fear is essential to survival because it enables us to navigate situations with care and caution.  When the water element is out of balance, one might experience excess fear, phobias, and lack of courage, and may become more restrictive and controlling in an attempt to not feel these uncomfortable feelings, or may become withdrawn, sullen, and lethargic.

The Huang Di Nei Jing ("The Inner Classic of the Yellow Emperor"), contains some of the oldest teachings about winter and its relationship to the Kidneys:

“During the Winter months all things in nature wither, hide, return home, and enter a resting period, just as lakes and rives freeze and snow falls. This is a time when yin dominates yang. Therefore one should refrain from overusing the yang energy. Retire early and get up with the sunrise, which is later in Winter. Desires and mental activity should be kept quiet and subdued, as if keeping a happy secret. Stay warm, avoid the cold, and keep the skin covered. Avoid sweating. The theory of the Winter season is one of conservation and storage. Without such practice the result will be injury to the Kidney energy. This will cause weakness, shrinking of muscles, and coldness; then the body loses its ability to open and move about in the Spring.”

Seasonal Food Therapy

With new year resolutions in full swing, many people believe that they must be restrictive in the foods they consume, after a month of holiday indulgence. Our practice does not advocate for dieting or in restricting yourself from food. Going against the trends, we’d rather see you foster a healthy relationship with food, consume what you want, and know which foods will both satisfy you and nourish you. During this month of wellness and self-care, there’s nothing that says that more than loving your body, not punishing it for the things you put in it or how hard (or not) you worked out, and continuing to develop your understanding how you can eat well, maintain your health, and engage in activities that work for you and bring you joy.

Adapting your diet and lifestyle to accommodate the changing seasons will help you reduce the onset of seasonally-induced imbalances, and will guide your body into its natural state of equilibrium. This time of the year, our bodies crave a substantial, nutritient-rich diet. Because of the cold and dry atmosphere, the outsides AND insides of our bodies become dry. To counter this, we ideally engage in energetically rich and fortifying foods, which are warm, moisturizing and somewhat fatty. With most people pledging to have only raw diets and smoothies as a post-holiday detox, Chinese Medicine says the opposite. Instead of salads and cold foods, nourish the inside of your body with warm, cooked foods, and don’t be hesitant to add a little extra oil or ghee. Avoid iced or cold drinks, and go for warm or hot beverages (room temperature is also fine). Start your mornings off with a warming tea, rich in spices such as ginger, cinnamon, fennel seeds, cumin seeds, tulsi, cardamom, black pepper and clove. This will help increase heat and circulation within your body. Soups, dals, chili, and stews are all hearty and healthy meals for winter. The idea is to maintain balance within yourself, so don’t over-do it with the spices and oils, and also don’t feel bad if you have a raw smoothie or two!

Stick with warm foods

We want to eat foods to counter the cold and keep our bodies warm. It is healthiest to consume very little raw foods like salads and an abundance of fruit, and avoid foods with cold temperatures. Try to avoid iced foods and drinks such as smoothies with frozen fruit and ice, cold milk with cereal, or cold, raw salads. Leave those for summer eating. Instead, try warm grain porridges, eggs, toasted bread, and warm soups. Instead of cold salads, experiment with cooked salads using greens, roasted vegetables, and a flavorful dressing. According to Chinese medicine, warming cooking methods increase the yang of the meal. Some options are grilling, frying, roasting, smoking, searing, and baking.

Satisfy your sugar cravings

For most of us, a craving for sweets here and there is inevitable. In Chinese medicine, sweet is the flavor of the spleen and in moderation can be nourishing to the system. However, in excess, sweets can cause damage, overload the metabolism, and in Chinese medicine terms, may harm the spleen qi and lead to dampness that can slow down metabolism and clog up our pipes.

Instead of reaching for that sugary, cold ice cream for dessert, we suggest baked apples and pears with cinnamon for a warm and cozy treat. You can even add a drizzle of raw honey if you’d like some more sweetness. Grapes, raspberries, plums, figs, and red wine are also good choices for when that sugar craving hits. Of course, everything in moderation!

Include healthy fats

Satisfy winter cravings for fats by eating healthy fats instead of fried or packaged and processed foods. Add whole fat organic coconut milk to soups, stews, and curries. Organic butter, ghee, olive oil, and coconut oil are stable fats that you can include in your diet. In Chinese medicine, these are all thought to have sweet, fatty flavors with a moistening effect, which is perfect for winter months. In addition, butter and ghee supplement blood and qi, while olive oil is anti-inflammatory.

Fermented vegetables

To help digest fats, eat sauerkraut or other fermented vegetables, such as kimchi, pickles, or kombucha with your meals. While fermented foods not only act as a probiotic for gut health, putting good bacteria where it is needed, they also have a sour flavor, making them excellent for cutting through fats and aiding in digestion of rich foods. Be sure to eat them at room temperature instead of straight from the refrigerator. Bitter, leafy greens also help in the digestion of heavier, fattier foods.

Low & Slow

Winter is the time to eat foods that cook slowly for a long time using low heat. This allows the food to break down sufficiently, making it easier for the body to digest during the cold months when we don’t have abundant heat in the environment to speed up our metabolism. The food becomes more infused with heat, and helps to keep us warm. In addition, foods that have a lot of liquid or require long simmering in liquid, like cooked stews or hearty soups are beneficial, because winter is a dry season and this helps to lock more moisture into our body.

Nourish the Kidneys & Adrenals

Because the kidneys are the organ of the season, it is important to keep them nourished and warm throughout the winter, which in turn helps to keep our energy reserves strong. Foods that do just that are black sesame seeds, black beans, kidney beans (think of foods that actually look like little kidneys!), bone broth, dark leafy greens, walnuts, chestnuts, chicken, beef, lamb, stews with legumes and meats, cloves, and tea with acrid spices such as star anise. These will all help to supplement qi, yang, and blood during the cold winter months.

Simple practices

Retaining moisture is difficult in the extreme cold, so it’s most important for us to increase our hydration from the inside out. However, to nourish the skin, add oily elements to your body such as coconut oil, shea butter, almond oil, and ghee. If you’re out all day, add some coconut oil to the tips of your hair to prevent split ends and dryness from reaching your roots. Rub almond oil or shea butter into your skin to protect it from the cold, and pay attention to dry patches like elbows and heels. A warm bath with honey, essential oils and oats is a relaxing way to help restore and retain moisture and is a great way to sleep well and keep your skin happy.

To keep the tissues and joints lubricated and smoothie, morning stretching, QiGong, gentle rolling and simple yoga poses like warming sun salutations are easy to do before work. A warming tea is a sweet way to welcome the day which boosts circulation and warms the digestive fire. Oatmeal, rice or roasted veggies are great foods to incorporate into your meals.

Your mantra these next few months is balance, warmth, comfort, and rest. Don’t punish yourself for not killing it at the gym or for choosing a book in bed over a night of partying. Align yourself to the season and feel your body thrive.