Get With the Seasons!
Reconnect with the environment to achieve optimal health throughout the year.
The Yin/Yang symbol is the symbol of Taoism.
One of the things I love most about Chinese medicine is the concept that ALL living beings are inherently a part of the entire living environment. Chinese medicine is based upon the Chinese religion/culture of Taoism (otherwise known as Daoism). Taoism is really more of a “way of life” than a religion, but it is all about living in harmony with oneself and with the environment.
Us humans in Western civilization have gotten SO disconnected from our environment. Somewhere along the way, our European ancestors philosophized that our minds were separate entities from our bodies (this actually started with Descartes, the “father of modern philosophy”), and that us humans were not at all connected to anything around us, which is simply not true. Our ability to escape the elements by getting into other controlled environments, to distract ourselves with technology and the maintenance of old ideas and thought patterns certainly help to solidify the segregation.
I went to hear a talk by Deepak Chopra a couple of years ago, and during that time, Deepak asked a question that was so obvious, yet so profound, that I had wondered why I had never asked myself the same question in all of my 40 years on this planet. I am going to paraphrase here because I am terrible at remembering exact verbage, but the question was something along the lines of: So we begin life as a tiny seed, and we grow into full size humans. WHERE does all that material come from that comprises our growing and changing, and finally, full form adult human selves???? Are you as blown away by that question as I was??
Clearly, the material of our bodies is made up from our environment: the food we eat, the air around us, molecules that are given off by other humans, animals, and plants, and even chemicals produced by even inanimate objects (typically human-derived machines). Even adult bodies are constantly changing and growing, as the cells in our bodies are continually regenerating and replacing themselves with new ones. We are always adapting to changes in our environment. If we didn’t, we would get sick and die! So that saying “we are what we eat”….? True story!!! We are ALSO what and who we surround ourselves with: what we breath in, what we put on our bodies, and even what we listen to.
Keep in mind that our environment (that which we are a part of!) also goes through changes during the seasons, and so, like our environment, our bodies have different needs during different seasons. For those of us in upstate New York where the trees and plants go into hibernation, snow covers the ground, the sun disappears for awhile, it gets cold outside and we need assistance staying warm. During the winter months, we need warmth and we need to ingest foods that have soaked up the vitamins from the sun and earth, so that we can replenish that which is missing (heat and sun!). This is why hearty foods, like soups and stews, and root vegetables are the best foods to eat in the winter. Root vegetables have taken longer to grow, and have therefore soaked up the sun longer than above ground veggies. Warm drinks, like hot tea and yes, even coffee, are best. Cold foods and drinks like yogurt, juice (why oh why do people juice fast in the winter???), smoothies, cold salads, ice water and ice cream are not at all appropriate for the body in the winter months. Save those for the summer when your body needs help cooling off! In the meantime, help it warm up and get the nutrients it needs during the winter months. Maybe you can save on your doctor and heat bills.
If you have trouble deciding what foods to eat when, think about this: what foods are in season right now where I live? Obviously you can’t harvest much in the winter, but root vegetables and foods that are harvested in colder temperatures (or that keep for storage), like potatoes, squash, beets, broccoli, kale, spinach, lean meats, grains, spices, nuts and oils are hearty and warming foods.
The picture to the left gives a few examples of what is considered to be “in season” in our areas in January. Since not much changes from January to February (except a little close to spring), we’re good!
In the summer, you get a whole different array of foods: salad veggies and tons of fruit, and these foods are cooling to the body.
In conclusion, if we want our bodies to be healthy and happy, we should put in nourishing foods and surround ourselves in nourishing and positive environments, and always keep in mind that we ARE, in fact, a product of our environment!