Winter is officially 9 days away, but it certainly feels like winter over most of the United States.
In Five Element Chinese Medicine, the climate of Water is cold, the season of Water is winter, cold, winter, and Water are quiescent, quiet, and wrapped inside itself.
According to "Five Element Constitutional Acupuncture," by Angela and John Hicks and Peter Mole, pg 158, "The power of Water is storage...What is said about the season of winter reveals the nature of storage. In winter, our qi will naturally flow deeper inside us. If we rest and take life slowly we will preserve it. Animals demonstrate storage by hibernation and by storing food for the winter...Maintaining an appropriate balance between activity and rest is crucial to the health of the Water Element. This Element stores much of people's reserves of energy."
In my opinion, it's important that people get plenty of rest during this time of year. It's the lower most yin time of the year, and Winter Solstice is Tuesday, December 21st this year http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/december-solstice.html. Also, eating nutritious food is very important. Eat your vegetables, particularly plenty of greens and squash. Some people tend to gravitate towards comfort food, like sweets or pizza. In moderation, this is fine, but it's important to continue to all vegetables that are available; fresh and local is the best kind.
Another important factor is to take measures to reduce stress. There are many modalities that can be used to do this; yoga, qi gong, tai chi, meditation, message, and yes, ACUPUNCTURE! Acupuncture has been show to induce the rest and relaxation, or parasympathetic, response, thus inducing a more restful sleep, assisting with digestion, reducing stress, and so on. Adequate rest also protects the lower jiao, or lower part, of the body, particularly the Kidneys. The Kidneys are where we store our purest, and congenital qi.
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