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Late Summer, The Earth Element & Organs

We have moved into the season of late summer. In Traditional Chinese Medicine there are five seasons and each season correlates to one of the five elements. Late summer is connected to the earth element. It is a time of transition. The earth element actually comes into play in between all of the seasons, because it is all about transition.


With each season and element there is a connection to the energies of our organs. There is a yin organ and a yang organ. In late summer the stomach is considered yang. Yang is all about energy, fire, heat, and movement – our stomach is just like that. It’s the acidic organ in our digestive system where our food is digested, where we need that digestive fire. The spleen and pancreas are the yin organs. We don’t hear much about our spleen. Our spleen is part of our secondary immune system and is a lymph organ - the largest lymph node actually. It filters our blood, removes old red blood cells, bacteria and viruses from it. It plays a very important role in our immune system, so it’s best to not forget about it. The job or our pancreas is to release enzymes that help us break down the foods we eat and hormones to keep our blood sugar stable.


Each organ has an optimal time of the day for when it’s working and when it’s resting. It’s important to keep these times in mind when you eat.



Stomach:

Peak time between 7 am and 9 am. This is the best time to eat your biggest meal of the day to optimize your body’s natural time for digestion, also because your spleen and pancreas peak time follows. It’s resting time is between 7 pm and 9 pm, so it’s best to avoid eating during this time.


Spleen & Pancreas:

Peak time is between 9 am and 11 am. Enzymes are being released to digest your food and the spleen is working hard to filter your blood. Rest time is between 9 pm and 11 pm.

Think of 7 am to 11 am as your Digestion Time.

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What are some other things you can do to support these organs?


Mindful eating practices: these may seem too simple, but they are truly very important! Slow down when you eat; chew, chew, chew your food; and be in a calm state before you eat.


Avoiding drinking too much with your meals: stick to no more than 4 oz with a meal. Too much fluid will dilute your stomach acid which in turn will make it more difficult for you to digest your foods. This can then cause feelings of fullness, acid reflux, and indigestion. Drink your fluids between your meals.


Eat food with the most qi (energy): The food we eat gives us life! So, if we want to thrive and live a life full of vitality, we need to eat foods that are filled with life. This means real, fresh foods, in season and local is best. All the other foods that are processed are just calories.


Practice qigong: in the video below I share some qigong movements that focus on strengthening the energies in the stomach, spleen, and pancreas. You can do it sitting or standing. Qigong helps us remove qi (energy) blockages within our body to keep our life energy flowing freely for health and vitality.



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