Nourish your Stomach & Spleen Meridians
Late Summer is Stomach and Spleen time.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) describes the time from August through to the equinox in late September as Late Summer, a fifth season that Western culture does not differentiate.
Meridians are energy pathways (Qi) which run throughout the body, and have associations with different organs, emotions, elements, seasons and other qualities. We have 12 major meridians which work together in pairs including Liver & Gallbladder, Kidney and Bladder and Stomach and Spleen.
In TCM, Late Summer is related to the Earth element, whose relationship to the Stomach and Spleen meridians mean it is a crucial time to nourish stomach and spleen energy.
So what does all this mean?
Well, Late Summer is a season of grounding, nurturing, and reflection, rooted in the Earth element which nurtures and nourishes the growth of all living things. In a similar way, the stomach and spleen energy nourish all the organs and tissues of the body by providing them with the power to function.
The Stomach is associated with breaking down food, preparing it to be converted into usable energy. The spleen is the digestive ‘fire’ of the body, transforming our food into qi and then transporting it all around the body to nourish us physically, mentally and emotionally.
How is your digestion?
Therefore, it can be helpful to assess our digestion as how, when and what we eat are important to the spleen and stomach. Have we got any symptoms of digestive discomfort such as heart burn, constipation, bloating or belching? What is our appetite like? What is our sleep like? Are we eating a healthy, balanced diet or are we eating late, missing meals, snacking on sugar or processed food with minimal nutrition? Increased stress in our busy lives can have a massive impact on our eating habits, and in turn, our digestive health.
If the spleen and stomach are strong our digestion and metabolism will be good, our immune system strong and we will feel robust and healthy. If they not working as efficiently as they could, then our body will be sluggish, energy low, limbs might feel heavy, head foggy, and we may feel bloated and tired after eating.
The stomach and spleen are also related to how we process our thoughts. Worry and overthinking can directly affect the stomach and spleen. Long term experiences of these emotions can build up in our system, block energy pathways and impact on digestive health.
What we can do to nurture our Stomach and Spleen meridians:
Now is the time to take advantage of Earth energy and take steps to be kind to our digestive health. Follow the saying “breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and supper like a pauper” by eating most of our food during the day when our digestive system is most efficient. Eating a few hours before bedtime causes undigested food to sit and stagnate in the stomach.
Warm foods nourish the Spleen so avoid cold and raw foods or combine with lightly cooked foods such as stir-fried or grilled vegetables.
Yellow foods nourish these meridians, such as yellow peppers, sweet potatoes, yams and squashes. Foods rich in B vitamins nourish the stomach, such as wheat germ and brewer’s yeast, and foods rich in vitamin A nourishes the Spleen, such as green leafy vegetables and carrots.
Focussing on our meal rather than diverting our attention to watching tv or doing something else is important as this also diverts energy away from our stomach, and ensure we chew food well.
Connect with the Earth - this time of year is Earth time. Get outside, lets get our hands dirty and connect with the soil!
It is also important to spend some time looking after ourselves by doing an activity we enjoy to relax. Remember that worry and overthinking are associated with these meridians so activities which allow our brain to have some time out, such as creative hobbies, a walk in nature to help feel grounded, or meditation can be really helpful.
Finally, come and see me for a Kinesiology treatment to help balance all of your meridians!