The earth phase of the seasons normally comes in Late Summer, and – you guessed it – it’s characterised by humidity, rain and hot, sticky nights.
Earth represents the centre of our being, and therefore digestion. Encompassing the organs Spleen and Stomach, where the rotting and ripening of food, separation of turbid and clear energy from food and transformation and transportation of fluids occurs.
I know you’re probably wondering how the Spleen has anything to do with digestion but the simple answer is that Spleen in Chinese Medicine actually refers to the pancreas, and the ancient texts described the Spleen as being about 12cm long with a head and a tail.. a very apt description of the organ that sits adjacent the liver and gall bladder, just behind the stomach and releases digestive enzymes into the gut and regulates blood sugar through insulin and glucagon release into the bloodstream.
The Earth phase is associated with dampness and phlegm, and these pathogens are usually formed by the incomplete processing of food, like a production line with too many raw materials dumped upon it, meaning some of the products come out formed and useful, but a lot of sticky, incomplete and hard to remove waste products build up.
Phlegm and Dampness obstruct the Qi, Blood and Yang, and they form a sort of pathogenic Yin which leads to the 10,000 diseases (to the ancient Chinese, 10,000 was the equivalent of millions).
Having strong and healthy digestion is paramount to good health, physically and psychologically so join me as we explore the element of Earth whilst we watch out seasons do strange things in the beautiful world around us.
#earthelement #earth #traditonalchinesemedicine #latesummer #summer #humidity #TCM #adelaidehealth ##adelaidelocal #spleenhealth
