Did you know that Southern Saskatchewan has been in a drought for one year now? Autumn is the season of the Lungs in Traditional Chinese Medicine. The seasonal influence of autumn is Dryness and likewise the external pathological influence that is most detrimental to the health of the Lungs is, that’s right, Dryness.
The Lungs need moisture to thrive and to effectively pull the Qi or energy from the air we breathe. Without moisture, sickness can easily take hold. In this summer’s newsletter I wrote about how this summer was one of the worst in recent memory for summer colds. This was mainly a result of the extreme dryness weakening the immune function of the Lung to nourish our protective energy or “Wei Qi”. It can even lead to Lung Dryness or even, at the extreme, Dry Lung Atrophy.
So what can we do to protect our Lung qi in a time of drought? Here are some suggestions:
- add more humidity to our environment with a humidifier
- do some mild cardiovascular exercise to strengthen our Lungs
- do breathing exercises or yogic pranayama
- add more healthy oils and seasonal moistening foods to our diets that include coconut, chia, pear, apples, pumpkins, peach, nectarines, figs, dry nuts, seaweeds and fish
- eat soup every day
- take herbal teas which help strengthen and moisten our lungs like American Ginseng, Licorice root, Lilly Bulb, and Bellflower Root
- Go for a Traditional Chinese Medicine assessment and acupuncture treatment to see how your Lungs are doing and how to harmonize your heath this autumn
Matthew Norick, Registered Acupuncturist, Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioner
