How to Recharge Your Battery this Winter
If you feel tired and drained, you are not alone. “Lack of energy” is one of the top five complaints that doctors hear in their offices, regardless of the season. While there are multiple reasons that can account for low energy–including blocked energy so it’s not available or true depletion from an illness or deficiency–it’s quite common in the winter months.
According to classical Chinese medicine, the cold months of winter are the perfect time to recharge your battery and generate vital energy – Qi – in order to live, look, and feel your best the rest of the year. Why is this? The cold and darkness of winter urges us to slow down and conserve our Qi.
A plant’s leaves must wither and die, and the roots must sit dormant under ice and snow to bring their energy into STORAGE. This stored energy is then used to burst forth in the spring and bear fruit and seeds in the summer. The ancient Chinese believed that human beings should live in harmony with the natural cycles of their environment just as plants and animals do. This is the time of year to reflect, replenish energy through rest, and conserve strength.
Winter is ruled by the Water element, which is associated with the Kidneys, Bladder and Adrenal Glands. The Kidneys are considered the source of all Qi within the body. They store all of the reserve Qi in the body so that it can be used in times of stress and change, or to heal, prevent illness, and age gracefully. During the winter months it is important to nurture and nourish our Kidney Qi. It is the time where this energy can be most easily depleted. Our bodies are instinctively expressing the fundamental principles of winter – rest, reflection, conservation and storage.
The Nei Ching, an ancient Chinese classic, advises people to go to sleep early and rise late, after the sun’s rays have warmed the atmosphere a bit. This preserves your own Qi for the task of warming in the face of cold. Eating warm hearty soups, whole grains, and roasted nuts and root vegetables help to warm the body’s core and to keep us nourished. See more tips for winter eating here. Sleep early, rest well, stay warm, and expend a minimum quantity of energy.
Seasonal acupuncture treatments in winter serve to nurture and nourish Kidney Qi, which can greatly enhance the body’s ability to thrive in times of stress, aid in healing, prevent illness and increase vitality. Acupuncture has been shown to impact immune function, which works to maintain our body’s homeostasis and defense, including anti-stress and anti-inflammatory effects.
Certain research demonstrates that acupuncture, along with moxibustion, can activate anti-inflammatory pathways, produce opioid-containing fighter cells in inflamed tissues, and help to manage immune responses in various ailments from Crohn’s disease to cancers. One of the best things about acupuncture is that it can be done in a preventative way, particularly during the winter months, to stop the onset of disease or nip early disease in the bud. Acupuncture at the first sign of a stiff neck or chill, can be the key in keeping a worsening sickness at bay.
In addition to working on our immune systems, acupuncture can be a great tool to combat those winter blues and improve mood. Studies show that acupuncture, as well as electro-acupuncture, work to release endorphins and other neurotransmitters, such as serotonin and dopamine. Sometimes, mild cases of depression can be considered a stagnation of Qi in Chinese medicine, and acupuncture can help to get that Qi moving again.
References:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4540978/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15135942/
