According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, living in harmony with nature and the seasons is the key to good health. Winter, the Water Element’s season, is a time for reflection, slowing down, and resource conservation. We all have a natural tendency toward this, but we don’t always pay attention to our bodies. Being active is rewarded and expected in Western culture. We feel obligated to maintain the fast pace that defines our daily lives.
In this article, we’ll break down how winter affects your kidneys and how you can nurture and nourish your kidney energy.
How Winter Affects Your Kidneys According to Traditional Chinese Medicine
This season is associated with the kidneys, bladder, and adrenal glands and is the time of year when these organs are most active, accessible, and even vulnerable. They are more responsive to being nourished, revitalized, and repaired. It is also the time when they are most easily drained. According to Traditional Chinese medicine, at the time of conception, our kidneys get a precise amount of energy known as Jing Qi, which will sustain each of us throughout our lives.
What Is Jing Qi?
Consider for a moment that our kidneys are like batteries that have a certain quantity of charge when they leave the store. These, unfortunately, are not rechargeable types of batteries. The energy kept in our kidney batteries is called Jing Qi. During periods of transition, recovery, and stress, our body and mind draw on this source of energy. We use this power source for all of our activities.
How Is Jing Qi Depleted?
Our bladder catches, processes, and excretes these bodily fluids through urine each day after our kidneys filter blood and other bodily fluids and eliminate poisons from the liver. Some people’s Jing Qi can be quickly depleted as a result of unhealthy lifestyle choices and excessive stress. Others protect it by nourishing it with the proper diet and lifestyle choices. Jing Qi is finite. As we use it more, the less there will be for essential bodily functions.
How to Preserve Jing Qi and Avoid Negative Effects of How Winter Affects Your Kidneys
There are methods by which we can keep our Jing Qi. In addition to Jing Qi, we use sustainable energy sources to run our bodies. We obtain Qi (the essential life force) from the food we eat through the spleen and from the air through the lungs. As we eat, rest, and breathe better, as well as practice Qi Gong, we will have less need to use our Jing Qi and will be healthier and more energetic to replenish our renewable sources of energy.
Keep in mind that stimulants such as caffeine deplete the kidneys and rob us of our ability to know how we really feel. Caffeine use will make us unconscious of the fact that our body requires rest and sleep, leading us to neglect such needs. Our Jing Qi may therefore be unnecessarily depleted as a result of this.
Conclusion
It’s crucial to support and feed our kidney energy in order to preserve and promote wellness. The timing is right now to replenish your kidneys’ internal batteries. Excellent methods to refuel and reinvigorate include acupuncture, yoga, Tai Chi, quiet thought, meditation, easy walks, and herbs.
