In winter our Qi naturally flows deeper inside us.
The Water Element belongs to the winter ruling over the Kidneys and the Bladder. The power of water is Storage.
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Kidneys are concerned with the quality of the fluids and the Bladder deals with their distribution. The major difference between the two is the Kidney's function of storing the persons Essence or Jing. The Bladder’s Qi is meant to move and transform water or fluids. The Essence governs birth, growth, reproduction and development and it also controls the Gate of Life or Ming Men. They produce bone marrow and brain tissue while controlling the bones and the 2 lower orifices. It opens into the ears and its health will manifest into the hair. Its colour is a dark blackish-blue, its sound is groaning. Its affected by fear and Houses the Zhi or the Spirit of Willpower and determination. When our Water Element is unbalanced, our bones may be brittle, our hearing poor, we may age prematurely or have urinary problems.
In our Kingdom analogy, The Kidneys are the “Controller of Water”, while the Bladder is the “Controller of Storage” (of water), The Kidney is seen as the Minister of Water, whose job is to serve the rest of the body like a foundation of a building; they lie deeply at the back of our body, and they also control the most hardest or firmest, innermost structures, which are the teeth, bones and marrow. The Bladder’s job is to keep dry areas separate from the wet. Think of it like irrigating a field; you can’t have the water sopping the earth, nor can you have it bone dry
The seed is the archetype of storage; all the potential energy of a plant is held within it.
Resonating with the concept of Essence, which is stored in the Kidneys, it also has the power to create a person from the stored-up energy. Animals store food for the winter as do humans; we store crops, fruits and vegetables through cooking, bottling and preserving in order to have reserves for winter.
This is the season of quiet introspection; the animals hibernate, and our pace slows with the freezing of water. The days are shorter, nightfall comes early, and the air is cold. If we are to remain healthy, we must abide by the rhythms of winter by going to bed early, slowing down our activity and eating foods of a richer nature in order to preserve and protect our reserves of Qi. By building our bodies and mind in this meditative and slow manner, we are preparing ourselves for the bursting energy when springtime awakens our world.
The adrenals sit atop the Kidney’s triggering the powerful hormone of epinephrine to help us in our fight, flight or fright response. Those with a healthy Water Element can assess risks and know the appropriate degree of a 'threat' that one may encounter. They can take actions to protect themselves and are able to reassess and reassure themselves when the threat has been successfully dealt with or averted. These nervous systems can respond and then regulate themselves to bring the body back into homeostasis.
Does living in a country like Canada make you feel akin to the Water Element? Or maybe next winter you’ll take some of these pointers to keep your Water organs in tip top shape? If you want to learn more, Book a Treatment Here.