After spring comes summer, a season that is coveted here in our cold Canadian climate
The Sun, as the central focus of our solar system, is the ultimate Fire. The sun is at its zenith in summer, exemplifying growth, brightness, activity and creativity. A little seed that burst forth in spring, can now reach its full potential in summer. Plants have fully developed, and animal life is at its most active. Summer typically brings people out of hiding; we wear fewer clothes, enjoy nature and spend time by bodies of water. To maintain harmony with this season, we should awaken early to greet the sun and laugh more to relax the Heart. Having cleansed the body of oils and fats in the spring, it’s time to now replenish ourselves with the vitamin and antioxidant rich foods summer has to offer, cooling us down on hot days.
Fire is warm, bright and inviting; the same can be said for those with a healthy Fire Element
Being able to laugh and connect with others is important for our mental health. People with a balanced Fire Element can give and receive love appropriately, based on degrees of emotional closeness. Being able to genuinely connect enables them to cope with a wide range of differing relationships and to appreciate how and when to open up or close down to other people, knowing when to draw people in or create a boundary.
The Fire Element, in Chinese medicine, is associated with summertime and its organ pair is the Heart and the Small Intestines.
The Heart is said to govern the blood, controls the blood vessels and sweat. The quality of its health manifests in the complexion. It’s related to the emotion of joy, its sound is laughter, its colour is red and governs consciousness and Houses the Shen meaning the Mind. When out of whack, people tend to experience things like insomnia, dream-disturbed sleep, canker sores and palpitations.
The Heart is the Sovereign ruler of the body; the welfare of all other Organs is dependent on the Emperor or Empress
The Emperor is responsible for wise discernment; taking in all pertinent information in order to make sound choices to benefit their people. But if the emperor is weak or disturbed, their officials are unable to function without leadership and the whole kingdom will suffer. Therefore, the Heart has a huge impact on mental health. Our Fire Element maybe out of balance if our ability for discernment is compromised, meaning people struggle with clarity, easily becoming confused, indecisive or ambivalent. The Small Intestines, has the important job of discrimination; to keep what is essential for a healthy body and what should be eliminated as waste. The Small Intestines receives rotted and ripened food and fluid from the Stomach and transforms it via the process of separation, sorting the pure from impure.
Is summer your favourite season? Are you looking forward to spending your days in the hot sun? Perhaps the Fire Element (and its people) sound exhausting to you? Find out more by Booking a session today.