Seasonal Advice

Winter advice

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EARLY WINTER
Tibetan month: Guntoed 9-10, Western calendar: 10-11

Conflicting temperature season

The early winter season generally coincides with the beginning of cold weather. Especially the external coldness blocks the body pores and keeps the heat inside the body. It helps the heat concentrate inside the body and protect the heat loss. Therefore the heat increases the inner heat and the power of digestive fire is stimulated by the fire-like wind. The food is digested faster and the long winter nights endanger the body and organs constituents to be consumed by the digestive fire. Therefore one needs to neutralize the seasonal harmful effects by an appropriate diet and behavior in order to keep a healthy balance.

The ideal nutrition and behavior

Nutrition

One should select the right food (sweet, sour and salty tastes) such as pear, apple, banana, sweet taste vegetables, cereals, wheat products, milk products (not too fat), porridge, and warm soup, and specially meat and bone soup. Generally the food should contain more proteins and animal products.
The food mentionned above cools down the internal heat but without increasing the phlegm humor. If one does not eat enough of this kind of food, they should make mustard oil massages to compensate the consumption of the body constituents caused by the long nights.

Behavior

One should wear warm clothes, socks and warm shoes, gloves and a hat. The house should be well protected from cold and cold winds by insulation or a heating system, fire, sun or any other warming methods. From time to time, beside the external warming methods, one should apply warm fomentations on the back, abdomen and joints, as they help circulate the blood and energy flow deflected by the external cold temperature, and they also prevent possible seasonal joint pains.

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LATER WINTER

Tibetan month: Gunmed 11-12, Western calendar 12-01

Cold and humid season

The later winter is much colder and more humid than the early winder. The external coldness is also much more concentrated than before. The cold penetrates the body widely, and many body tissues become macro-iced. By the coldness and humidity, phlegm humor is accumulated during these two parts of the winter season. This period is called “accumulation stage of phlegm humor”. However Phlegm does not manifest because it begins to freeze like water in the winter and is going to melt only in spring.

Nutrition and behavior

The diet and behavior are the same as that of early winter.

Conclusion

Seasonal temperature and body heat:

  1. Spring season: earth and body warm up and melt the phlegm coldness, but the codness is still kept externally and internally.
  2. Later spring and summer: the earth and body totally warm up, externally and internally and heat deeply penetrates the body.
  3. Autumn season: the sun heat gradually decreases and the external heat reduces, but the internal heat is still high like fire under ash.
  4. Winter season: the external cold reduces the external heat and gradually enters into the body. There is a cooling down effect of the heat externally and internally. Finally summer heat is completely cooled down and the macro-body parts and tissues freeze.
Natural healing and manifestation of diseases

This world and body variation of temperatures is a natural method of keeping the balance of energy, body tissue transformation and process of development and aging. Through temperature, seasons give the power of movement to the body and help circulate the energy flow, which keeps the body organs and tissues to be healthy. If the body and humors are well functioning, this process keeps them healthy without accumulation of disease, whilst if the body state is unhealthy, it produces blockages, manifests symptoms, and then expels the disease. It is a natural process of healing called “seasonal healing” process, the seasonal clock and rhythm which is very essential to every being living on this earth.