February 2011 —Yin is often described as feminine, receptive, dark and cold. Winter, with the fewest hours of daylight, is the darkest and coldest time of year. It is a time for going inward, reflecting and realizing that less is more. The Taoists knew that for all the hot, sunny, active days of summer, there must be a balance of darker, colder days — the ones that make us feel like hibernating.

For thousands of years, Chinese medicine has subscribed to the practice of health through balance. This was easy when we lived by natural light. Activity would naturally slow down when there was no light of day. Today, we are seldom dependent on the natural forces such as sunshine to dictate our activities. And yet, deep inside, there is an internal rhythm that would be best supported by honoring the natural cycle at least to some degree. I wouldn’t propose going to bed at 5 p.m. but, on the other hand, we can listen more to our bodies, minds and spirits when they call out for rest.

In Chinese medicine, each season has a corresponding organ system. Winter’s power and vulnerability lie in the kidneys and bladder. Kidneys are the source of prenatal qi energy. This is the qi we come into this life with, and it acts as our reservoir throughout our lifetime. We don’t want to spend all our energy in our first 40 years, because when we’re 80, we want enough to be healthy and appropriately active.

Also, the kidneys store our jing, the seed that turns into the sperm and egg. The kidneys are our source of essence, who we are, our individual blueprint. Instead of looking at winter as a time of depravation, perhaps we might see the blessings that can come from honoring this time of darkness. By honoring the inward movement of winter, we can go inside and reassess who we are and where we want to be when the seasonal energy changes and spring ushers us into new growth and outward activity.

Besides just doing less, we might consider engaging in more inward-focused practices such as meditation, journal writing, yoga or qigong. These allow us to reflect on who we are in body, mind and spirit. In our society it is very easy to become distracted with the many social engagements that we are offered. This is a good time to be more selective and only choose those activities that truly elicit a “yes” from our inner being. As we quiet our minds, our essence reveals itself more clearly. This clarity, which comes from simplicity and stillness, can allow us to know where next to put our energy.

During these colder and wetter months, we can support ourselves by choosing more warming foods and drinks. Ginger, cinnamon, cloves and fennel seeds are great spices to include in both your beverages and foods. Salty, the flavor that corresponds with winter in Chinese medicine, has a downward and condensing energy. Foods such as seaweeds, pickled plums, miso, soy sauce, barley and millet can greatly support us at this time of year.

In Chinese medicine the kidneys and winter correspond to the water element. Characteristics associated with water are ambition, courage and will. Our general lifestyle greatly challenges this element and consequently the kidneys — and in Western medicine, the adrenal glands. To dive deeply and live from our essence takes courage. This means allowing our authentic selves, not an advertised special of the month, to guide us. The ambition to go forward boldly and acknowledge our true greatness is the reward this season can bring us.

May we all enjoy the stillness, and experience the fullness it contains.

Judy Pruzinsky, L.Ac., practices Classical Five Element Acupuncture and Herbology, teaches Wu-style Chi Gung, and is on staff at Five Branches Institute. She has offices in Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz and can be reached at 650-576-9749 or 831-426-5717. You can read more about her practice at www.judypruzinsky.com.