Green Living               Natural Parenting                 Life Learning The original natural family living magazine, founded in 1976. Reader-supported and trusted by thinking people around the world who want positive alternatives to high cost, high consumption lifestyles for themselves and their families.
Subscriber Services Subscribe Renew Free Sample Newsstand Locations Books Advertise Contribute Our Blog Editor's Commentary Back Issues Our Writers RSS Feed Return to Home Page Stay informed with a free e-letter from Natural Life's publisher Life Media. Type in your email address. Here's a sample.   Thirty-four years of leading-edge, inspiring articles about green living. Green Living Sustainable Homes Frugal Living Natural Parenting Life Learning Organic Gardening Healthy Living July/August 2010 May/June 2010 March/April 2010 January/February 2010 November/December 2009 September/October 2009 July/August 2009 May/June 2009 March/April 2009 January/February 2009 from Natural Life magazine, January/February, 2009 Weathering Winter Lifestyle and diet can keep us healthy using the principles of oriental medicine The seasons have a profound effect on our health, on the way we live our lives and on the food we eat. We can either work against the weather or we can be in harmony with it. In fact, Oriental wisdom treats the harmonization of food and lifestyle with the seasons as an art form. Seasonal influences are one of the factors that Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) considers in order to create a proper diet as both a healing and disease prevention system. Your health, like the universe at large through the seasons, is subject to constant battling between opposing forces (such as heat and cold, joy and sadness), which can result in too much or too little activity in particular organs of your body. An imbalance between any of these forces can cause a blockage in the flow of your qi or vital energy/life force, which travels through your body along invisible pathways known as meridians. By noting these seasonal changes and influences and changing your diet accordingly, you can maximize their health during all times of the year. When the weather is warm in the spring, humid in the summer, dry in the fall or cold in the winter, TCM employs treatments known as “eliminating fire,” “expelling dampness,” “moistening the body” and “guarding against cold” respectively. Readers in northern climates are currently living through the winter’s cold weather. According to the Theory of Yin and Yang, winter is the season in which yin gathers and hides qi deep within our bodies, encouraging us to reflect on our inner natures (while yang is associated with summer’s heat and external aspects of our being). According to the Law of the Five Elements, each season is associated with the element of fire, earth, metal, water or wood. The specific element associated with winter is water, which involves the kidneys and bladder and is the most powerful of all the elements. Kidney qi is said to be the root of all the qi in the body. It determines our ability to .... To read the rest of this article, subscribe to Natural Life's digital edition, which includes access to this and other back issues. Copyright © 1976 - 2010 Life Media |  About Us  |  Contact  |  Subscribe  |  Advertise  |  Contribute  | |  Sustainability Statement  |  Ethics Statement  |  Privacy Policy  |