Winter

This is the season when water is the dominant element. It is the time of feelings, a deep Yin time. Winter is the time to replenish yourself and bring all the constitutions into balance. This is the best time to rest and search for the clarity you need to visualize the year ahead. Use the flow chart and the flow paradigm to help you in making your choices.

Do This!

Exercise 79 • Exploring the First Day of Winter

Plan to spend part of your day on or close to December 21st outside. Walk around and observe your environment. Check out the plants, animals, birds and people. Sense the play of the elements at this time.

How do you experience the decrease of fire in your environment and body?
How is the shortening of the day affecting your mood and sleep patterns?
Do you feel more or less energetic?
What kind of thoughts or fantasies fill your mind during these early days of winter?

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WINTER ACTIVITIES

Dreaming

Dream time is very important. Winter was the season indigenous cultures went inside to dream, dance and enact their rituals. In the Pacific Northwest where I live, the natives have their bighouse for this purpose. Winter is naturally a time we have less light and warmth to tempt us outside. It is healthy to go with the natural rhythm of the season. Find a cozy spot to relax, sleep and dream.

Go to bed early and get up late. Seek inner warmth with family and friends. Keep warm (especially the kidneys). Communicate your feelings. Ayurveda suggests that it is the best time for sexual relations. A healing activity for body and soul.

Childhood Dream

Do This!

Exercise 80 • Redo Childhood Dream

Winter would be a good time to redo the childhood dream exercise from the introduction.

WINTER BODY SYSTEMS

	Kidneys:	Bladder:
	YIN	YANG
	seat of the will lack of will or ambition may represent water imbalance Where the Chi (vital energy) is stored	storehouse of the emotions stretching the back opens meridians
	5-7 pm. filling time	3-5 pm. filling time

The bladder meridian (adrenals) turns off and on again at will. It sends energy to the brain and regulates body energy. In Chinese medicine a deficiency in the water element equals an inability to slow down and an inability to think clearly. When the water element is in balance there is fluidity and flow. There is an ability to rest and nourish the self and others. The water element guides perception and reflection. With the water element in balance there is a ready expression of feelings like love and compassion. Attraction or repulsion to the colour blue may show a water imbalance.

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Urine: a waste product of the body can be a good indicator of health.

Blackish brown = Wind disorder Dark yellow = Fire disorder

Cloudy = Water disorder Foul smell = toxins

Sweet = excess sugar Gravel = possible stones

Green = excess bile Clear urine = too much water

Kidneys:

Excrete and conserve water.
Eliminate toxins.
Return water, salt, potassium and other vital substances to the blood in just the right amount to keep the body's internal environment stable.
Time: Filling at 5:00 PM. to 7:00 PM.
Taste: Salty
Emotion: Fear and Anxiety.

GINGER COMPRESS

Kidney tonic and cleanse

Dissolve one half a cup of powdered ginger in two quarts of hot water. Soak a small towel in the solution and place it on the kidney area, just at the base of the ribs. Take care not to burn the patient! Cover the damp towel up with other towels or a blanket. Keep the back warm while massaging the hands or feet to open the meridians.

This compress feels wonderfully relaxing and nurturing to the kidneys. Take care not to send the patient out into the cold immediately afterward. Be sure they are dressed warm.

Warning!	This treatment moves toxins caused by congestion through the body. Some people experience various symptoms afterward. These symptoms pass quickly.
Warning:	Do not apply compress if there is pain, infection or damage to the kidneys.

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DREAMBODY KIDNEYS

Do This!

Exercise 81 • Exploring the Body Dreams in our Kidneys

Lay down somewhere comfortable on your stomach. Ask a friend to place their hand on your kidneys (at the base of your ribs). Focus your attention where their hand is. Take a few minutes to absorb your attention into this area. Now dream about your ancestors and let your mind drift back into your families past. Go back to the land or lands that your family came from.

Ask your ancestors for guidance and help with your life mission. Feel all the power of your ancestors concentrated in this area of your body. When you feel the energy has built up enough, then spread it to the rest of your body. Feel it move from your kidneys and spread to all parts of your body from your head to your toes. Thank your ancestors. Now share your experience with your assistant.

The Chinese consider the kidneys as home of our ancestral chi (energy, life force).

If You Are Water (kapha)

Do This!

Exercise 82 • Review the Water Sama\Nirama

Winter is a good time to review the water sama\nirama in the Ayurveda section.

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WINTER DREAMS

The Shamanic Journey

Do This!

Exercise 83 • Journeying with a Drum

Find a comfortable place where you won't be disturbed. Either have an assistant drum for you or use a drum tape. The drum should be at 180 beats per minute. A little faster or slower beat may be necessary for you to journey. We often use a deer skin drum. Shamans traditionally use the deer spirit to enter the spirit world. Deer spirit allows us to leave and arrive safely.

Take a few breaths to get comfortable. Remember an opening in the earth, a vortex, pool or pond. This will be your entry point. When going on a journey, remember that whatever happens during the journey is right. Descend into the opening and follow whatever opens up before you. If you are offered anything to bring back, we encourage you to decline. If you can't enter the opening right away, relax and enjoy the drum and begin when ready. If you meet a block or obstruction simply come back and try again. It becomes easier with practice.

Most journeys last under fifteen minutes. The tape or assistant will call you back with four short strong beats. Keep a record of your journeys in a journal.

THE YIN\YANG-LIGHT\DARK CYCLE

Winter is the darkest time of the year. Many of us need extra natural light to keep our pituitary gland functioning at normal levels. It is a time when some people suffer S.A.D.'s (Seasonal Affective Disorder). They suffer depression that is only corrected by increasing the amount of light that they receive each day. They get up a couple of hours early and sit under some form of full spectrum lighting. I also encourage people to get outside in the natural light as much as they can.

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WINTER EMOTIONS

Feelings are dominant in winter.

Do This!

Exercise 84 • Winter Feelings

Redo the feeling path exercises from the introduction. This is the best season to get in touch with your feelings.

WINTER EXERCISE

Water needs to stay in motion. Some good winter exercises are walking, dance, yoga, Feldenkrais, Tai Chi and stretching.

WINTER PLANT WALK

Do This!

Exercise 85 • Observing the Plants in Winter

Go out and observe the local plants in winter. Notice how they adapt to the winter conditions.

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WINTER DIET

Concentrate on warming foods. Root vegetables are perfect as they reflect the energy of the season, underground and inward. Grains and beans, tofu, fish or a small amount of red meat supply protein for body warmth. Aduki beans are especially good as they are a kidney tonic. Seaweeds contain a rich source of the many minerals we need. Soups are ideal at this time of year, hot and nutritious. Milk is best warm with a little pungent herb like Cinnamon or Ginger. Honey is a good sweetener in the winter but it should not be heated. This is a great time to enjoy warm herbal teas. Add spices, gomasio (sesame salt) or tamari (soya sauce) to your food. Reduce or avoid table salt. Eat less fruit at this time.

Do This!

Exercise 86 • Muscle Response Test

Muscle test to see what the body prefers. Muscle testing involves putting the thumb and pinky finger together. The next step is to ask the body about a type of food while attempting to pull the two digits apart. If the food or substance is needed by the body then there will be strong resistance. If the food is not useful or harmful the digits will come apart easily.

WINTER HERBS

Depending on what your winters are like, we tend to favour Pungent, Bitter and Astringent Herbs during our cold damp winters. My favourites are Ginger, Garlic, Elecampane, Echinacea, Propolis, Coffee and Yarrow.

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Course Index
Seasons Index
Winter