4 Tips to Maintain Kidney Qi
Happy Winter Solstice. I realize that you will actually be reading this the day after Solstice, but you may discover this message will ring true whenever you are meant to receive it.
As a Chinese Medicine practitioner, I really enjoy diving deep with each change of the seasons. And as we go into Winter, you will discover that Chinese Medicine teaches us to honor the seasons and how each of them affects us mentally, physically, and spiritually.
In wintertime, you may have already heard the importance of going inward, of conserving our energy, our boundaries, and honoring ourselves.
In Chinese Medicine, Winter is the season of the kidney, and after reading on, you will most likely discover why the kidney is so important to nourish throughout your lifetime.
The kidney channel is the deepest channel in the body, which means it is the most yin of all the channels. This channel is the body’s energetic anchor, meaning, all of the body’s energy rests on the kidney channel. This anchor is known in Chinese Medicine as Ming Men Fire, or ‘Gate of Vitality’. I like to imagine Ming Men as a small campfire that rests under the kidneys, that constantly fuels the kidneys and keeps them going.
The thing about Ming Men is that when it is nourished, it will maintain a constant flame throughout the course of your life. During times of chronic illness and long term stress, however, there is often more of a demand for this fire energy. When the other channels get taxed, it is the kidney channel that the body draws from. In other words, more of this vital, foundational energy gets drained from the kidney channel in an attempt to maintain homeostasis,
While illness and stress can be a normal circumstance in the human condition, the kidney can recover from an occasional hit if the lifestyle is overall a healthy one.
But what most people don’t realize that once chronic stress, overwork, and illness take its toll on the kidney channel, it can be difficult to restore kidney qi once it’s been depleted.
With that in mind, I’d like to offer you some tips to maintain Kidney qi:
Follow the intuitive guidance of the body Winter is a time to restore and replenish energy, not a time to continue with the busy masculine energy of the summer. Honor the feminine energy of winter and go inward.
Conserve Kidney Qi by eating foods that are nourishing and feel good in the body. For example, hot soups and stews may sound better because they are more nourishing during these long winter days. Cold raw salads on a cold day may not sound great because the body knows that cold raw foods can damage your spleen qi, and ultimately, your kidney qi.
Choose activities that fill your cup instead of tax it. Choose friends who feel good to be around, instead of friends who are exhausting. Avoid gatherings that feel tiring. Your intuition always lets you know what is best for you.
As this year draws to a close, I am inviting you to lean in to those cues that are always available to you through your inner wisdom and your physical body.
It’s time to Reclaim Your F.I.R.E., Warriors.
How will you Reclaim Your Fire in 2021?
With love and fire,
