Spring In Chinese Medicine

Flowers bloom, bees hum - Spring is finally here! In the context of Traditional Chinese Medicine, each season of the year corresponds to a different element - in the case of Spring that element is 'Wood' - which also associated with one organ and its paired viscus; and also one flavor, one color, one of the five senses, different parts of the body and one emotion. It is this web of relationships that we will examine today.

The organ/viscus pair that is related to the Wood element is the liver/gallbladder. The liver is known as the commander of the all organs, because bestowed upon him is the important mission of controlling the blood flow and energy circulation, As a pair, they are deeply intertwined, meaning what affects one will affect the other, although they will always ultimately interact in a more complex web with the other organs from the other elements. It is also important to note that when we talk about organs we are talking about the energy of the organ, which can be compared to a battery that feeds and sustains the organs and preserves their good functioning, keeping it lively and healthy.

The flavor that belongs to the liver/gallbladder is the acid flavor; meaning that if we take too much acidic food in our diet we will hinder the energy of this pair, instead of stimulating it.

The psychological dimension of the liver is represented by the emotion 'Anger' although, fundamentally, the liver also controls all the emotions, not only because it regulates our mood, but also because the gallbladder has an important influence on our decision making capability.

The window of the liver is the eye, which means that any pathologies connected to the eyes are correlated with the liver and the gallbladder, like for example conjunctivitis - the result from an imbalance between the Yin and Yang of the liver/gallbladder, consequence of a rise in the Yang force.

The parts of the body that are connected to this element are the tendons and the nails. As the liver is the organ responsible for the blood flow and energy circulation, any problems of poor nourishment in the tendons and nails are unmistakably linked back to it. This could eventually result in muscular injuries, like tendinitis or in the case of the nails, brittleness.

The color of the Wood element is green, representing the nature that teems all around us in this part of the year, simbolizing birth and grown. Like a tree that was planted and now is now blooming, it's a time of ascension and prosperity.

SARA