Staying Hydrated in Winter

How to Hydrate without Water

Winter is associated with the water element, the most nourishing and essential element for sustaining life. In these long, cool months, there is a great focus on slowing down, resting, conserving, turning energy inward, and staying hydrated. In TCM, proper hydration is crucial for optimal health and balance in the body. Hydration is closely linked to keeping the body’s yin and yang balanced, regulating fluids, promoting Qi, and sustaining the kidneys. While increased water consumption is advisable in the hot summer months, moderate consumption of water in winter is important to not cause excessive cooling of the body.

Tea

In TCM, the kidneys store jing, our vital essence, and Qi, and since an imbalance in the kidneys is easy in winter, it is important to drink lots of fluids. While a hot cup of green tea is going to warm your body up initially, it actually has cooling effects on the body, making it a more suitable tea for summer. It is essential to avoid unnecessary cooling of the body in winter, so drinking the proper tea for the winter season can keep your body warm and hydrated. Teas that have warming effects on the body include rose tea, chai tea, ginger tea, and black tea.

Rose tea can be enjoyed by steeping organic rose hips or petals in hot water for about 20 minutes. This tea boosts Qi, enriches blood, enhances mood, and is related to yin, making it the perfect tea to enjoy through the winter blues.

Chai tea is full of warming ingredients like black tea, cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, black peppercorn, and sometimes chillies. These spices are added to milk and sugar to create a spicy tea that will keep your body warm. Chai tea can also be enjoyed sugar and milk free.

Ginger tea is warming and is used to boost the immune system, aid digestion, and enhance the

abundance and circulation of yang energy. Even though yang essence retreats during winter, this season is all about conservation to better prepare for the expansiveness of spring and summer, so yang support is still important. Add ginger to hot water and honey to taste, and enjoy a cup to battle colds or the flu.

Black tea is also warming, and improves digestion and boosts metabolism. Steep loose leaf or tea bag in hot water, add your favorite milk and honey, or enjoy black. Teas that are best left for the other months include oolong, chrysanthemum, jasmine, and green tea.

Golden Turmeric Tea Recipe
Turmeric is a warming and anti-inflammatory root that can ease any aches from wintery chills. Each ingredient of this tea has healing properties; turmeric invigorates the blood, alleviates pain, and promotes Qi circulation, black pepper warms digestion, dispels internal cold, ginger is warming, honey nourishes yin, and cinnamon warms the kidneys.

Ingredients:

● 2 cups of milk, preferably dairy free.

● 1 tsp turmeric

● 1 teaspoon raw honey or more to taste

● Pinch of ground black pepper

● ¼ inch fresh ginger, peeled or grated on a zester

● 1 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

Pour all ingredients into a saucepan and heat for 3-5 minutes over medium heat until hot but not boiling. Whisk while heating to mix all ingredients. Drink immediately. Recipe serves two.

Food

Warming or cooling foods are not categorized by their temperature, but rather by the effect they have on the body after consumption. In winter, eating foods with a high water content like bone broth with sea or himalayan salt will provide the body with all necessary nutrients while helping the body retain water and warmth. Focus on foods that share qualities of the water element, like dark colors, salty taste, and high water content. These foods include walnuts, almonds, chestnuts, seeds, oats, legumes, lentils, brown rice, lamb, chicken, salmon, shellfish, salt water fish, seaweed, spirulina, dark colored berries, root vegetables, black beans, mushrooms, onions, leeks, scallions, chives, sweet potato, whole grains, stews, soups, ginger, garlic, cardamom, cinnamon bark, clove, turmeric, warm cooked foods, and limiting cold and raw foods. Avoid cooling foods like raw salads, sushi, iced drinks, and dairy, as they all require extra energy to metabolize.

Healing TCM Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

Broth

● 1 whole 4-5 lb chicken, quartered and skin removed OR 3 large portobello mushrooms

cut into 1 inch pieces

● 1 gallon filtered water

● 2 cloves chopped garlic

● 3 stalks celery chopped

● 2 carrots chopped

● 1 large cucumber diced

● 2-3 inches fresh ginger, cut in half

● 1-2 inches fresh galangal, cut in half

● 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

Soup

● 4 celery stalks

● 4-5 shiitake mushrooms, chopped

● 3 carrots chopped

● 1 bunch scallions, chopped

● 1 bunch cilantro, chopped

● Salt and pepper

Directions
To make the broth, add all ingredients in a pot and bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover, and simmer for 1.5-2 hours on low heat. Once done, pour through a colander and separate veggies from the chicken. Discard veggies, and pour broth back into the pot, bringing it to a simmer. Add in all soup ingredients except for the green onion and cilantro. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

While the broth is simmering, remove all meat from chicken, cut into small pieces, and add to the soup. Add scallions for the last 5 minutes of cooking. Serve with chopped cilantro sprinkled on top, and add salt and pepper to taste.

This winter, take advantage of the longer nights to slow down, rest, turn inwards, enjoy warm cups of tea, and hearty bowls of soup. Conserving energy now is important for maintaining it through the expansive summer months where depletion is easy, so like water, flow with the season and stay warm and hydrated.

Resources

● The Water Element: A TCM Approach to Winter Wellness — Balance Acupuncture -

Charleston, SC

● Staying Hydrated from a TCM Perspective - Mend Acupuncture

● TCM Winter Health Tips to Reflect & Recharge.

● https://urbanremedy.com/healing-traditional-chinese-medicine-soup-recipe-for-winer/

● ​​A TEA FOR ALL SEASONS - Rebalance Traditional Chinese Medicine

● Discover 8 Warming Teas as Defined by Traditional Chinese Medicine

● Winter Nourishment | TCM NYC | The Yinova Center

● Golden Turmeric Tea – Watertown Acupuncture

Three-Dimensional and Connected Breathing in Autumn

As the weather transitions from warm and sunny to cold and gray, our bodies require different care techniques to maintain physical, mental, and emotional balance and wellness. Autumn is connected to two organs: the lungs, yin, and the large intestine, yang. The lungs are associated with the emotions sadness and grief, and the large intestines are associated with letting go of emotional and physical waste.

Since autumn is a time of turning inwards compared to the outward expansion of summer, it is essential to set boundaries, organize, communicate your needs, and process your emotions. Nurture your lungs through belly and lateral breathing, bring oxygen rich blood to your organs, aid digestion, and fully eliminate any waste and feelings you have been holding on to all summer. This is a time of introspection, a time to let your body fully relax after the hustle and bustle of summer, and a way to do that is through the techniques of three-dimensional breathing and connected breathing.

Three- Dimensional Breathing

While belly breathing helps prepare your body and organs for the transition from summer to fall, and lateral breathing brings oxygen rich blood to all your organs, supporting digestion, Three-Dimensional Breathing allows your body to fully relax and lean into the contractive nature of autumn. Centering on the lower back, this breathing technique massages the lower back, opens up movement, signals to your adrenals to calm down, and carries oxygen to the kidneys.

Bringing fresh, oxygen rich blood to your kidneys allows them to function properly, and your adrenals will finally have a break after being overstimulated by the expansiveness of summer.

How to Three-Dimensional Breathe

• Lay on your back with your knees up, and press your lower back into the floor

• Inhale, directing your breath to your back, behind the navel, then fill up in all directions, like a balloon

• Try not to flex any muscles- remain relaxed

• Keep inhaling until you feel your ribcage expand, then release

• Repeat this method of breathing until you feel movement in the back, and then begin integrating the back

• To integrate the back, stand with your feet shoulder width apart

• Place your hands on your lower back and try the breathing technique again, and feel the back expanding with your inhale

• Check to make sure your body is still relaxed and that you have not flexed any muscles or tightened any joints

• Then make loose fists with your hands, and knock, or tap, on the lower back, avoiding the spine. Do this for a full minute, then rub the area with your palms or knuckles

• At this time, the area should feel warm due to blood flow

Connected Breathing

The final step in this deep breathing practice is connecting all the techniques: belly, lateral, and three-dimensional breathing, together. Functions of the whole body are physiologically connected, and no organ operates independently. Connecting our breath to these intricate pathways brings the body into harmony by integrating the physical, emotional, and mental aspects of the whole person.

How to Connect your Breath

• Lay on your back on the floor with your knees up

• Breathe into your belly- read our previous blog post Unwinding Your Belly

• Transition into Lateral Breathing- read our previous blog post Lateral Breathing and Immune Support

• Rest for a few breaths, then combine belly and lateral breathing for a few breaths

• After a few repetitions, breathe into your back, expanding against the floor

• Breathe like this, three-dimensionally, for several breaths

• Rest again for a few breaths, then then on your next inhale, combine belly, lateral, and three-dimensional breathing, and fill your abdomen fully

• When the abdomen is full, breathe in even more so your chest expands- this relaxes the ribs, chest, neck, throat, and the upper lobes of lungs are able to fully expand and taken in copious amounts of oxygen

• It is important to remember, at all stages of breathing, to breathe in through your nose and exhale through your mouth. When you exhale, let your chest collapse first, then the ribs, and finally your belly.

• Keep practicing, and pay attention to what you feel within your body as you breathe deeper- note where you feel tension or pain

Practicing belly, lateral, three-dimensional, and connected breathing brings the mind, body, and emotions into a state of awareness and relaxation, and is a way to check-in with yourself and evaluate your state of well being. Autumn provides the opportunity to slow down, to lean into relaxation, and to prepare your body for the months to come. While summer is about moving, making plans, socializing, and taking advantage of every minute, autumn is about you and reconnecting to yourself. Focus on lung and intestinal health, immunity, releasing stored emotions, and relaxing while breathing deeply.

References

“Breathing Exercises For Autumn”. Retrieved from https://fiveseasonshealing.com/breathing-exercise-for-autumn/.

Cavaliere, Stephen and Post, Allison. “Unwinding the Belly: Healing with Gentle Touch”.

Kauffman, Jaime. “What Chinese Medicine Has to Say About Fall”. Retrieved from https://mendacupuncture.com/what-chinese-medicine-has-to-say-about-fall/.

Odell, Megan. “Moving into Autumn with Traditional Chinese Medicine”. Retrieved from https://ncim.org.uk/moving-into-autumn-with-tcm#:~:text=Within%20TCM%2C%20Autumn%20is%20the,to%20weather%20this%20seasonal%20change.

Sonmore, Steven. “Enjoy the Energy of Fall: Autumn and Traditional Chinese Medicine”. Retrieved from https://www.acufinder.com/Acupuncture+Information/Detail/Enjoy+the+Energy+of+Fall+Autumn+and+Traditional+Chinese+Medicine.

Zappin, Benjamin. “Autumn Health Tips from Chinese Medicine”. Retrieved from https://fiveflavorsherbs.com/blog/autumn-health-tips-from-chinese-medicine/.