Seasonal Node: White Due

We are now fully in the transition to Autumn which, according to the classical acupuncture texts, is when we start to see a movement of harvesting (收). All of nature, all that we see around us, is in the slow process of winding down which we can see in the mornings being a little darker and the sun is beginning to set a lot earlier.

During the Chinese period of White Dew, which is between the 8th-21st of September, the days are still on the warmer side but we are starting to see more fluctuations as we transition into Autumn. Noticeably too, the evenings and mornings are a little cooler so it's time to start protecting the body with slightly heavier clothing which doesn't leave the body too exposed. There is a Chinese saying "bai lu shen bu lu, zhao liang yi xie du (白露身不露，著涼易瀉肚)" which roughly translates as "if you are naked, you will easily have diarrhea if you catch a cold." Perhaps this is a slightly more humourous old wives tale, it certainly made me chuckle, but it is about guiding people to wrap up a little earlier than we think is necessary to avoid illness. A lot of people around this time start to suffer from colds or other upper respiratory problems and I think this is showing through seemingly more people catching COVID again.

Other pieces of advice that I would give:

• Start to reduce the consumption of cold foods. In the peak of summer, things like ice cream or cooling salads are really great for the body but these are less advised in Autumn. Eating cold foods burdens the Spleen and Stomach which at this point is really trying to consolidate its warmth, or yang energies, as it becomes less reliant on the warmth in the world around us.
• It's also a time where we should start to slow down a little more as we see with nature as it starts to shed all it doesn't need for survival in winter. Things like going to bed slightly earlier, moving a little less, and taking stock of our lives (self-reflection and finding things that we don’t need any more) are particularly important during this period.
• As with any change of the season it's always a good time to book in for an acupuncture treatment where we can look at a more seasonal based session to aid in this transition. There's all sorts of amazing points that are available to be able to protect you from getting ill in the Autumn.

The other thing that I am seeing at this time of the year is a lot of people suffering from seasonal allergies and things like rhinitis.