Watery Winter

Water in Chinese Five Element Theory relates to winter and boy haven’t we had a lot of water lately.

This has also been reflected in my treatments, with a lot of clients having water elements coming up on diagnosis. In the clinic that I attended last month in Nottingham all three clients had water treatments. This was also true of the other students treatments.     

The Water meridians are Kidney and Bladder. ”The water element is the basis of both Yin and Yang in the human bodymind. Life depends on water, and water is the source of life.  

The water element governs the deepest structures and tissues, the bones and their marrow and the spinal cord. In terms of time, it also reaches back to the individual being’s deepest past, the emergence of life from the void at the moment of conception.

It is movement and flow which gives water it’s ability to cleanse.” (Carola Beresford-Cooke, Shiatsu Theory and Practice, p.95, ISBN 0-443-07059-8).

” A well-balanced Water element allows us to move through the world with confidence and calm. It gives us a sense of strength and an awareness of our ability to handle difficult situations. Water also provides for endless creativity and a love of relaxation and quietude. Healthy water gives us a balanced perspective on our own struggles, and the ability to view the struggles of others with compassion.

Because of it’s deep interiority, the water within is easily drowned out by our busy lives and manifold obligations. When this happens, we lose touch with inner peace, wisdom, and our sense of knowing. We may feel exhausted, depressed (S.A.D), out of sync, or just plain irratable. This is a time to dive into our private oceans, to reaquaint ourselves with who we are and what we need. Only after we have taken this valuable time for ourselves can we begin to interact properly with the outside world. That interaction, when it comes out of consultation with our inner wisdom, leads to a dynamic and powerful Wood Phase.” (Gail Reichstein, wood becomes water – chinese medicine in everyday life, p.202, ISBN 1-56836-209-9).

I will look at the Wood element in a later post.

For further reading about Water on blogs have a look at:

http://wakowa.wordpress.com/      http://www.shiatsustudent.co.uk/blog/