Spring Cleaning
by Thea Harlans

The following article is the third in a cycle of four dealing with the traditional Chinese medicine approach to maintaining your health over the four seasons.

With the arrival of spring plants begin to sprout, so the color associated with spring is green and the element is wood. Since most fruits and trees are immature at this time, the associated taste is sour. Sour taste strengthens the liver, the organ associated with the wood element, and the liver can then nourish the tendons and tendino-muscular channels. The liver connects with the eyes through its channels, and the eyes are said to be the upper opening of the liver.

Spring brings about the revitalization of all things in nature. It is the time of birth. Since this is a time when universal energy begins anew and rejuvenates, one should attempt to harmonize oneself with this energy by being open and unrepressed, both physically and emotionally. According to the Yellow Emperor's Classic, we should rise early and go walking in order to absorb the fresh invigorating energy. By exercising more frequently we reflect the ascending and active nature of spring. This is a time to do stretching exercises to loosen up the tendons and muscles, and move the sluggishness left behind by winter.

What are the spring ailments that can be caused by the previous season? If the weather has been inconsistent, shifting from cold to unreasonably hot, then back to cold, or if you go to Florida and return in the middle of a cold winter, you may end up with cold trapped in the joints. This is a persistent nagging pain that does not dissipate even when the weather warms in spring. The body may not have enough qi or energy to push out the cold, and the pain remains. It is important to try to move the cold with exercise and external application of compresses or essential oils. Chinese medicine has acupuncture and massage protocols to address these conditions as well as traditional herbal formulas to warm the joints. It is advisable to take action before this "cold" becomes a chronic condition. Don't assume it will mysteriously disappear.

If you have been dosing yourself with echinacea at the first sign of a sniffle, you may have a lot of phlegm to clear. Echinacea is a root, and the nature of its energy is to pull pathogens in and down. When other techniques and herbs have failed to push the pathogens up and out, echinacea--used properly over a long enough period--can purge pathogens by pulling them down through the body. The body uses its fluids to try to push out an invading virus, bacteria or irritant, as when you have a runny nose. If you keep pulling in every little symptom with a casual and erratic use of echinacea, you may have accumulated quite a sticky mess. The spring diet described below will clear some of this, but you may have to resort to some short term fasting to move it all out.

The liver is responsible for the smooth flow of qi in the muscles, tendons and ligaments; however, any excess emotion can injure the liver and disrupt this flow. It is a good idea to maintain emotional equilibrium. Doing so may be especially difficult in spring,--since spring energy is responsible for the natural movement of the wind, the upward motion of plants, the movement of the tendons, the shouting of the voice, and angry emotions.

The Chinese see anger as harmful to the liver, but sadness clears anger. Anger is not just an emotional vector. Anger gives us a headache because it ascends the qi, and anger makes us dizzy because it ascends qi. Anger also changes our social demeanor, and it elevates our social status. During the times I am angry I feel superior. This has a number of implications. For example, people who have been told ever since they were very young that they were failures may have internalized an emotional representation of inferiority that presents as depression or grief . . . or they may continually be challenging this representation. "No, I'm not a failure" can translate as someone who's always angry at life, as a reflection of the need to change his or her status. Similarly, if persons who feel themselves in occupations or situations that make them feel inferior may get angry about it. Anger isn't always unresolved frustration or resentment--emotions have social standings as well.

Since the yang energy of spring ascends and expands, and the liver is said to open to the eyes, most spring ailments are related to the head. Blurred vision and red eyes can be symptoms of a sluggish and fiery liver. A sluggish liver can also cause a qi deficiency, accompanied by disorientation and dizziness. Seasonal allergies can be exacerbated by a fiery, sensitive stomach that has been stirred up by the liver. These symptoms can be reduced by the cooling and clearing dietary recommendations below. In an earlier column, we already recommended dandelion tea or capsules to cool the liver, and essential oil of peppermint to open the sinus cavities of the head.

In spring our diet should be the lightest of the year, containing foods that emphasize the yang, ascending, and expansive qualities of spring--young plants, fresh greens and immature wheat and cereal grasses. The sight of the green color of tender young plants is said to nourish the soul through the eyes; in fact, all the senses are nourished by the sounds and smells and sights of spring, so the appetite for food decreases and the body naturally cleanses itself. This is the season to pay attention to the liver and gall bladder. We eat less to cleanse the body of the fats and heavy foods of winter. Salty foods such as soy sauce, miso and sodium-rich meats have a strong sinking energy and should be limited during springtime. The Classic recommends the expansive, rising quality of sweet and pungent-flavored foods as a means of creating "a personal spring within." The pungent cooking herbs--basil, fennel, marjoram, rosemary, caraway, dill, bay leaf--are desirable. Most of the complex carbohydrates such as grains, legumes, and seeds have a primarily sweet flavor, which increases with sprouting. Young beets, carrots and other starchy vegetables provide a refreshingly sweet taste. Certain cultures have traditionally used intensely pungent flavors in spring, such as a daily dose of raw onions and garlic, to rid the body of parasites.

Food preparation should be kept simple. Raw and sprouted foods are cleansing and cooling. Most people can tolerate a little raw food daily, more in spring and summer, unless they are weak and deficient (raw foods should not be eaten at all if there is any intestinal inflammation). People living in temperate climates, including most of the United States, need to cook their foods to maintain digestive balance. In spring, food is best cooked for a shorter time but at higher temperatures, so that the food is not as thoroughly cooked, especially the inner part. When cooking with oil, use a quick high-temperature saute method. In cooking with water, light steaming or minimal simmering is ideal.

According to the Classics, spring is a time when the metaphorical membrane over the eyes and mind disappears and vision becomes clearer. Things are seen in new ways, which open up new possibilities.

Thea Harlans is a licensed massage therapist who practices Tui-Na--Chinese massage and Chinese medicine--in Rhinebeck and New York City. She has been a student of Dr. Jeffrey Yuen, a Taoist priest, herbalist and cancer specialist, for the last ten years. She has an MFA from Columbia University and an MA from The Manhattan School of Music in performing arts.