Earth Day Celebrates Our Connectedness with Nature
Earth Day arrives on Thursday, April 22. There’s no better day to take some time to remember how connected our own wellness is to the vitality of our planet. All the systems and parts of the natural world are interconnected, and we’re part of it all, too.
Created in 1970, the very first Earth Day was purposefully planned to occur in late April, a time when spring is blooming, students are on breaks from school, and people in the Northern Hemisphere begin to spend more time outside. A major focus on that first Earth Day was bringing attention to water and air pollution, including from toxic pesticides, oil spills, and the impact of humans’ industrial activities on the environment.
Earth Day is a perfect time to reflect on how our own bodies and lives are connected to the natural world. Just like the planet’s environment, our bodies are majorly impacted by toxins and pollutants from the outside world. Our bodies rely on clean water and air, healthy soil to grow food, and a vibrant, biodiverse ecosystem.
Earth Day And The Five Elements
Traditional Chinese Medicine views the world and everything within it as having aspects of five elements.
These Five Elements are:
Fire: associated with the heart, tongue, circulation, and heat
Earth: associated with the spleen, stomach, mouth, muscles, and damp weather
Metal: associated with the lungs, nose, skin, and dry weather
Water: associated with the kidneys, ears, bones, and cold
Wood: associated with the liver, gallbladder, eye, and wind
Each is associated with a season, as well as with certain organs, flavors, tissues, colors, etc. So, each element also promotes and controls another. And each of us has a different constitution of these five elements within us. Therefore, when the elements are imbalanced, and we can fall ill, experience emotional and mental distress, suffer from pain, and generally just feel…out of whack!
Yet, just like the earth’s seasons, it’s natural for us to experience cycles when one element dominates our constitution.
Balancing The Five Elements
An acupuncture, naturopathic, and TCM treatment plan is always focused on restoring balance to systems by balancing Qi, or energy. Along with acupuncture treatments, you can restore balance and energy flow through exercise and movement, nutrition, herbal supplements (as directed by your care professionals), and other lifestyle habits.
Learn More About the Five Elements
We love exploring the Five Elements of Chinese Medicine, we even created a whole line of Chi Chi Chocolate bars to celebrate them! Check out more information about the Five Elements here:
Five Elements and Eating Right for Your Type
What Element Are You? Five Element Quiz
Ready for more information? Check out this free E-Book Ten Great Reasons to Try Acupuncture.
