Winter asks something different of us. The days are short, the ground is cold and nature seems to pull everything inwards. In Chinese medicine this is the season of the Water element, and the tradition's advice for it is refreshingly simple. Slow down, keep warm and conserve your energy.
Below you'll find what the classical texts have to say about winter, and some ways to bring that spirit into a modern British winter. These ideas are traditional rather than a mechanism modern science has mapped out, but many people find them a genuinely kind and sensible way to think about the darker months.
What is the Water element?
Chinese medicine has five elements, Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water, each linked to a season. In chapter 5 of the Suwen, the first part of the Huangdi Neijing, the North produces cold, cold produces Water, and Water is linked with the salty taste, the kidneys, the bones and the ears. The same passage pairs Water with the colour black, a groaning sound and the emotion of fear.
In Five Element acupuncture, the style I practise, fear isn't seen as simply negative. In its right place it's healthy caution, the awareness that keeps us safe when we need to be careful. And because winter is the season of closing and storing (more on that below), the tradition links Water with rest and with keeping reserves.
The Neijing's advice for winter
Chapter 2 of the Suwen gives advice for each of the four seasons. Its winter section opens by calling these months a time of bi cang, which means closing and storing. It paints a picture of water freezing and the ground cracking, and warns against disturbing the yang, the warm, active side of life.
The Chinese Medicine Hospital of Hong Kong's English version, translated by Janet Yu under the supervision of Professor Janice Pan, renders the central advice like this:
"retire early and rise late, awaiting the sun's light, and keep the emotion as though concealed and hidden"
Winter is the only season in chapter 2 where the text recommends going to bed early and getting up late. For spring and summer the advice is to stay up later and rise early; for autumn, early to bed and early to rise. Winter is the time to rest the most.
Two practical lines follow in the original Chinese. Move away from cold towards warmth, and don't let things escape through the skin, which you could read as not sweating heavily in winter. A warning closes the section, that going against the season harms the kidneys and leaves less to draw on in spring (that's my own summary of the Chinese; Paul Unschuld and Hermann Tessenow's 2011 translation for University of California Press covers the same passage in full).
A winter in step with the season
You don't have to hibernate to take something from this. A few gentle ideas:
- Sleep a little longer if you can. The text's advice is to wait for the daylight. Even an earlier night or two a week can feel like a gift in December.
- Keep warm. Nobody in a British winter will argue with "move away from cold towards warmth". Warm layers, warm drinks and warm food.
- Choose gentler exercise. Not sweating heavily doesn't mean not moving. A brisk walk, stretching or a gentle class may suit the season better than pushing yourself hard.
- Keep something back. "Keep the emotion as though concealed" suggests a quieter, more private time. It's fine to say no to some invitations and save your energy.
- Reflect. Traditionally, winter is a time for storing. That can mean rest, but also thinking over the year and quietly planning for the next.
Water and rest
Modern life doesn't really slow down in winter. The lights stay on, work carries on and the festive season can be one of the busiest times of the year. The Water tradition offers a counterweight, a reminder that rest isn't wasted time and that reserves need topping up.
Many people find a Five Element acupuncture session a restful hour in the middle of winter. I take time to listen, and I tailor each treatment to the person in front of me.
To read more about this element and what the tradition links it with, visit my guide to the Water element.