The Five Elements of Chinese Medicine as I understand

What are the Five Elements

The five elements are philosophical ideas created by the Chinese people. It is mainly used in philosophy, TCM, and divination. The doctrine of the five elements is an essential part of Chinese civilization.
Ancient ancestors believed that everything under the sun is composed of five elements: metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, which are related to each other in a mutually beneficial way.
The five elements refer to the movement and changes of five substances: wood, fire, earth, metal, and water. Therefore, in China, the “five elements” have a long historical origin.

Chinese Medicine and the Five Elements

Chinese medicine studies not only people but also the mysteries of nature. Only when we truly understand the laws of nature’s operation can we know what is expected and abnormal and how to bring the abnormal back to normal.
Five organs in our body correspond to the five elements.

Wood corresponds to the liver, emotion corresponds to anger, the corresponding season is Spring, and the corresponding color is cyan.
Some people may ask: How to nourish the liver? The best time to nourish the liver is in Spring, like “trees” to stretch around, adjust the emotions, anger most hurt the liver, and eat more green food. This is the most straightforward rule to follow the nature of the liver and the characteristics of the five elements of the liver, which is normal.

Fire corresponds to the heart, emotion corresponds to joy, the corresponding season is summer, and the corresponding color is red.
Some people also ask how to nourish the heart. The answer is clear now. We need to be passionate and spirited, experience joy, and eat more red foods that enter the heart in the summertime.

Earth corresponds to the spleen, emotion corresponds to thought, the corresponding season is long summer, and the corresponding color is yellow.
Earth is the mother of the five elements. All life in nature depends on the soil; a plant grows well or not, related to the light environment, geographical environment, and more related to the soil.
Moreover, whether a person is healthy is related to congenital, related to the living environment, and emotions. If someone does not know how to adjust the body to normal, start with the spleen and stomach.
Then, how do you nourish the spleen and stomach?
The five elements have been elaborated very clearly; in the last 18 days of each season, it is the long summer, so eat more yellow food to supplement the spleen and stomach. At the same time, do not overthink; too much thinking hurts the spleen.

Metal corresponds to the lungs, emotion corresponds to sadness, the corresponding season is autumn, and the corresponding color is white.
In autumn, when we see the leaves wither, people will be sad; this is a human feeling, but also the law of the five elements.
In autumn, nature is going to start to collect inward. See, the trees shed their leaves to collect the essence of the trunk and give up the secondary ones like branches and leaves.
In autumn, people should also follow this inward momentum, not to run around and stop expanding their desires outward, but to take back their heart nature, which is following the heavenly time.
A person prone to pessimism also tends to have weak lung qi and is more prone to colds.
Then, how do you nourish the lungs?
Optimism is the best emotional medicine to nourish the lungs. Eating more white nourishing foods nourishes the lungs, does not do unnecessary sweaty exercises, and dissipates energy essence.

Water corresponds to the kidney, emotion corresponds to fear, the corresponding season is winter, and the corresponding color is black.
Water flows downward; this is a natural law, and the kidneys are to be like water to hide the essence and not leak out.
Many people ask me how I nourish my lungs.
Because the kidneys are hidden, just like your family’s money jar, you store more and more money in the money jar every day. If you always take from the money jar and do not save money, where is the money to take it?
The essence in the kidneys is certain, so save it; that’s why Chinese doctors are shouting to abstain from indulging in sex.
Fear hurts the kidneys, and this is particularly damaging to children. Many children grow up in a fearful family environment, so parents who know a little bit about Chinese medicine, no matter what will not try to scare their children. By making them feel more secure and giving more love, they are protecting their children’s five organs.

Understanding this may explain why it is vital for TCM practitioners to understand the five elements. Chinese medicine looks at the liver; it does not see the fleshy liver; they see the liver alive, moving, and wholly integrated with nature.