Are Your Earth Element and Lymph Balanced?
The earth element rules our time between seasons, and in the northern hemisphere we are in the time between winter and spring. This means we must take extra care to build our earth element, which correlates to our stomach, spleen, pancreas and the lymphatic system. What kinds of health practices do you currently have in place? Are you feeling the need to lighten up the body through more activity? Through a change in your diet? Many times our bodies naturally tell us what we need if we choose to listen. With the coming spring energies that we all feel beginning to bubble up, I have been feeling a desire for lighter foods, and to get in more breathwork yoga, and vigorous activity. If you are having any tendencies towards sugar cravings, this isn’t telling us to eat more of it, and instead shows us we need a break. Besides avoiding sugar, it is best to limit dairy if you use it at all, as this plugs up the lymph system, which is the body’s natural way to eliminate wastes and toxins. We can begin to add in a little more raw veggies now, while still taking care to have warm or room temperature foods for breakfast. This will keep our digestive fire stoked throughout the day. Last of all, I can lead you through healing your gut which will keep your lymph system and earth element in balance too!
We also want to be mindful of building our immunity at this time too. When the earth element is weak, we are prone to illness such as viruses and colds. Low energy and brain fog are symptoms of earth out of balance, as well as a clogged lymph system. Now is a great time to get your Amma bodywork to move lymph, build your immune system and prepare your body for spring. Amma regulates all the organs, channels and energy of the body so we can feel energized, greater harmony, and have good immunity.
Amma is exceptional for balancing the body’s emotional states as well. I work with many people with anxiety, grief and low mood issues, who have achieved a balance through this work along with using my Holistic Nutrition principles with it. Recently, I felt some lack of not having a life partner and was feeling sorry for myself. Luckily I wasn’t feeling a huge drive to receive sympathy about it, and only needed to process grief (relating to the metal element). If I had been feeling that desire for sympathy and seeking it out, I would know my earth element was out of kilter, and could address it. (By the way, there’s nothing wrong with feeling that way. In our awareness of feeling this, we can see what needs addressed to change and shift our emotional state.) Other ways you can see an imbalance is if you experience any of the following: being forgetful, an inability to have compassion (even if you want to), being resistant to change, or experiencing nervousness. When we tend towards obsessive thinking, worry, or overanalyzing, we can find ourselves imbalanced.
Earth contains the water element and so when we have an imbalance with earth, then the water symptoms can crop up. This looks like breast swelling before menstruation, edema, bloating, and itchy and dry skin with oozing water/fluids. Besides getting Amma, moving the body is needed to move the lymph. I recommend rebounding (using a mini-trampoline) or getting in a quick-paced walk. Be sure and hydrate to keep yourself in harmony as well!
Cheers to a healthy lymph and earth element system!
Tanya