Autumn – Metal
In traditional five element acupuncture, the Metal element is associated with the Autumn, a time for letting go.
Autumn is a time of year that we are coming out of the yang phase of summer towards the yin phase of winter, a time to turn your attention to building and strengthening your immune system and protecting your Qi. A time to take life to be a bit quieter, as the evenings are colder getting to bed earlier to replenish your Qi. Autumn is the time of balancing and preparing for winter and a new cycle of life- in the body – for your Qi to withdraw and replenish in order to sustain functions that maintain life.
It is important at this time of year to be aware of sudden drops in temperature from one day to the next, so vital to protect yourself from getting chilled which can affect the strength of your immune system.
The emotions associated with Metal are sadness and grief. These intense emotions if prolonged can injure innermost parts of our sole. The heart and mind can be so disturbed that life may not feel like it is worth living.
This feeling can be seen as sorrow, melancholy, grief, despair, longing, homesickness, a feeling that one has lost senses. When these emotions are chronic they exhaust the Qi and essences, there can be physical feelings in the chest and diaphragm effecting your breath.
It is important to express sadness when appropriate, but also necessary to let it go after a while to in order to protect your Qi in body mind and spirit.
Metal is about malleability allowing mental to be shaped and adapted to many shapes. Lack of malleability leads to rigidity, inflexibility, and hardness, resulting in getting stuck on physical and mental levels, manifesting in many ways across the body, mind and spirit.
Traditional five element acupuncture can help with many issues in life if you recognise any of these aspects of the Metal element it would be worth investigating traditional five element acupuncture, either on its own or alongside other treatments or medication you are taking.
Look after your Qi and it will look after you.
For more information contact Hannah -; https://www.southwellacupuncture.co.uk/contact/
Written with references from article in the Acu magazine by Cinzia Scorzon.
