The Season of the Heart
While this summer has brought a lot of rain, in Traditional Chinese Medicine the 5 elements are continuously moving in cyclical fashion - both within our own bodies, as well as outside of us. The seasons of the year each have an elemental counterpart, and this time of the year is referred to as "Heart time". The summer solstice is considered the most Yang (active) day of the year; it is during this time that the sun stays with us the longest, offering us more time and energy to plant our gardens, connect with those we love, and just be present with all the beauty that grows around us. Summer/Heart time is a great time to savor the deliciousness that is available in every moment - from the sounding songs of the birds and the peepers, to the flavors of the ripe fruit that comes in abundance for just a short while before returning to dormancy.
The Heart is considered in TCM as the "Emperor of the body" - heart governs the blood, and is responsible for the Shen (mind). The flavor of the Heart is bitter, which is a grounding flavor. Often times bitter also denotes a cooling energetic of the plant (with a few exceptions). Bitter is a great ally for Heart season, whether you include more dandelion greens and broccoli rabe dishes at meals, mix a tad of bitter tincture with seltzer creating a spritzer, or work with a blend of digestive bitters before meals as a tincture, for example. All are great ways to help our bodies ground, process, and digest the experiences that are all around us during these summer time months. Aside from bitters being an ally to the heart, they also aid digestion, working through the liver to stimulate bile from the moment Bitter's flavor is registered by the tongue. This bile production is a head start for the digestive processes of the body, aiding in digesting, processing and assimilating nutrients. Aside from the heart and digestive aid provided by Bitter-flavored herbs, many of our classic nervous system herbs are bitter. Skullcap, passionflower, chamomile, gentian, wood betony, and blue vervain, to name a few, are all extremely bitter and grounding. Herbs always amaze me with their capacity to work through many different pathways of the body, offering to us multiple levels of support for the whole body - physical, mental, spiritual and emotional. We at Sage Green carry many bitter-flavored herbs and typically prefer to work with them as tinctures - as drinking cups of bitter teas can be challenging for us here in North America, where this flavor is mostly removed from our diets - and tinctures can ease the burden of our busy lifestyles, which are especially typical of the Heart season.
Wishing you all a joyous summer!
