Summer Brings the Fire Element
By Lauren Breau,
L.Ac I
magine a warm Maine summer day in late June. Fields of purple lupine and buttercups line the roadside. For lunch, a soft shelled lobster and ear of sweet corn touches the spot.
You could spend the rest of the afternoon exploring the coast- line, sipping maple lemonade while watching the sky darken, the smell of beach roses mixing with ocean air and ending the day on the beach.
Summer is the season for warmth and bounty and laughter - a welcome reward for the Mainers who brave these winters year after year, battling the deep chill that tends to creep into the spirit by February. Thankfully, spring arrives just in time - when it seems like the weather is bound to an eternal frigidness, the big thaw begins. Daffodils poke up from the softening earth. Local asparagus shows up at the grocery. Before you know it, sum- mer has arrived, igniting the spirit with warmth and joy. Mainers begin smiling again, and interacting with their neighbors. Smoke rises from an army of grills, and kids play outside until the sun goes down.
The Element of Fire A typical summer day in Maine is a perfect metaphor for ex-
plaining how Traditional Chinese Medicine conceptualizes the fire element, which is associated with the season of summer and the organ of the heart. Summer is the best time to cultivate yang energy – activity, growth, and creativity are at their peak. In general, less sleep is required, more fresh uncooked food can be consumed, and more liquid is needed to balance the spike in heat. In the warmer weather, shoulders relax and the chest opens. People feel more playful and adventurous. The sound associated with the fire element is laughter –a sound heard across the state when the sun finally comes out and stays.
The Heart
According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), sum- mer is the season in which yang is at its peak. Just as the sun provides warmth and light for all living things, the organ of the heart is said to illuminate and permeate the body with con- sciousness, spirit, and feeling. A balanced fire element/heart is evident through the brightness of the eyes and the clarity of speech. A person with a strong heart is comfortable in their skin; they are able to adequately express their needs and ask for help in a direct way. Though they aren’t falsely chipper or overly-pos- itive, they can deal with the complex range of emotions without becoming ungrounded. The balanced heart, according to TCM, also implies a strong memory, a love of laughter, and a naturally warm demeanor.
Imbalances in the Heart: Dying Flames and Sudden Flares
All of us experience imbalance, even on a day to day basis.
For instance, some days you may feel like the emotionally-bal- anced, natural-friendly, easy-to-laugh person described above. On other days…not so much. In order to assess the health of the heart (and the element of fire), we must take into account that the health of the heart encompasses a spectrum. On one end of the spectrum is the completely “snuffed” fire - the person feels as if they have lost their warmth, literally and metaphorically. Feelings of apathy and severe depression are often the result of deficient heart qi. Since this is often the result of trauma, or acute/chronic abuse – holding a compassionate space for some- one dealing with this imbalance is essential. A weakened fire can also manifest as social anxiety and a preference to remain isolated. Memory is poor and sleep is not restful. A person can look pale, or washed out, and may seem to have a difficult time staying still.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, excess fire can show up as extreme agitation, or mania (picture an uncontrolled bonfire). A person may speak fast or excessively. They may have
26 Essential Living Maine ~ July/August 2014
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