Winter Energetics and Winter Tea

Winter element is water (like snow, rain and ice)
Winter is the season for storing, preserving and resting
Drink Black tea (fully fermented) during the winter months

Winter has the shortest days and least amount of daylight, which draws our core energy downward. The energy will reside more in the kidneys, the tan tien (breathing focal point) and the reproductive organs.

The season of winter is associated with colds and flu’s so the immune system requires strengthening and protecting. Due to our energy being deep and internal the extremities of the body need to be protected from the cold with appropriate warm clothing. Wear shoes, both inside and outside, to prevent the cold and damp entering the kidneys via a point on the foot sole called the ‘bubbling spring’.

Drink Black tea in winter

Preventative outlook

Black Tea will help expel cold and guide the energies ‘inside’ for safe storage during the dormancy of a long winter (or over night). The fully-fermented property warms, strengthens and nourishes deep inside the body, boosting blood flow and overall circulation.

Curative outlook

Black tea can be a way to compliment a weight loss regime. Its fully fermented property has the ability to flush out fats found in food, improving the body’s ability to suppress fatty acid synthesis. It also has links to lowering bad LDI cholesterol as well.

Winter is associated with kidneys and the emotion of the kidneys is fear. This is the dominant emotion for this time of year because the diminishing light. Black foods such as black tea correspond to the water element and can strengthen the kidneys, helping with the yin deficiencies such as fear, anxiety, panic, memory and concentration issues and a lack of inner calm and strength.

Some people will drink black tea with their evening meal to assist in the digestion of any fat, especially hearty meat meals eaten over the cold winter months. We should eat early in the evening to allow digestion to take place before retiring to bed. This also allows the effects of any caffeine to ware off before we sleep.