Wellness into the Winter months: Herbal formulas to keep in the medicine cabinet/ processing grief for a healthier winter

Autumn, the time where the energy of the lungs is at its height… respiratory illnesses come to the forefront, whether they are chronic issues or acute colds and flus.
The emotion associated with Autumn and the lungs is grief. We may be feeling this emotion more intensely at this time of year. Creating ceremony around grief and processing it will help as you enter the winter, the strength of the lungs will be stronger.Ceremony could look like creating a sacred space around a fire, allowing yourself to feel the emotion that may be coming through by offering it to the fire and allowing yourself to grieve and process. This will help usher in the depths of winter in a more grounded way and not get overwhelmed by the intensity of the quiet. Winter is the time for inward reflection and with unresolved grief, the water element of winter could overwhelm with fear. The season of the Lung/Grief gives the opportunity for this processing because it is at the surface, the most exposed during Autumn.

That being said, when respiratory illnesses do hit your household, make sure to have
Yin Qiao San in your medicine cabinet (many companies make this with names like, Cold Nip, Cold Snap etc.) This formula is important to have on hand because as soon as you have that first symptom of a “cold” (we call it wind- cold or wind- heat), begin taking the formula every couple hours. The herbal formula has the ability to stay ahead of the viral replication if you take it frequently and immediately. Make sure to cover your head and back of neck on winter or windy days, do not sit outside in cold or wind after exercising, pores are open and vulnerable.
If you have “cold” that starts with a cough, it’s better to take Sang Ju Yin.
And at that point, if the cold is not under control and cough is not responding or bronchitis or asthma symptoms are acting up, come in for a session… Herbal medicine differentiates for different patterns that may be happening… for example, not all coughs are the same: there could be dryness, phlegm, heat, damp, cold. Chinese medicine is nuanced enough to combat it from different perspectives.
Kang ning wan or curing pills are also vital for the medicine cabinet to combat stomach flu or other stomach upsets.
Lastly, if you are well and want to stay well, Jade windscreen (yu ping feng san) is a wonderful immune tonic. Take regularly to avoid colds and flus. Please connect if you are sick, Chinese herbal formulas can work wonders for acute illnesses.