Seasonal health tips in Tibetan Medicine: Early spring diet and behavior

Here in the Northeast, when spring comes it feels amazing. That’s because we have a very cold winter.  As soon as it starts to warm up, the senses open, the energy lifts and everyone feels great! According to Tibetan Medicine, that cold and heavy nature of winter has accumulated throughout the winter in our bodies and because of that in early spring there are specific imbalances that can arise. In the Four Tantras of Tibetan Medicine (rgyud bzhi), there are some specific preventative measures that can be taken to balance the accumulated elements of winter. The text divides the seasons into six. The season around the months of March and April are called Dpyid. Here is what the text says about Dpyid:

dgun dus bad kan khog tu gsog pa te
dpyid du nyi ‘od pas me drod nyams
bad kan ldang zing tha ma’i ro gsum bsten

nas rnying skam sa’i sha dang sbrang rtshi dang

chu khol sga thang bsten zhing rtsub pa bsten

dri zhim skyes tshal gyi nyi grib ‘dug

Based on my teachers explanations of this stanza: in the winter bad kan(earth and water) accumulates. In the early spring the light of the sun damages the metabolic heat.  Bad kan arises so one should rely on the last three tastes (hot, bitter and astringent), aged barley, meat of animals from dry terrain, honey, boiled hot water, ginger tea and rough nature foods. Diligently exercise, use bean powder on the body and sit in the shade of a nice smelling garden.

It is important to understand Bad kan to properly apply this advice. Bad kan is all of the solid and wet aspects of our body. When bad kan is in its balanced state in the body it helps us sleep, provides all of the fluid in our body, gives confidence, patience and physical endurance. When it is in excess, such as the time after winter, it makes us lazy, can cause lethargic state and causes digestive problems, which are considered the root of all chronic illnesses.

All of the advice given in this section are meant to reduce bad kan so that these kinds of problems can be avoided. When referring to the last three tastes: hot, bitter and astringent, this includes spicy foods and bitter greens. Rough nature foods include buckwheat and lentils. All of the specific foods mentioned also reduce bad kan. They are predominately warm and light in nature. 

Diligent exercise reduces bad kan, although it should be noted that in other parts of the Four Tantras, it advises to only exercise until you sweat. Applying bean flour, specifically that of garbanzos, absorbs oily fats from the skin that are associated with bad kan. My teacher explained the reasoning of the most interesting of them all, sitting in the shade of a nice smelling garden, as a method to open up the respiratory tract which is blocked by the excess bad kan.  I must say, I really like that idea, as the most gratifying part of early spring for me is being able to take nice deep breaths of refreshing air.

Using Hot Stones for Immediate Pain Relief

The use of hot stones in Tibetan Medicine falls under the topic dug or compresses.  As a new Tibetan doctor, I have found that hot stones are one of the easiest to use methods to bring very quick relief to people experiencing chronic pain. In some cases, I have found that they cure chronic pain almost immediately, especially when combined with massage. They are especially useful for treating symptoms of pain associated with trauma to nerves.

These days it is very common to see the practice of hot stones in spas, however the way they are used in Tibetan Medicine is quite different. In spas they are generally only heated to the point where one can actually hold the stone and massage the client with it. In Tibetan Medicine, we actually heat the stones for a very long time. We then place them on top of a towel over the intended place of treatment.  Sometimes they can be even too hot with only one towel between the stone and the body.

In general when placing the stones we place them directly on the place of pain. We also use smaller stones on points that are used in moxibustion , many of which correspond with internal organs.  This we do when there is a cold nature illness affecting the organ.