Summer And The Heart Spirit
As the seasons change, so do our bodies and our elemental nature. The summer season is ruled by the Heart and expressed as the emotion of joy in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). It is the most yang of all the seasons, containing the most energy, the most heat, the most excitement of emotions so we must take care to keep these “mosts” in control.
The Role of the Heart
In TCM the heart is the fire element and where the spirit resides. The emotion of joy is connected to the heart. Much like in Western culture, in TCM the heart is where love is found, and from here we are ignited with the desire to express and feel happiness, pleasure, and love.
Heart energy flows up and is reflected in the face. When someone is feeling healthy and well rested, with proper blood flow, their face has a good color and generally a smile. When heart qi or blood is compromised, the facial color may be very pale, or even grey. Often patients will say they don’t feel like themselves, and they definitely don’t feel well. This is because the heart qi is disrupted.
The heart oversees the body’s blood vessels and also rules over heat regulation through sweating. This is an important job in summer, as we use sweat to cool the body when it overheats. In extreme heat, perspiration alone cannot cool the body and heat stroke is a real possibility. If your internal heat, because of excess inflammation is too high, you are battling the heat both inside and out.
Paired with the small intestine, the heart is responsible for blood circulation and the digestive process, taking the nutrients from the stomach and turning them into blood and energy for the body to use. Small intestine energy goes down tracing the natural flow of digestion. If this energy is imbalanced, and weak, it reverses and goes up, causing us to feel edgy and uncomfortable, with foggy thinking.
This emotional disarray is where the heart and the small intestine directly interact. Unease and anxiety, along with heart palpitations and chest pains are signs of weakness in the digestive process, telling us the mind is not at rest and the peaceful energy of the organs is disrupted. A chronic imbalance in the function of the small intestine can cause IBS, Chron’s disease, or herniations as the organ cannot correctly separate the nutrients and fluids, and emotional wellness is compromised. We may feel unease, weakness, and anxiety, along with physical symptoms such as bloating, diarrhea, cramping and stomach aches.
Joy—The Expression of Contentedness
In summer, joy is the naturally expressed emotion as the burdens of the winter and spring have disappeared. Everything comes a little easier in summer, and we feel lighter and more capable of expressing our spirit and the happiness contained within.
When there is bodily imbalance, the expression of this emotion can be compromised and too much or too little may be expressed, resulting in restlessness, annoyance and agitation (too much joy) or depression (too little).
Over excitement or excessive joy may scatter and disperse Heart Qi which causes the spirit to become confused and disoriented. Imagine you are constantly seeking pleasure, always searching for that next high. Almost like an addict with drug-seeking behavior, you could lose your grasp on reality, leading to a weakened spirit and achieving just the opposite—depression, apathy and lack of enjoyment.
A Spirit Dampened
What happens in the body when joy is out of control? Emotional lows and highs may occur including lack of enthusiasm, mental restlessness, and depression. Physical symptoms may be present such as heart palpitations, insomnia and circulatory issues. Most heart health issues can be seen in the tongue, the complexion of the skin, and in the blood pressure or pulse.
Heart-related health problems I treat year-round with particular attention in the summer include:
Irregular heartbeat/heart palpitations— Heart blood and heart qi deficiency are often responsible for palpitations. If there is not enough blood, the heart chugs along like a car running out of gas, trying to run errands without enough fuel. If there has been excessive blood loss through pregnancy or menstruation, and a heavy or stressful work life, blood will be deficient.
Excessive dreaming—The heart needs to be at peace when resting and if thoughts are not settled at night, the body is still active. We may not consider thinking an activity, but it is and it engages organs that should be healing and at rest during the night. The spleen, liver, kidney and gallbladder are also responsible for excessive dreaming.
Insomnia— You may find it difficult to shut down at night, taking a few hours to fall asleep. Or you wake early and suddenly with alarm or headache pain.
Mouth sores and ulcers— Chronic emotional issues and overthinking create heart fire. The heart opens up to the tongue, and excessive heart heat is manifested in mouth sores. These are usually found on the tongue or inside the cheek or jawline.
Treatments to Quell the Fire
In TCM, we see specific ailments express themselves at specific times of the year. In summer I will see more patients complaining of heart and heat-related issues. Blood pressure can be higher in the summer heat, caused by long term emotional or physical stress resulting in the qi of the heart floating up and becoming high blood pressure.
I often see patients who present with physical health problems that resulted from emotional issues and they are unaware of the relationship between the two. Long term suppression of emotions and thoughts lead to stagnation which can turn to heat/fire. When excess heat/fire occurs anywhere, the body attempts to alleviate it by pushing the heat out of the body. This can look like redness, sores, a loud speaking voice or yelling. An adult living with deep emotional issues since childhood who has never overcome the feeling of vulnerability or anger may have a heat sensation in the chest, bitter taste in the mouth and dryness in the throat, as well as insomnia and irritability.
The goal of a treatment at Acupuncture by Andrea is to relieve both your physical and emotional symptoms through acupuncture, herbal medicine, bodywork and counseling. Acupuncture points in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), while having practical, physical applications, also are used for healing emotional and spiritual aspects of our health.
Acupuncture treatment for heart related issues is highly effective. A treatment session would include points that treat the heart, pericardium and small intestine meridians as well as general points determined by a pulse and tongue diagnosis. Targeting small intestine points is great for healing mental health issues as this organ’s emotional job includes separating clear from unclear thoughts. The heart, in charge of our mental health, is aided by the small intestine and its ability to discern right from wrong.
Lowering blood pressure can start with bleeding of the ears. This is a very common technique, although probably new to most of the readers. It increases circulation, rids the body of toxins and heat and moves the new blood to areas that need moistening and healing. This technique is fabulous for skin disorders brought on by summer heat like psoriasis, eczema, and acne. This is also an effective treatment for insomnia and relaxing an overactive mind.
Treatments for these issues are generally best before problems start. If issues are chronic like depression, they can take longer to surface and require more treatment time. A complaint that involves direct function of the heart such as palpitations might require only a few visits and an herbal formula to remedy.
I have worked with hundreds of patients affected by illnesses who were unaware of the link between their seasonal and emotional health and the manifestation of their physical symptoms. They sought treatment at Acupuncture by Andrea and we have been able to help them manage their emotions and regain their physical health.
Herbal Formulas for Heart Heat and Summer Joy
There are many ancient and highly effective herbal formulas to help renew your spirit and improve heart health. At each consultation and treatment, we will discuss your symptoms and conditions and I will recommend the available formulas to help you reach optimal health.
Gui Pi Tang—Strengthens the spleen qi and nourishes heart blood. While calming the spirit, this formula helps with restless sleep and insomnia, poor appetite, poor memory, dizziness, arrythmia, mood swings and depression.
Ding Zhi Wan— Strengthens the qi, calms the spirit and the mind. This formula is prescribed for sleep related issues such as frequent waking, light sleep/easily startled awake, along with anxiety, palpitations, shortness of breath, fatigue, and spontaneous sweating
Suan Zao Ren Tang— Stops sweating, promotes the production of body fluids, clears heat. A formula to help with deficient liver and heart blood leading to dream-disturbed sleep, insomnia, night sweats, irritability, dizziness, and dry mouth
Tian Wang Bu Xin Dan—Nourishes yin and blood, syncs the kidney and heart. This formula aids in relieving palpitations, restlessness, anxiety, irritability, mouth ulcers, night sweats, dry stools and poor memory.
Have you experienced issues of heart health related to emotions or heat? Did you seek acupuncture treatment and find relief? Leave a comment below and let us know about your experience with the season of the heat, heart and joy.
This article is the fourth in a series of five I will be sharing with you on the efficacy of Chinese medicine in treating emotional disharmony. Learn more about seasonal emotional health in Winter and Spring and how the liver regulates emotions.