As you may know, in Chinese Medicine, each season corresponds to an organ and to an emotion. Winter is associated with The Kidney and Fear. Winter, historically, is tied with ‘survival mode,’ scarcity, storing up for winter, making sure you have everything you need to pull through until spring. Winter is the most yin of the seasons because it is the coldest and darkest time of the year. It is a season known for depth, slowing down and going inward, which for many of us, can be…. scary! Let’s examine this.
The Kidney and Fear relationship in Chinese Medicine is analogous to adrenaline and cortisol (stress hormones) being released from the adrenal glands that lie above the kidneys, which activates our sympathetic nervous system or our ‘fight or flight’ response (fear/survival instinct). This is an important messaging system that helps us realize and deal with dangerous or life-threatening situations. However, this system can also become overactive when we are chronically stressed or have endured trauma. Our adrenal glands become overtaxed and we feel depleted and often restless.
Have you ever had a vacation where you either completely physically crashed, or simply couldn’t relax and rest? Have you ever, perhaps as a novice, tried meditation and found that instead of feeling calm and transformed into a state of Zen, you found yourself in the middle of a complete freakout warding off meditation forever? (No judgements here.)
We all know, or have experienced, the feeling of having an empty cup and/or just not letting ourselves pause from the constant treadmill of life. Part of that is rest deprivation from the way our society operates, and part of that is not letting ourselves just sit with ‘what is’ because we are afraid. We don’t want to look under the bed to see if, or what, monsters are hiding under there. We don’t want to ‘face the tiger’ so we just keep running along, often to our own detriment.
Winter is a lot like these scenarios because it forces us to slow down, which may make us realize how depleted we feel, and also provides us the time to face ourselves (insert feelings of dread combined with harrowing scream).
Interesting how this year in particular has been so drastically unusual and, in many ways, we have found ourselves in an ‘extended winter’ since quarantine started in March. Most of us have experienced more isolation, less physical activity, increased introspection, and of course, heightened fear and survival mode with the pandemic and turbulent political times. This is a good example of how all the emotions are present during every season, though the physical and/or energetic climate creates the most ripe conditions for corresponding seasonal emotion to emerge.
Okay, so Winter + The Kidney + Fear. What to do about it? I will fight the urge to borage you with with wise quotes from Pema Chodron, Rumi and Joseph Campbell. Instead, here are some tips that I hope you find helpful:
- Rest, rest, rest. Allow yourself to slow down. Take pressure off yourself when you can.
- Nourish yourself with what you eat and drink, stay cozy, and warm.
- Face the tiger. This is SO much easier said than done. However, facing the tiger will in fact give it less power. Acknowledge your fear. Let yourself feel it. Be curious about it – where is it coming from? Talk about it. Perhaps use journaling and/or therapy as a way to help you explore the root of your fear.
- A recommended read! The Places That Scare Us: A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times by Pema Chödrön offers the perspective of fear being a valuable vehicle for transformation and cultivating compassion.
