Living in Accordance with the Seasons

I'm Bronwyn Ayla, L.Ac. — a licensed acupuncturist and Reiki Master Teacher who has trained over 1,000 practitioners since 1998.

Living in accordance with the seasons means taking your cues from nature and following the guidance of the stars, seasons, and nature's cycles so that you are in accordance with universal qi. Part of being healthy is living in accordance with the cycles around us. When we follow this guidance, we maintain health and longevity; when we resist natural forces and seasonal harmony, we create disease. The framework for doing this practically comes from the Tong Shu, an ancient Chinese almanac that divides the year into two-week periods, or qi nodes, and further into days, hours, and even minutes.

What Does It Mean to Live in Accordance with the Seasons?

At the heart of the shamanic path is the contract to live in harmony with nature, self, community, and spirit. This is not a poetic idea — it is a practical orientation.

The year contains four major pivot points — the solstices and equinoxes — and four further pivot points that divide these in half: Beltane, Lughnasadh, Samhain, and Imbolc. Each two-week qi node carries its own quality, and living seasonally means orienting your behavior, rest, activity, and inner practice to match what each node asks of us.

We are part of nature. Cold, heat, and wind affect us. We are not separate from the forces that govern the universe. Resisting natural forces, seasonal harmony, and physical laws creates disease.

The Five Elements as a Seasonal Map

A balance of yin and yang — of action and non-action — requires a balance of the five elements: water, wood, fire, earth, and metal. Each element corresponds to a season, a set of organs, emotions, and a quality of qi.

Water corresponds to winter. Water surrenders into evolving and resting in the mystery of not knowing. With grace, we find courage to rest into what is, and allow life to flow as water will. Within us, the water element is linked to the kidneys and urinary bladder, fear and fearlessness. Healthy kidneys give stamina and endurance. Winter is not a time to initiate or plant — the ground is frozen. It is a time of stillness, silence, and internal practices; healing is amplified through rest, sleep, and dreaming.

Wood corresponds to spring. Watch the glory of wood in the season of spring, and notice what you feel as the trees burst to life after the dormancy of winter. A healthy wood element chooses to grow toward the light, holding that direction steady while making moment-to-moment decisions. With decisive grace comes the power of vision and creative momentum. Within us, the wood element makes us flexible and helps us metabolize everything we take in; it is connected to the liver and gallbladder meridians, our joints, and our vision.

Fire corresponds to summer. The fire element brings one into a heart space of compassionate and passionate loving. A little fire warms the hearth — too much fire burns the house down. Fire creates swift and irreversible change as it destroys one form in order to create another; the ashes of a forest fire nourish the ground and replenish the soil. Within us, fire brings awareness of how we relate with others and what lights up our hearts.

Earth corresponds to late summer. The earth element carries a quality of sowing, growing, and reaping, with a quality of center and stability. Connection to earth brings nourishment. With grace, we stay grounded in ourselves as we move through life's ever-unfolding journey. Earth calls out our soul's song, our sense of home, and the center we return to at our core.

Metal corresponds to autumn. Metal is associated with the breath, the lungs, grief, and the season of autumn. It allows us to have the boundaries — internal and external — appropriate to guard the three treasures of shen, qi, and jing. The lungs take in the purest, and the large intestine expels that which is no longer of value.

Seasonal Practices That Support Alignment

Living in accordance with the seasons has practical implications for daily life.

In winter, support rest, conserve energy, and nourish the kidneys. Do not tonify if energy will be squandered. Prioritize sleep as a primary healing modality; dream journaling and reflection are appropriate winter practices. Winter cultivation builds capacity for wisdom, healing, and right action in future seasons.

In summer, excess heat manifests as reactivity, irritation, and righteousness. Cooling foods such as melons and cucumbers support heat release. Avoid long hot showers — short or bucket rinses help preserve and even out wei qi, which circulates externally by day for protection and internally by night for healing.

Modern people often seek healing without changing harmful patterns. Expecting healing while remaining out of alignment with natural cycles creates imbalance. Medicine is not meant to compensate indefinitely for lifestyle dissonance. Part of the healer's role is to reflect reality and guide people toward alignment with life.

Seasonal Alignment and True Health

Living in accordance with the seasons is one part of a larger picture of health. We are not really healthy until we are connected to our purpose for being here, are actively seeking the nourishment of our destiny, and are emanating love.

Healing is not about fixing something broken, nor about returning to the closest approximation of who we were before something happened to us. It is a process of transformation. We use alchemy to transform our experiences — and the messages of our dis-ease — into a deep medicine for ourselves and the planet. Ultimately that medicine is love.

The dance of the elements is in constant flux, and with grace, we live in communion with these forces harmoniously, within and without.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Tong Shu, and how does it relate to living seasonally?

The Tong Shu is an ancient Chinese almanac that divides the year into two-week periods, or qi nodes, and further into days, hours, and even minutes. It indicates appropriate and inappropriate times for a wide range of activities. When we follow the guidance of the stars, seasons, and nature's cycles, we are in accordance with universal qi and we maintain health and longevity.

What happens when we don't live in accordance with the seasons?

Resisting natural forces, seasonal harmony, and physical laws creates disease. Expecting healing while remaining out of alignment with natural cycles creates imbalance, and seasonal mismatch in modern life leads to chronic depletion over time.

What should I do differently in winter versus summer?

In winter, support rest, conserve energy, nourish the kidneys, and prioritize sleep. In summer, favor cooling foods such as melons and cucumbers, take short rather than long hot showers to preserve wei qi, and watch for heat showing up as reactivity and irritation.

How do the five elements connect to the seasons?

Each element corresponds to a season: water to winter, wood to spring, fire to summer, earth to late summer, and metal to autumn. Each has organs, emotions, and a quality of qi associated with it. Living seasonally means orienting your behavior, rest, and inner practice to match the element that is active.

If you'd like to keep these teachings alive in practice, join me live each week as we move through the entire Tong Shu calendar in Sanctuary.