“The three months of winter (from early-Nov. to mid/late-Feb.) are called the period of closing and storing. Water freezes and the Earth cracks open. One should not disturb one’s Yang (active energy). People should retire early at night and rise late in the morning and they should wait for the rising of the sun. They should suppress and conceal their wishes, as though they had no internal purpose, as though they had been fulfilled. People should try to escape the cold and they should seek warmth; they should not perspire upon the skin (sweat), they should let themselves be deprived of breath of the cold (stay inside when possible). All this is in harmony with the atmosphere of Winter and all this is the method for the protection of one’s storing. Those who disobey [the laws of Winter] will suffer an injury of the kidneys (sexual organs and adrenals); for them Spring will bring impotence, and they will produce little.”
[Submitted by Lauren B. Richter D.O., M. Ac. Assistant Medical Director, Center for Integrative Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine ]
