Temperate zone transition

If you live above the 30th parallel in the northern hemisphere, we are beginning the southern run of the sun.  This means that the days grow shorter and the sun beams become less intense.  We transition from a yang dominated environment to a yin dominated environment.  Thus we must adjust our diet accordingly if we wish to stay balanced.  We need to restrict our use of tropical fruits and vegetables and depend more on the vegetables that can winter over in storage.  These are the squashes, pumpkins, root vegetables, and ground vegetables.  Now is the time to pickle those cucumbers and cabbages so that you have sauerkraut all winter long.  If you eat fruit in the winter, we recommend that you eat fruit that grows in your area, smaller, more compact fruit like blueberries and raspberries, cranberries, etc.

In winter we eat more of these foods lightly cooked, especially fruit.  Since the winter is a yin dominated environment, we limit our intake of extreme yin foods such as ice cream, alcohol, iced drinks, and refined sugar in general, substituting northern sugars like maple syrup and rice syrup.  One can also use apple butter as a sweetener in many recipes.

In addition, we eat less of the yin grains and beans (larger, more expanded like corn and large beans) and transition to small compact beans like adzuki beans and black beans, and grains like oats and millet and in northern regions, short grain brown rice.  These grains and beans are very warming in the winter and help to keep us balanced.

Too much liquid can also be unbalancing in the winter and although we eat more sodium in the winter, it is best to watch the sodium level so as not to over react.  An umeboshi plum taken in warm water once per week can keep you energized and your vitality strong.

Given these strategies, you should be able to balance the yin dominated winter and emerge in spring without the need to discharge through the winter season.

Have a beautiful transition.

Thanks for reading.

Rice is in the center.

We discussed in a previous post about whole grain brown rice and how, in the temperate zone, it is in the middle of the yin and yang spectrum.  We learned that rice therefore brings balance to the human organism.  So, having learned this, we would expect rice to have a special place in many cultures in recognition of its central role in the diet in much of the world.  Indeed, rice is worshiped as a god in some cultures.  There are rice goddesses worshiped in many southeast Asian countries.  In India rice is so woven into the fabric of the culture that it is the first solid food given to babies.  It is showered on newlyweds as a sign of prosperity even in the United States.

When I started practicing yoga in 2001, I was exposed to a ceremony called Guru Puja.  This is a ceremony of gift giving to the past masters and gurus that have walked the earth.  It is also called "16 ways to treat a Guru".  I was interested to observe that of the many gifts that are presented, rice is not only one of them, but it is the element that is set in the center of the puja set up, and if there is an element missing, rice is substituted for the missing element.  So rice is recognized as the center of life itself.  This is a beautiful expression of the balance that rice brings to life.

I am sure there are many other ways that rice is celebrated for its life giving role in many cultures.  Please share some of them in the comments if you are aware of some.

Thanks for reading.

Rice is nice

I first got started with this yin and yang technology about 25 years ago when I was about 37 years old. I had gotten divorced from my first wife and I was pretty frightened about my future. I was overweight at about 180 lbs. and I had an ample beer belly. I didn't feel attractive and I felt sluggish and lazy. What to do? I was in Sunday school class one week and one of the members mentioned that an elderly woman in the church had cancer and was trying to cure herself with a diet called macrobiotics.

I had heard of this diet in the 60's when I had first gotten married but I had written it off at that time. I decided to do some research and see what it was about. I went to the library and got a book about the diet and found out after reading it that macrobiotics is much more than a diet. Macrobiotics is the technology of balancing yin and yang in your body, in your house, in your neighborhood and in your community. I was amazed to learn that such a technology existed and that I could adopt it in my own life.

At the time I was a typical unbalanced diet consumer. I loved meat and ate it with gusto along with eggs, and other high protein foods. My first wife and I loved to cook and we had an assortment of gourmet cookbooks which we used often. One of the recipes that we loved to make was red beans and rice, a traditional southern favorite. It called for ham hocks cooked long and slow with red beans. Yummy. The recipe also called for whole grain brown rice. Because we liked this recipe so much, we were in the habit of keeping a box of brown rice in the cupboard.

From what I had read, I knew that brown rice was in the middle of the yin and yang spectrum and so I decided to try an experiment. I wanted to test out this "technology" and see if what these people were saying had any merit. I pulled out that box of rice and cooked it up.

I started adding brown rice to every meal that I could. In addition, I started eating other whole grains such as rolled oats, barley, etc.

Within two weeks I started to lose weight. Within a month my taste for meat seemed to be reduced. Within three months I had lost 25 lbs and had lost my taste for meat almost entirely. I was starting to feel different. My blood sugar levels evened out and I stopped having mood swings. My anger levels were much reduced and I felt much calmer, less stressed.

I was amazed with these results. Suddenly all of the problems that I had been having with my body, headaches, colds, flu, pains, etc. simply disappeared. I began to be able to control my diet and even my mind became clearer. My life became less about food because my cravings had reduced so much. I was satisfied which was a tremendous freedom for me.

Since that time rice has continued to amaze me with its versatility and its ability to solve so many issues. I call brown rice my first guru and I credit it with saving my life in many ways.

More in the next post.

Thanks for reading.

Steve