The Season of Abundance

Warm, cooked foods that support digestion. Congees, soups, stews, and slow-cooked vegetables are easier for the Spleen to process. Warm food is a form of nourishment itself.

Sweet root vegetables and whole grains. Squash, sweet potato, carrots, beets, along with rice, millet, and oats create stability and nourish the center. In Five Phase theory, sweet flavor corresponds to Earth.

Warming spices that aid digestion. Ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg, and turmeric are traditional supports for the Spleen and Stomach, especially in late summer's transition.

Reduce raw, cold, and damp-producing foods. Late summer is moist. Cool drinks, salads, cold foods, and heavy dairy can stagnate digestion. Eat cooked, warm food even in warm weather.

Liu et al., Nutrients, 2020 (PMID 32485950)  |  Popkin et al., Nutrition Reviews, 2010 (PMID 20646222)

Gentle, grounding movement. Walking, tai chi, and gentle yoga that emphasize stability and balance support the Earth element. The goal is centering, not exertion.

Focus on the center and core. Practices that engage the belly and the ground beneath you are earth-element practices. Barefoot walking on grass or soil is powerful late summer medicine.

Earth-element breathwork: deep belly breathing. The Spleen responds to calm, full breath. Slow, deep abdominal breathing settles the nervous system and supports digestion of both food and experience.

Naska et al., Archives of Internal Medicine, 2007 (PMID 17576904)  |  Ekelund et al., Lancet, 2016 (PMID 27475271)

Rest and settling as a practice. Late summer invites us to slow down and digest what has been gathered. Regular sleep and rest times support the Spleen in its work of transformation.

Warm foods in the evening. A warm soup or broth at supper supports digestion through the night. The Spleen appreciates warmth and rest after a day of processing.

Grounding before sleep. An evening walk, gentle stretching, warm milk with spices, or time in the earth (garden, grass) all calm the Spleen and prepare the body for rest.

Van Cauter and Leproult, JAMA, 2011 (PMID 21954480)  |  Hall, Rosbash, Young, Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, 2017

Extended exhale. In 4 counts, out 6–8. Cyclic sighing outperformed all other breathing techniques for anxiety reduction in a 2023 Stanford trial. Five minutes is enough.

These are acupressure points a practitioner may use in a summer treatment. You can apply gentle firm pressure yourself as a daily practice.

Heart 7 (Shenmen). On the wrist crease, ulnar (pinky) side, in the depression at the base of the wrist. 30–60 sec each side. The gateway of the Heart, for anxiety, unsettled sleep, and restless mind.

Pericardium 6 (Neiguan). Inner forearm, 2 finger-widths above the wrist crease, between the two tendons. 30–60 sec each side. The Heart's protector, calming, grounding, and connecting.

The summer laugh. A brief moment of genuine laughter or play each day. In Five Phase tradition, laughter is the sound of Fire, it opens and nourishes the Heart.

Balban et al., Cell Reports Medicine, 2023 (PMID 36630953)

Practice self-nourishment. The Spleen and Stomach nourish not only the body but the spirit. What makes you feel genuinely cared for? Not performing care, but receiving it. Can you nourish yourself as tenderly as you nourish others?

Gather what sustains you. Late summer is harvest time. Notice what has nourished you this year, what has fed you, not food alone, but experiences, relationships, insights. What will you carry forward?

Learn to ask for help. The Earth element, when balanced, knows how to receive as well as give. The Spleen is about integration, wholeness, and community. This season invites us to acknowledge interdependence: we cannot nourish ourselves alone.

Holt-Lunstad et al., PLOS Medicine, 2010 (PMID 20668659)  |  Pressman and Cohen, Psychological Bulletin, 2005 (PMID 16351327)