The Kidneys are crucially important to our overall health and well being. These kidney bean shaped organs have a list of tasks to complete during the day, including controlling blood pressure by releasing hormones, controlling red blood cell production, balancing fluids, returning vitamins and minerals to the bloodstream, excreting drugs and waste products, balancing acidity and managing the amount of blood in circulation!
Winter is the time when we tend to reduce our activity, which helps the Kidneys to rest and recuperate. But what happens according to chinese medicine when we don’t rest and are kidney qi/yang becomes deficient?
~ tiredness/exhaustion
~ cold feet
~ swollen ankles
~ a lack of drive or motivation
~ shortness of breath on exertion
~ oedema
~ low back pain/knee pain/bone issues
~ asthma which is worse with cold weather
~ fear/ scary dreams/ fear of change
~ incontinence
~ irregular menstruation or infertility
~ craving salty foods,
~ Struggling to warm up (touch your lower back with the back of your hands to see if the skin is cold)
Stay tuned for the next post on how to strengthen our kidney qi/yang during the winter time. Thank you to https://www.yasminhodgeacupuncture.co.uk/post/foods-to-nourish-kidney-qi-yang for great advice for this post!
Acupuncture Nirvana 