August 7, 2024, in the Chinese calendar, marks the beginning of the Yang Water Monkey Month. The Chinese calendar assigns one of the twelve animals, five elements, and the polarity of yin or yang to each year, month, day, and hour. The Yang Water Monkey month extends till September 6, 2024.
The Yang Water Monkey references the 5th hexagram described in the I Ching and used in Feng Shui. Its image is the Water trigram above, and the Heaven trigram below. The Yang Water Monkey represents "Waiting - Nourishment". From the I Ching, we find this description of this month's hexagram:
All beings require nourishment from above. But the gift of food comes in its own time, and for this, one must wait. This hexagram shows the clouds in the heavens, giving rain to refresh all that grows and to provide mankind with food and drink.
During this month, nourishment needs to be carefully aligned with the external pathogenic factors of the season. Otherwise, our health will suffer.
The Yang Water Monkey hexagram:
The Yang Water Monkey is a complex hexagram. The root of the hexagram is the Heaven/Monkey trigram and is associated with the Yang aspect of the Metal element, the Large Intestine. This trigram also has relationships with the Gallbladder, Urinary Bladder, and Du meridians, which, in essence, are the nervous system. This is appropriate, as the nervous system supports the whole body. In this hexagram, the Heaven (lower trigram) supports the Yang Water trigram, (upper trigram), the Urinary Bladder meridian. Notice that the Bladder meridian is an aspect of, both the Heaven and Water trigrams. The Water trigram also has relationships with the Stomach and Kidneys.
When the Water trigram is in the upper position of a hexagram it indicates an external pathological influence to the Bladder meridian. During the current month, this influence is Wind in the form of Wind-Cold or Wind-Heat. Wind-cold occurs in the summertime when our body is exposed to indoor air conditioning, ceiling fans, etc. Wind heat occurs from outdoor exposure to the external weather pattern of summer. So what we have in the Yang Water Monkey is a Wind Invasion attacking the nervous system meridians, specifically the Bladder meridian. This causes stagnation in the Bladder meridian, especially in the upper back and neck regions, typically focused in the C7 through T2 vertebra. Wind-Heat can cause dehydration affecting the Kidneys.
The Bladder is one of two organs/meridians assigned to the Taiyang channel, a major portion of the nervous system.
The Large Intestine is one of two organs/meridians assigned to the Yangming channel, a highly energetic portion of the gastrointestinal tract. The other Yangming organ/meridian is the Stomach. Hence, the Yangming channel can support the nervous system if the correct foods are consumed. If not the nervous system is weakened.
In TCM the promotion cycle of the elements states that Earth promotes Metal, Metal promotes Water and Water promotes Wood. In the Yang Water Monkey month, the nature of the Large Intestine (Metal) promotes that nature to the Bladder (Water). During this month pathogenic heat or inflammation in the Large Intestine is transmitted to the Bladder and Kidneys, weakening the nervous system. The Large Intestine (Metal) receives the nature of the Stomach (Earth). In other words, Stomach Heat promotes heat and inflammation in the Large Intestine.
August in the northern hemisphere, especially in Texas where I am, is quite hot. There's no need to add more fuel to the fire by consuming foods that aggravate digestive inflammation. Heat in the Water element organs, Bladder, and Kidneys, will promote inflammation in the Wood organs. In this case, the Gallbladder. As mentioned earlier, the Gallbladder meridian is an aspect of the nervous system. Heat in this meridian aggravates the nervous system. Typical signs are migraines, headaches, upper back and scapular pain, neck pain, eye redness and irritation, dizziness, vertigo, and tinnitus.
The Yang Water Monkey month describes pathology in two primary yang channels, Taiyang and Yangming. Again, it should not be surprising that the digestive tract organs and meridians play a major role in the body's health. Also, exposure to external pathogenic factors can and does impact our health.
One final note regarding the Yang Water Monkey is its effect on the body as a whole. Excess yang problems result in yang-type inflammation, typically void of damp accumulations. Rather, there are more true heat signs and a lack of Yin nourishment. During this time of year, I combine heat-clearing formulations with formulas to nourish the various Yin organs. This way I maintain balance throughout the body.
Many of the signs and symptoms of the Yang Water Monkey month result from digestive Yang Excess. Fortunately, acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine have great treatment options for all the above conditions.
This month is a good time for patients to schedule a personal consultation to determine the correct foods for their constitution as most diet programs are inappropriate. Michelle offers patients an opportunity to help learn the foods that will boost their immune system and are designed especially for your constitution. Schedule with her here. Our special this month: 10% Discount on Summer Cool, our in-house Chinese herbal formula to address the many signs and symptoms associated with Texas summers. We developed this formula for folks who exercise or work outdoors in the Texas heat. This formula comes in a 200-capsule bottle and helps with summertime influenza, acute skin rashes, acute tonsillitis, acute upper tract infection, early-stage acute bronchitis, acute tonsillitis, and acute conjunctivitis. Summer Cool aids in helping with low-grade fever, chills, headache, body aches, sneezing, coughing, red eyes, thirst, and sore throat.
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