 Especially in ancient times, traditional Chinese medicine doctors made the observation between the correlations of nature, the seasons, illness, and even certain organ functions. Of course, all ancient doctors all around the world noticed this link because it was clear that epidemics and certain diseases or viral infections like the cold had a seasonal pattern. And so ancient people obviously wondered, well, why is there a seasonal pattern? What is the link and how is that possible that, you know, the last week of September, when it gets cold, everybody gets a cold that's susceptible. In this video, I thought I would share something interesting about really lung chi, asthma, and the fall season and how these are all linked together. Hey guys, Dr. Alex Hain, licensed acupuncturist and doctor of Chinese medicine. So before we jump in here today on this video on lung chi, there are two links right below this video. The first link is if you'd like to become a patient locally in Los Angeles or virtually via telemedicine, there's the contact info for my private practice below this video. And the second link is for a free download, which is four daily rituals that could potentially help you add years to your life with traditional Chinese medicine. So all ancient people, not just Chinese medicine practitioners, observe that there was a link between the seasons and disease. And that's obvious to an ancient world where everyone lived closely to nature, right? Where winter was a dangerous season if you're in a temperate climate or a cold area, food is scarce, cold exposure can kill you or make you more susceptible disease by suppressing or decreasing your immune system. And in general, harder to hunt, harder to survive, not that comfortable. And so all these ancient peoples observed that there was a seasonal link between diseases and basically the human body's relationship to nature. Now in Chinese medicine, it's been observed or categorized, you know, one of our ancient theoretical frameworks called the five phases. And it categorizes certain organs with certain kinds of the year. Now one of those is considered the metal organs or lung and large intestine. And you know, in later times, the spleen and lung or the spleen pancreas and lung were categorized as an organ pair. But when we're talking about the metal organs, we're also talking about the metal time of year, which is the fall. And in the fall, what this means is that often those metal organs are susceptible to the fall's chi, if you want to call it that, or the quality of the temperature and the weather in the fall. So even in research, fall season, especially in temperate climates, is a susceptible time for asthmatics. So as a kid growing up as an asthmatic, I knew that when that first wave of cool air came, you know, it went from the 70s in September or August down into the 50s. And that first heavy rain where the leaves would all fall, it became a little bit damp and a little bit moist and a little bit cool. My parents knew that was the time that was the hardest season for me with my asthma, because I'd be wheezing every day. And sometimes we'd even have to miss school because of my asthma. And it was so predictable, they could predict within a week as to when my asthma was going to kick up. That first big rainfall in the fall where all the leaves fall in New England and it became damp and moist and a little bit, the air was a little bit thicker. You could smell that kind of quality, the damp leaves, and I would start wheezing. And you know, this is true even for colds very often, where I remember my first year of my doctorate, you know, being in a big school with 500 or so students, that first week of October, the last week of September in Portland, Oregon, where it went from being sunny every day to cold and rainy for a week straight and chilly, was when everyone in the school who was susceptible got the first round of colds. I mean, it was so predictable that by year four, there was a one week window, I charted on my calendar, everybody will get sick. And I made sure I was taking my formulas preventatively at that time. So at that time, the temperature drops, it's cooler, that lung chi, that lung season, that is a susceptible time for the metal organ sometimes. And you know, sure enough, right around that time of year, about 50% of my classmates, the ones that were run down or sick, which is most of us, honestly, from studying all day, those are the people who got the colds. So understanding at the very least that there is this kind of seasonal correlation. And for some seasons, it's the correlation is clearer. You know, summer fire, the heart, I don't know, maybe are there more heart attacks during the summer? I'm not sure I've looked at the research on that, but just recognizing that some of these correlations are very interesting and very clinical, very cut and dry. So how can you use this information clinically? Well, one of them, you know, the lung chi example, if you have a susceptibility to allergies or upper respiratory infections, or the flu, or the cold, understanding that fall and winter are going to be your susceptible seasons, especially, I mean, ultimately, you know your own past medical history, but recognizing that these are your susceptible seasons for your asthma, for your allergies. And so spending the season before those three months before, typically, I recommend people taking Chinese formulas to make sure that whatever the organ that is maybe needs to tune up has been tuned up for the three months prior to that season, so that this time maybe you won't get a cold or maybe you won't get a flu. So that's on the medical side, the intervention side. And that's how I treat myself with formulas. But on the, you know, on your own disciplines, daily discipline side, maybe it means recognizing that, you know, December, January gets really cold. And this is where I'm the most susceptible towards getting a flu or getting a cold. So I'm going to be extra disciplined about getting enough sleep and not staying out late drinking and dressing warmly because, you know, when I get up at five after camping and it's cold and I didn't wear enough clothes, didn't sleep enough, boom, always get sick the next day. So recognizing what those susceptibilities are, based on the seasons, based on your body, based on your current health, recognizing those relationships can go a long way towards maintaining good health and not getting sick. And obviously with coronavirus going around, much more serious than a flu, you want to be extra careful about observing these relationships. So that's what I have for today. Interesting how these ancient doctors all around the world observe the seasonal and disease link that's been kind of poo pooed or put on the back burner by conventional medical care, but it still is a real thing and still is important to recognize for good health and good longevity going forward. So useful, interesting to know. Before you guys go again, if you'd like to become a patient locally in Los Angeles or virtually via telemedicine, contact my private practice below this video. There's also a free download there for you for daily rituals that can help you address your life potentially with Chinese medicine. And then two other videos here that can help you right there.