Why everything is so stressful right now

🍃 The MILK in TCM - more than just „digestion“

In classical medicine, the spleen (Pí 脾) is much more than just an organ:

• Master of transformation (运化 - Yùn Huà): It transforms food into qi and blood
• Guardian of the center (中焦 - Zhōng Jiāo): She is the center around which everything revolves
• Source of the postnatal Qi: What you eat becomes what you are -
• Connected with thinking (思 - Sī): Clear thinking with a strong spleen, brooding with a weak one

👉 She rules over:

• Digestion & transformation
• The production of Qi and blood
• Holding (organs, blood in the vessels)
• Thinking and brooding
• The muscles and connective tissue

When the spleen is strong, it feels like: Clarity, energy, stable ground under your feet, good digestion, calm thoughts.

When she is weak, it feels like: Fog in the head, heaviness in the limbs, bloated stomach, spinning thoughts, no strength.

🕐 The fifth season - why now?

In TCM there are not four seasons - but five.

The fifth is hidden. It lies between the other. Whenever one season ends and the next begins.

This time is called Dojo time (土用 - Dǒ Yòng) - about 18 days in which the Earth element governed.

The four dojo times:

• Winter → Spring → End of January - mid-February → Water → Wood
• Spring → Summer → End of April - mid-May → Wood → Fire
• Summer → Fall → End of July - mid-August → Fire → Metal
• Autumn → Winter → End of October - mid-November → Metal → Water

📅 Note: The exact periods vary depending on the calendar and tradition. Classical TCM is based on the Chinese lunar calendar - the dates can therefore vary slightly from year to year. More important than the exact date is the principle: every major transition challenges your center.

👉 Right now (end of April - mid-May): Spring (wood) is leaving. Summer (fire) comes. In between reigns the earth - your center.

These days, your system must:

• Release the rising wood energy
• Preparing for the expanding fire energy
• Reorganize and transform everything

That is work. And the spleen does this work.

When it is strong, you hardly notice anything. When it is weakened, everything feels exhausting.

🔍 The 4 most common patterns behind exhaustion

1. spleen qi deficiency

The basic weakness. The spleen does not have enough strength to transform.

So it shows:

• Tiredness, especially after eating and in the afternoon
• Bloated stomach, feeling of fullness
• Soft or unformed stool
• Heavy limbs, no desire to move
• Loss of appetite or cravings for sweets

TCM idea: strengthen Qi, warm the center, eat regularly and warmly.

2. spleen yang deficiency

If the Qi deficiency lasts longer, the warming Yang also becomes weak.

So it shows:

• Everything as for spleen qi deficiency, plus:
• Feeling cold, especially in the stomach
• Cold hands and feet
• Diarrhea, especially in the morning
• Water retention

TCM idea: warm Yang, avoid cold, ginger and warming spices.

3. dampness due to spleen weakness

If the spleen does not transform, moisture accumulates. A vicious circle.

So it shows:

• Feeling of heaviness in the whole body
• Drowsiness, „absorbent cotton in the head“
• Sticky mouth, thick tongue coating
• Sluggishness, everything feels sluggish

TCM idea: eliminate dampness, avoid mucus-forming foods.

4. wood attacks soil

The spring pattern. The ascending liver energy „overruns“ the spleen.

So it shows:

• Digestive problems + irritability
• Abdominal pain due to stress
• Diarrhea or constipation, alternating
• Flatulence related to the mood

TCM idea: Calm the liver AND strengthen the spleen. Both at the same time.

🧠 The western bridge

TCM speaks of transformation and Qi. Physiology uses other words - often meaning similar things.

Gut and brain: The gut produces 90% of serotonin. Impaired digestion has a direct impact on mood.

Blood sugar and energy: Unstable blood sugar leads to energy gaps, cravings and tiredness after eating.

Stress and digestion: Chronic stress activates the sympathetic nervous system - digestion is slowed down.

Core: Not „broken“ - rather overloaded, undersupplied, under reconstruction.

🔎 Mini check: Which pattern suits you?

- Tired after eating + bloated + sweet tooth → rather Spleen Qi deficiency

- Cold feeling in the stomach + cold hands + diarrhea → more likely Spleen yang deficiency

- Heaviness + drowsiness + sticky mouth → rather Humidity

- Digestion goes haywire with stress + irritability → more likely Wood attacks soil

🍃 The 5 pillars for a strong center

1️⃣ Eat warm - the spleen loves warmth

✅ Aim: To support your digestive fire, not extinguish it.

The spleen has to „warm up“ cold food first - that costs Qi. Hot food is like preparatory work: the spleen can transform immediately.

• Hot breakfast: porridge, congee, millet porridge
• The biggest meal at lunchtime
• Light and cooked in the evening
• Drinks at room temperature or warmer
• less good: smoothies, yogurt, salad, ice water

Remember: A warm breakfast changes everything. Try it for 2 weeks.

2️⃣ Eat regularly - the spleen loves rhythm

✅ Goal: predictability instead of chaos.

The spleen is a creature of habit. Irregular eating confuses it. Every meal is work - the breaks are relaxation.

• 3 meals at fixed times
• 4-5 hours break in between
• Nothing between meals
• Only eat while eating (no cell phone, no work)

The organ clock:

• 7-9 am: Stomach time → best breakfast
• 9-11 a.m.: Spleen time → Transformation underway
• Lunchtime: maximum digestive power
• In the evening: digestion weakens

3️⃣ Simply eat - The spleen loves clarity

✅ Goal: relieve instead of overburden.

The more complicated the food, the more the spleen has to sort. Simplicity is relief.

• Few ingredients (3-5 are enough)
• Chew well (30x - the spleen starts in the mouth)
• 70% enough is enough

Which weakens the spleen (produces dampness):

• Sugar and sweets
• White flour (bread, pasta, pastries)
• Dairy products (especially cheese, yogurt)
• Alcohol
• Fried, greasy food

What strengthens the spleen:

• Cooked cereals (rice, millet, oats)
• Root vegetables (carrots, sweet potato, pumpkin)
• Hot soups and stews
• Ginger, cardamom, cinnamon

The golden question: Do I feel energized or tired after eating?

4️⃣ Stop brooding - The spleen loves peace and quiet

✅ Goal: Let thoughts land instead of circling.

Brooding is part of the spleen. But endless circling exhausts it. Every unresolved thought costs Qi.

• Write down thoughts instead of recording them
• „Limit “brooding time": 10 minutes, then stop
• Move your body when your head won't stop
• Making decisions instead of putting them off
• In the evening: „The day is over. I'm letting go.“

Remember: brooding does not solve any problems. It only exhausts the spleen.

5️⃣ Move gently - the spleen loves moderation

✅ Aim: flow instead of congestion, without exhaustion.

The spleen loves center - even when moving. Too intensely exhausted, too little stagnation.

• Walk after eating (10-15 minutes)
• Gentle Qi Gong, yoga, stretching
• Regular instead of extreme

The secret of the walk: TCM says: „100 steps after eating prolong life by 99 years.“

Remember: afterwards you should feel refreshed - not exhausted.

📍 4 acupressure points for your center

Acupressure is immediate help - and long-term care at the same time.

Ma 36 (Zú Sān Lǐ) - „Three miles of the foot“

• Where: Outer side of lower leg, 4 fingers wide under the kneecap, 1 finger next to the tibia
• What he does: THE Qi point. Strengthens the center, raises the energy
• When: For irritability, frustration, tightness in the chest, when nothing wants to flow

MP 06 (Sān Yīn Jiāo) - „Meeting Point of the 3 Yin“

• Where: Inner side of lower leg, 4 fingers wide above the inner ankle
• What he does: Strengthens the spleen, liver and kidneys at the same time
• When: For digestive problems, water retention, heavy feeling
• Attention: Not during pregnancy!

KG 12 (Zhōng Wǎn) - „Gathering point of the stomach“

• Where: Midline abdomen, halfway between navel and sternum
• What he does: Harmonizes stomach and spleen, relieves feeling of fullness
• When: For flatulence, nausea, nervous stomach

Le 03 (Tài Chōng) — „Big Meeting“

• Where: Back of the foot, between the big toe and second toe, in the indentation
• What he does: Moves the liver qi, prevents wood from attacking the earth
• When: For digestive problems + irritability, stress + flatulence

Duration: 5-7 minutes
When: In the morning or after a meal
How often: Daily during the transition period

📍 All points with detailed instructions and pictures can be found
in our free acupuncture atlas: 👉 www.meine-tcm.com/akupunkturatlas

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🌙 3-minute routine for difficult days

When everything is too much - this routine grounds and strengthens:

Step 1: Breathe (1 minute) - 1 hand on abdomen, 1 hand on chest - breathe so that only the abdominal hand is raised - 4 in - 6 out - 10 breaths

Step 2: Acupressure (2 minutes) - Ma 36: 60 seconds per side, circling vigorously

Step 3: Set - „I don't have to do everything today. I can just be.“

🔮 The deeper message

Spleen issues are rarely just physical.
They are often also a question of life:

• Where do I take in too much without digesting?
• Where am I brooding instead of acting?
• Where am I missing ground under my feet?

The spleen is the center.
She doesn't want extremes - she wants balance.
Not all at once - but step by step.

Sometimes exhaustion during the transition period is not the problem -
but the moment when you realize how little ground you had.

Perhaps your sagging is an indication of something very human:
You have absorbed too much. Too much „worked“. Too little digested.

Not as a punishment.
Not as a weakness.
But as intelligent self-regulation.

You don't have to „make it go away“.
You may translate it.

And sometimes all it takes is a small step: a warm breakfast, a fixed rhythm, less in your head, more in your body.

So that you can feel the ground under your feet again.
So that the transitions don't knock you over - but carry you.

„You are not lost. You are in transition.“

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