Staying Healthy at the Coldest Time of the Year
A solar term is a period of about two weeks, based on the sun’s position in the zodiac. Solar terms form the traditional Chinese calendar system. The calendar follows the ancient Chinese belief that living in accordance with nature will enable one to live a harmonious life. This article series explores each solar term, offering guidance on how to best navigate the season.
Solar Term: Xiao Han ‘Minor/Lesser Cold’
2023 Dates: Jan. 5 to 19
The holidays are synonymous with the hustle and bustle of family gatherings, traditional foods, and hopefully, some joyous celebration. We’ve also arrived at the coldest days of the year.
This year, Minor Cold starts on Jan. 5 and goes until Jan. 19. It’s the 23rd of the 24 solar terms and the fifth solar term of winter. This is the solar term that traditionally has the coldest days of the year. Although some may not like the cold, it serves an essential purpose in nature and our bodies. This time of year may appear barren in the natural world, with no signs of life amid the snow-covered landscape, but in reality, there’s a bustle of activity just under the surface, preparing for spring. This is a time for energies to converge and draw inward, gathering the strength needed for renewal and expansion as the warmth returns.
If we think in terms of yin and yang—yin being slow, cold, and dark, and yang representing quick, hot, and bright—this solar term is when yin is at its peak and yang, its minimum.
In traditional farming communities in ancient China, this was the time to rest and consolidate energy before the cycle of planting and farming began again. Minor Cold was also when ancient people started planning and preparing for the biggest and most influential Chinese festival of the year—the Spring Festival.
Attune Your Lifestyle
The cold weather tells our bodies to conserve energy but our bodies may miss that signal if we spend all our time in the heated indoors. Going for walks outside in the cold air can help our bodies adjust to the depths of winter and draw inward to conserve and protect yang energy.
Another way to help ourselves adjust is to lower the temperature of our indoor spaces and use clothing to keep warm.
The kidneys are the organs associated with winter. They are responsible for our most fundamental energies and are the root of all yin and yang of the body. As we are trying to protect our yang, keeping the lower back covered (where our kidneys are located) is particularly important, especially when we are out in cold weather. In Chinese medicine, the neck is where the cold most easily enters the body, so wearing a scarf will protect this vulnerable area and ensure we don’t catch a chill. A brisk walk on a beautiful winter’s day keeps our qi or energy moving and invigorates yang.
Going to bed early and sleeping later is one way to conserve energy during winter. Cultivating the deeper, internal aspects of ourselves with activities such as meditation, writing, yoga, prayer, and creative pursuits such as music, painting, and photography are ways to feed our spirits in this most yin time of the year.
Seasonal Eating
Some foods eaten traditionally by the Chinese during the Minor Cold solar term were vegetables and rice, glutinous rice, and Laba congee. Foods varied depending on the region, and many traditional, warming foods were enjoyed during the coldest part of winter.
Chinese glutinous rice, also called sweet rice or sticky rice, can be identified by its short, round grains and sticky texture when cooked. Its glue-like texture is due to the almost complete lack of the starch, amylose. The rice comes in short and long-grain varieties and is about twice the price of regular rice.
Congee is a sort of rice porridge eaten throughout Asia. Laba congee was enjoyed during Minor Cold by traditional Chinese people and usually contained red beans, peanuts, and dried fruit.
Eating in the depths of winter is focused on balancing our yin and yang energies, particularly preserving and protecting yang at the coldest time of year. Being aware of our natural tendencies toward yin or yang qualities are also a part of achieving this balance.
If you are a warm person who often sweats and sleeps without the covers at night, you probably already have abundant yang and can eat more yin or cooling foods in the winter months. If you tend to get cold easily, need to bundle up, and sleep with the covers pulled up to your chin, you are likely more yin and will need to add some extra warming foods to your diet to preserve your yang energies.
Hearty soups, whole grains, small amounts of lean meats, and roasted nuts warm the body and benefit the kidneys on cold days.
Adding a little high-quality sea or Himalayan salt to the diet is also helpful as the salty flavor is known in Chinese medicine to support kidney function and promotes the elimination of fluids via urination. Salt is also cooling.
Bitter-flavored foods are also a good addition at this time of year, as these can clear out any excess heat while helping distribute fluids and keep the body hydrated. Adding the cooling quality of salty and bitter flavors is helpful to balance the heat of warming foods during the winter months.
Minor Cold is the point in winter where the seed of yang begins slowly growing as we move toward spring. Slowing down and taking time to rest and rejuvenate while keeping yin and yang energies balanced will help to nourish your mind, body, and spirit.
