Hello, and welcome to Quantum Waves of Wellness. I’m your host, Dr. Paula Apro—Doctor of Natural Medicine, holistic health mentor, and your guide to unlocking the healing power within. This week, I want to talk about how important it is to stay in sync with Nature. I think everybody who lives in a cold climate can relate to how difficult that can be during the winter.

I personally found it so challenging to stay healthy during the very long, cold, and dark winters of Maine that I’ve made myself a winter escape plan for the past decade. My body craves being outdoors in the sun so strongly that I took great measures to ensure that I was not locked indoors all day for several consecutive months. My body just instinctively knew what it needed.

But unfortunately, escaping your home state for several months is not a viable option for most. But don’t despair. Maybe there’s another easier way to stay synced with nature while being cooped up indoors...and that’s what I want to talk about today.

For so many years, my body just instinctively knew what it needed. Long before I even knew what the Chinese Medicine Five Element Theory even was, my body was already living it. The more I paid attention to the recurring patterns, the more I understood how our bodies change throughout the years.

For many years, I never noticed the recurring patterns in my health. We all have symptoms come up out of nowhere and then fade away. This is part of life, and we just deal with things as they come. But if you kept a journal throughout the year for several years, I bet you would realize that many of the same things happen at the same time, year after year.

For instance, here are some of the things that I noticed in my personal life:

* During the spring, my patience was always shorter than normal, and my frustration would be higher than normal. I was more prone to breakouts on my face, and I even noticed that my vision would mysteriously, temporarily get worse. All of these things are associated with the Liver.

* During the summer months, I notoriously have blood pressure issues. I very easily black out upon standing. I always thought that the sun caused this, but now I know better. In addition to dizziness and blacking out, I also notice that my heartbeat is more irregular or even racing during the summer months. Circulation is all about the Heart.

* During the fall, my struggles with constipation would increase, while at the same time, my sleep became disrupted and difficult. Every year, the same exact story. It would come and go like clockwork. I also noticed that every fall, I feel a bit depressed that the precious nice weather is coming to an end. These things directly relate to the organs of Lung and Large Intestine.

You may notice that I didn’t list all of the seasons or elements because, luckily, I don’t have imbalances in all of them. Let me give you a brief overview of the 5 Elements. This same intelligence that moves the seasons of Nature also moves through our organs, our emotions, and our energy field. The Five Element Theory can help us to better understand and manage our bodies.

Once I understood this map, everything changed. So here we go...

Spring: The Wood Element

Let’s start with Spring, which is the Wood Element. This is associated with the Liver and Gallbladder, and it’s all about movement, growth, and direction. Just look around and see what Nature is doing during this time. Everything is busting out of hibernation and springing up out of the ground.

We have the tendency for this same type of energy because this season is represented by the Liver and Gallbladder, and in Chinese Medicine, they are all about action and doing. When things don’t get done as quickly as we would like or when things get in the way, anger and frustration result.

Both of these emotions are processed in the Liver and Gallbladder, and imbalances here create a messy spring where we can feel pressured. Our mind wants things to move faster, and our tolerance for inefficiency plummets. This can create a lot of tension in our bodies.

Anger and frustration aren’t personality flaws; they’re just signals that our Liver energy has become stagnant.

Summer: The Fire Element

Next is the Summer or Fire element. It governs the Heart and Small Intestine, and this is where I really began to respect how closely energy and physical symptoms are linked.

As I mentioned, during the Summer element, if my Heart energy becomes overstimulated or ungrounded, I notice episodes of dizziness and a racing heart.

In Chinese medicine, the Heart houses the Shen—our spirit, our emotional coherence. When Heart energy is out of balance, it doesn’t always look dramatic. Sometimes it’s subtle restlessness. Sometimes it’s anxiety that doesn’t quite make sense.

Summer teaches us that joy requires regulation. Too much stimulation—heat, activity, emotional intensity—without support will eventually exhaust the system. I personally have come to realize that longstanding emotional upset is at the very root of my circulation problems.

Late Summer: The Earth Element

Now on to Late Summer, which correlates to the Earth element. This relates to the Spleen and Stomach and governs digestion, nourishment, and stability.

Here, you may notice mental rumination creeping in if your energy isn’t balanced. Overthinking. Worry. Feeling heavy or depleted. It’s also where digestive symptoms tend to show up. We may find that we are overeating or emotional eating during this time of year.

Earth energy is about being supported. When we give constantly without replenishment, the body keeps the score. This season teaches us that nourishment isn’t just about food—it’s about energetic support.

Fall: The Metal Element

Fall is one of my most noticeable seasons. It governs the Lungs and Large Intestine and is associated with letting go. For me personally, I have a very hard time letting go of the beautiful fall weather, knowing that the cold and dark are right around the corner.

And this is why both my Lung and Large Intestine energy fall out of balance. This affects my sleep and causes me to wake up around 4 am (the classic imbalanced Lung time). And very predictably, I experience more constipation—a classic Large Intestine imbalance, AKA ‘not wanting to let go.’

This used to frustrate me until I understood the message. Metal energy is about release—physically, emotionally, energetically. When we hold on, the body reflects that holding.

Fall reminds us that grief, sadness, and difficulty letting go are seasonal invitations to soften and release.

Winter: The Water Element

And lastly, we come to the Winter element, which governs the Kidneys and Bladder—the deepest reserves of the body.

When Water energy is depleted, you may notice low motivation, deeper fatigue, and a desire to withdraw. If you ignore winter’s call for rest, your body pushes back hard. Winter is notoriously the most common time of the year to experience colds and flus.

As far as emotions go, the Kidneys and Bladder process the emotion of fear. Isn’t it interesting how many people’s fear of getting sick runs so high during the winter months?

So take a lesson from Nature, just like many animals and most vegetation, we should be resting during this time. This is one of the most important lessons of all: rest is not optional. It is a biological requirement for long-term vitality.

Once I discovered these patterns and started working with them, my relationship with my body changed completely. Instead of reacting to symptoms and getting frustrated, I began supporting the different needs of my body throughout the year to help alleviate its cyclical symptoms.

This is what led me to my latest sound healing subscription offering.

Each organ system is placing different demands on your body as the seasons change. What if you could help give these organs what they need, when they need it? Wouldn’t that be amazing?

Here’s another theory for you to think about...

Every organ in your body resonates at specific frequencies. The frequency that any particular organ resonates at is dependent on whether or not it’s in balance. There is a “healthy range” and a “not-so-healthy range” of frequencies for each organ and meridian.

If you introduce the right frequencies to the body at the right time, the biofield receives information that helps it reorganize itself naturally. Basically, you can ‘retune’ your energies to sync with nature, and that is exactly the goal of my Sound Healing Subscription Plan.

If you recognize yourself in any of these seasonal patterns—and most people do—I invite you to subscribe to the paid version of my Substack, where I share very specific sound healing frequencies designed to support balance throughout the year.

Maybe you don’t have to work as hard as you think to be healthy. Maybe a gentler approach is exactly what you need. Please see the show notes for more details on the subscription plan, or reach out to me directly here on Substack.

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