The Water Type
Are you a deep thinker? Do you often act as “spiritual advisor” to your friends and family? Do you march to the beat of your own drummer? If so, you must be a Water type.
In East Asian medicine, the universe is made up of 5 elements, also called phases. These elements: Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water, are the building blocks of our environment, including us. We are each a unique mix of all the elements, but one of them is primary. Learning your primary element can give you personalized tools for managing stress and living a healthier, happier life. Instead of doing ALL THE THINGS, or getting overwhelmed and doing nothing, you’ll learn which lifestyle hacks will give you the most bang for your buck.
Water types are wise, original, deep thinkers. You have deep set, dreamy eyes and a soft, curvy body. You move slowly and deliberately, and are the type that is most likely to enjoy the quiet life of a monk.
In another culture, you may have been a shaman or a healer, but this modern, hectic world was not created for you. You may find yourself doing more and pushing harder than you’d like because that’s what’s expected of you, but you eventually burn out. You become fearful and exhausted. This extra stress also affects your physical body with weight gain, back or knee pain, water retention, and hair loss.
You’re also strong and determined, and don’t always allow yourself rest when you need it. Instead, you guzzle caffeine and munch on salty, carb-y foods, which you crave when you’re running low on energy. But caffeine is the worst thing for Water types, even more so than other types. In Chinese medicine, the water element is related to the Kidneys and adrenals, and coffee and other caffeinated beverages artificially stimulate your adrenals to produce more cortisol. Eventually, your whole stress response system becomes overactivated, and you end up with what we call “burnout”.
To save yourself from this fate, or to heal from it if you’re already there, there are a few things you can do. First of all, wean yourself off the caffeine. It’s not doing you any favors. Also make sure you’re getting enough sleep, and plenty of time alone to rest and spin your deep web of thoughts. The best foods for nourishing your Water element are foods that come from the sea; seafood of all kinds, and sea vegetables. High quality sea salt, and foods that are black or dark blue, like black beans and blueberries, will help as well.
My favorite essential oil for Water types is Juniper. Diffuse it into the air or rub it into your low back to give you motivation and strength.
The more often you do all of this, the better you’ll feel.
