Kitchen Medicine Blog

The Spleen governs the thought. Note: in traditional Chinese medicine the Spleen is referred to as the collective work of some organs and systems participating in the digestion rather than the anatomical organ spleen. A healthy Spleen that functions like one vigorous unceasing system will result in clear thoughts that are easily processed, commanded and dealt with. Thoughts come and go naturally and with ease.

A deficient Spleen will change the healthy process of “thinking” into the unhealthy “over thinking”. Thoughts transform from being obedient servants into difficult masters and become in charge of the mind instead of being the opposite. They feel like they are stagnant, “undigested” and difficult to move on from. They seem to appear whenever they please and stay as long as they like.

When we get dampness in the Spleen (the pathology that further develops from an untreated deficient Spleen) the thoughts start mimicking the quality of the dampness. Dampness is heavy and turbid in nature - thoughts become muddy and oppressive. Dampness makes things sluggish and lethargic - thoughts become slack and unproductive. Dampness is sticky - thoughts become sticky, difficult to peel off and get rid of.

Another negative emotion Chinese medicine assigns to the Spleen is worry. Worry can actually be viewed as a different form of “overthinking” but in conjunction with fear rather than confusion (i.e. expecting the worst). It gives the physical feeling of having a knot in the Stomach and is both mentally and physically painful.

So how do we counteract overthinking and worry? We want a healthy Spleen! How do we get a healthy Spleen? We give it warm and dry foods (please check the other posts on that subject for some food suggestions and learn more about the Spleen in the Physiology chapter in the Project). We also want to stimulate movement because the digestion is an unceasing uninterrupted process of movement! Movement can be conveyed in the form of physical exercise and/or breathing exercises. Find a form of movement – “active” such as cardio for example or “passive” such as yoga - that fits your character best as well as engage in some deep breathing exercises (a lot of info on them on the Internet).

Indefinitely incorporate movement in your daily life! It will make not only your body lighter but your thoughts clear, vibrant, vigorous!