Late Summer and the Doyo

This Doyo period and late summer / early Autumn is a great time to consider a seasonal detox and giving your body a break from your habitual consumption patterns.

Late Summer and the Doyo

By Elson Haas, MD

After getting my medical degree and going into practice, I began my career embracing Natural Healing and Traditional Chinese Medicine. After publishing my first book, Staying Healthy with the Seasons, I soon became a “Back to Nature” doctor who observed life cycles and seasonal changes and the natural elements of Fire, Earth, Air, Wood, and Water, and how they influence our well-being. My 45 years in practice has focused on keeping people healthy and attuned to preventive and lifestyle medicine. This focuses on eating seasonally — mostly fresh foods that we can grow or gather at farmer’s markets.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, there are five elements and five seasons, with the latter part of Summer considered a special time of year in the cycle of seasons and elements. Late, or Indian Summer is that fifth season – a special time between summer and autumn when there is often a glorious hot spell. Nature is rich and full — with apples and corn and harvests galore. This is also an important period of preparation and readiness for the work ahead and the darker half of the year.

Interestingly, for many of us who grew up in the US, this is when the new school year begins, and so we have an intuitive understanding of this time of transition starting in early childhood right through college. We know it can be both exciting and anxiety provoking.

In the Chinese system, the center is the direction associated with the Earth element and the word “Doyo,” meaning life transition, is used to describe this time. Doyo relates not only to the summer-to-autumn transition but to the times of seasonal change, which come four times a year for about two to three weeks each, basically ten days before and after each of the two solstices and equinoxes. This period has some aspects of all the seasons, or elements so that it can seem a bit chaotic – often the weather can be “unseasonably” hot, cold or some other extreme during these periods.

Late Summer is a short season, but it can be a time of intense metamorphosis in Nature and within ourselves. During transitional periods, it is especially important to stay centered, a state of being in contact with the Earth, which we call “grounded,” so as not to go into chaos when things are in motion both inwardly and outwardly when there can be nothing to hold onto. It is important to be aware of this shift from the outward expression of spring and summer to the inward focus of autumn and winter.

So what can we do for balance at this time of transition in Nature and adjustment in our lives?

The organs relating to this Late Summer time and the Earth element are the stomach and spleen. These two organs work together to digest our foods and distribute the resulting energy throughout the body. Nourishment is important to your energy state and wellbeing, so the proper functioning of these two organs is vital to feeling good and to preventing illness. Our eating habits, like chewing food thoroughly, are key to keeping our digestion working efficiently and maintaining a strong stomach and spleen.

Clarity in our diet will see us through many external problems and seasonal transition. We can move from our lighter summer diet toward a bit more density, giving us more fuel and inner heat. We may feel stronger and more able to work. This building program may include heavier protein and fat foods, whole grains, seeds, nuts, and beans. But remember, our diet has to always have a good percentage of fresh vegetables and some fruits too, for a proper alkaline balance. It’s also a good time to work on our food-combining and eating habits generally.

Exercise is another key to our vital health, so we can also start toning up in our exercise program as well as to help build our strength. Working with weights, as well as calisthenics and isometrics, are good exercise programs to begin now, but we should keep our outdoor activities and sports going as long as possible. This daily exercise will help regulate weight and balance the tendency to gain a few pounds through the fall and winter.

These ideas are explored more fully in my book Staying Healthy with the Seasons and on my websites, ElsonHaasMD.com and PMCMarin.com.

This Doyo period and early Autumn is also a great time to consider a seasonal detox and giving your body a break from your habitual consumption patterns. For the last 40+ years, I have been offering such Autumn Detox group programs at my clinic in Northern California, and I will be leading an online version of this course starting on September 26th. You can learn more here: https://elsonhaasmd.thinkific.com/courses/autumnDetox

I hope you can join us as group work is always powerful, especially in healing!

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About the Author

Elson Haas, MD is a long-time integrative family physician who is the founder and director of Preventive Medical Center of Marin, an integrative center in San Rafael, CA. Elson is also the author of a dozen books on health, nutrition, and detox, including Staying Healthy with Nutrition, The Detox Diet, Ultimate Immunity, and Staying Healthy with NEW Medicine: Integrating Natural, Eastern and Western Medicines for Optimal Health.