Water hand: A short, fleshy hand. If you pinch loose skin on top of the hand or at the knuckles, it stays puckered. Nails are short, thin, or turn under with weakness; cuticle area is dark.

Persons with a Water-type hand often have edema (water retention) in the hands and elsewhere in the body because of weakness and fatigue. Often there is dark skin cir- cling the tops of their fingernails. Their energy and vulnerability are located in the kidney and adrenal area of the lower back. Fatigue for them can be crushing. It can feel like a heavy weight pulling them downward at the waistline. They may feel demoralized or hopeless when exhausted. They may descend to self-pity or find it hard to move at all.

When chi is in excess in the Water element, Water persons may feel overly courageous and daring, or, alternatively, claustrophobic and paranoid. Their karmic issue then becomes the need to develop steady, smooth energy. That gives them a sense of stability that helps them to overcome fear. Often, Water types tend to work hard enough to blow a fuse, then remain exhausted for a long time. Adrenal exhaustion can lead to mental fuzziness, poor memory, sexual problems, low immune strength, and global overweight.

When problems in the Water element are long-term, we should address both the yin (urinary function) and yang (energy function) of the kidney and adrenal glands.