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Summer is approaching! In Chinese medicine, this season is associated with the Heart, the fire element and Yang outgoing energies. It’s the time when we feel the urge to travel, leave behind the familiar and the routine and open to new adventures and people. Now with the pandemic shutdown easing in some places, many of us are longing to travel to see family and friends from whom we’ve been separated during the past year or to venture out boldly into nature.

The Heart’s natural emotion is joy, but if the fire element is imbalanced, there may be symptoms of mania, agitation, heart disorders and insomnia. To maintain wellbeing and harmony with nature in summer, it is suggested that we eat ‘cooling’ yin foods, such as leafy greens, vegetables and juicy fruits like melons, all of which are in season.

For a heartful and harmonious start to summer, come in for a special acupuncture or holistic health session at a 15 % discount, good now until July 4th. Call 858-755-5215 to schedule your appointment.

With all the recent rains, green grasses have quickly covered the hillsides by our house here in So. Cal., which in turn have attracted many dear bunny rabbits for grazing. So we definitely feel that this is indeed a year for the ‘Water Rabbit.’  This is said to be a mellow yin energy year featuring the qualities of contemplation, fertile creativity, caution, and calm. To honor this special festival, we’re once again offering our 15 % off acupuncture for new patients. Call Charles at 858-755-5215

As summer slowly shifts into autumn, we move through a transitional phase regarded as a season of its own in Chinese medicine. While summer is the season of fire and heat, Indian Summer features the earth element which governs the spleen and stomach. This is the time when kids return to school and cooler mornings and evenings calm the sun’s heat, which can still be quite intense during the afternoon. The final harvest of grains and grapes takes place in this fifth season before the chill of fall sets in, so we could also call it the time of bread and wine.

If our body’s earth element is imbalanced, there may be digestive problems which can throw all the other body systems off because digestion is so central to our wellbeing. Worry and stress, so predominant now with the world’s chaos, can seriously affect digestion.

Also consider the ways you are nurturing yourself. Types of food are of course important along with eating what’s in season, such as all of the squashes ripening now with their beautiful orange and yellow colors that are attributed to the earth element.

You can also nourish yourself by directly connecting to the earth element. Try laying on the ground and feel how you are held by our mothering earth. Or try gardening and getting your hands directly in the earth so you can absorb the beneficial soil microbes that enhance immunity. Walking barefoot on the earth is another popular form of grounding.

Indian Summer is a good time to reconsider your diet and to tune-up the digestive system with acupuncture or holistic health. Poor food choices and sluggish digestion can derail your health, so come in for a session of acupuncture or holistic health at a 15 % discount until Oct.1st.

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The year of the Yang WaterTiger has arrived. Deep roar to all. The organ associated with this sign is the kidneys, which in Chinese medicine stores the Jing or our ancestral energy of longevity. The kidneys are called the ‘root of life’, so this is a good year to strengthen the kidneys that also govern our ability to self-heal and recover from injury. Come in for a 15% discount on an acupuncture treatment to nurture and restore these primal kidney energies. Rejuvenate your Jing power.

Both Chinese medicine and holistic health believe in seasonal approaches to wellness. Since humans are part of nature, our bodies reflect and respond to the natural world.

At Midsummer, the fire and yang energies are at their peak, and we must be take care not to get over-heated and to stay hydrated, especially as our climate crisis intensifies. Treatments that tonify and balance yang Qi can be very beneficial at this time.

The heart is the organ ascribed to the summer season. It is considered to be the ruler of the body and the seat of joy. The opportunity to cultivate a healthy heart-centered approach to life is the gift of Midsummer.

If the heart is in balance, it will be a kind leader, but if it is imbalanced, there may be experiences of insomnia, excess sweating, restlessness or depression. So come in soon for a midsummer tune-up and receive a 15 % discount on acupuncture or holistic health or ecotherapy treatments.