Fun: It’s Your Summer Prescription
Joy is medicine — for your heart. This isn't an old adage, it’s Chinese Medicine!
Happy Summer, You Lovely Human Beings.
Happy? yeah, right, I know.
But that's actually why I'm writing.
Summertime, in Chinese Medicine, is about joy. It’s the season of the fire element, associated with the heart and small intestine. The positive emotions of the heart are joy, connection, love and happiness. This is the time of year to stockpile joy. The function of the small intestine is discernment — figuring out what is essential for our nourishment and what is not. Another phrase we use in Chinese Medicine to describe the function of the Small Intestine is “sorting the turbid from the clear.”
Sound familiar?
JOY, FUN, LOVE, CONNECTION, CREATIVITY
We are living in unprecedented times. It may seem, on the surface, that there is no occasion for joy, fun or connection. That there's a lot of “turbid” and not much “clear.” However, I know that, as resilient human beings (and yes, we are all getting skilled in the resilience department, like it or not), we have the capacity for creativity and choice. My challenge to you? Get creative about having fun. My family and I are not traveling this summer — that's a usual “fun route” we do in the summer. What are we doing instead? We are turning portable bathtubs into swimming pools, we are watching lots of classic Disney Musicals (I don't know how I've gone nearly 50 years without ever seeing Mary Poppins and The Sound of Music, but here I am), and we are learning how to make new foods (homemade ranch dressing — OMG; greek meatballs, wow!) It's not always easy — sometimes we are grumpy, and impatient with each other, and ourselves.
But the point is, the possibility of joy is always an option. And if it feels too far off an option, then creativity and curiosity are good stand-ins. What’s going on? What am I feeling? Where am I feeling it in my body? Where did I learn this feeling? What if I decided to pause this feeling for a few hours and try on a different one, just to see? What if I explored moving through the next hour, or four, or twelve, with every move informed by love. Beginning within, always. Self compassion that guides our actions with gentleness. Grocery shopping with curiosity and love. Connecting via zoom with creativity and love. Talking to a friend on the phone of from 6 feet away, with curiosity and love. Reading a great book with curiosity and love. Scrolling Facebook and Instagram with curiosity and love (this may be considered an act of RADICAL compassion given our times). Showering, brushing teeth, choosing food, doing the dishes, cleaning the bathroom — with curiosity and love.
Love truly begins within, with gentleness and intention. Beginning with love plants the seeds of joy, of fun, of happiness. It opens up the possibility of experiencing these carefree, generous feelings of summer, even during a pandemic.
Sometimes cultivating that sense of joy and love takes some conscious discernment, which is the activity of the Small Intestine. The small intestine is about making choices that help to nourish, on every level. One of the ways I’ve been practicing this act of discernment is to use the phrase “Upset is optional.” I try and use it while reading the news, while going on social media, when getting impatient with world circumstances. It's another reminder about the power of choice, and how we can choose to direct our nervous systems. I like to couple this phrase with a few deep breaths, into the belly (below the belly button). Interestingly, that’s exactly where the small intestine sits! Just focusing on the breath for a few deep ones can provide a moment — a gap, if you will — to choose how to proceed. This is embodied mindfulness, and doesn’t need to become another thing on the to-do list. You can do it during a zoom meeting, during a conversation with a loved one, while making dinner, at night before falling asleep. The more you breathe, the more you actively choose how to proceed, with upset being optional.
FIRE HAZARDS
Signs that the small intestine and heart might be out of balance include symptoms such as anxiety, IBS or IBD, eczema, bloating, insomnia and difficulty focusing. If you are experiencing any of these symptoms, we can help!
With summer, heat issues can flare. In particular, urinary pain or burning. I tend to hear a lot more about these issues in the hot summer months. With a serious infection, I always recommend seeing an MD and getting the appropriate antibiotics. However, with mild symptoms of burning or discomfort, we have tools. Chinese herbs, acupuncture, and some simple lifestyle recommendations can go a long way in making bathroom trips a breeze.
And while we are talking about that region of the body, I wanted to share that I just completed advanced training for pelvic, groin and genital pain relief with acupuncture (no, we don't put needles at the site of the pain). Using points on the hands, feet, legs and head, acupuncture is an extremely effective approach to pelvic pain and dysfunction of all kinds. If you know someone who is suffering from groin, genital or pelvic pain or issues, please share this with them. I'm passionate about improving people’s quality of life by helping them get out of a vicious cycle of pain or dysfunction.
CREATIVE HEALING
With the pandemic going on, I’ve been thinking a lot about how best to help people on their healing journey, in a way that feels appropriate for each individual's preference. Of course I’m seeing patients in person, and following rigorous sanitation protocols, with masks having been required in the clinic since we reopened in April. But I'm also seeing people virtually.
What does a virtual Chinese Medicine appointment look like?
Chinese Medicine is much more than acupuncture — which is just one of many tools. During a virtual visit, we discuss the issue you have going on and work on solving the problem in a way that best fits your life. For some, that means a nutrition consultation and herbal or supplement recommendation. For others, we do a treatment using a highly personalized guided meditation that produces the same effect as acupuncture. This treatment is internal qi gong, and we work on balancing the acupuncture channels and the organ systems that need help. The guided meditation puts you into a deep state of relaxation and repair. I do the guiding, you do the listening and relaxing repair. The personalized meditation is based upon your specific Chinese Medicine pattern at the time. Many virtual patients report feeling just like they do after getting acupuncture. The principles of healing are the same, it’s simply a different modality.
We offer short 15-minute virtual consultations for herbs and supplements, as well as longer Chinese Medicine / Nutrition virtual consultations. You can learn more about them here.
JOY, THE STARTER KIT
Circling back to joy — if you are Just. Not. Feeling. It., here's a quick list of things you can do to nourish your heart energy in the next few weeks:
1. Watch Queer Eye on Netflix. Utterly heart warming. Binge-able.
2. Reach out and ask a friend or family member if there's anything you can do for them — helping people helps your heart. A genuine gesture goes a long way, for both of you. Connection. Or don't call and go drop off a surprise on their front porch — a sweet note, some flowers, something you baked, you get it.
3. Eat some cinnamon. Cinnamon warms and strengthens the heart. I recommend cinnamon toast (1900 Barker Bakery bread here in Lawrence, Kansas is my FAVORITE treat!). But if it’s too hot, get some vanilla ice cream (or non-dairy vanilla frozen thing) and put cinnamon, dried ginger and cardamom on it for some chai ice cream. There, you’ve just also saved your digestive system by using warming and phlegm-clearing herbs to balance your frozen treat.
4. Watch something that makes you laugh. We have this Youtube video series bookmarked. (And I now do a mean Gotcha the Cockatoo impression). Btw, there are several of these.
5. Dance party. Five minutes or fifteen. Queen is always good for this. As a matter of fact, maybe you need to dress up and then have a dance party. Pull out your glittery stuff, you've most likely got AC. Get fancy, for yourself, and for your heart.
6. Gratitude. (You knew I was going to say that!) Walk around your house, and spend five to ten minutes listing all of the things you are grateful for in your life. Walking around every area of your house might inspire you and enable you to see that oh so familiar space in a new way.
7. Make a vision board. This pandemic won’t last forever, Might as well dream big about what can happen later. My daughter Mimi is currently planning a redesign of her bedroom — based on no less than Versailles. Lots of gold. LOTS of gold. Not sure how to do a vision board? Think of something you've always wanted to do. Travel to Paris? find some pics of Paris, or draw the Eiffel tower. Learn a new skill? Find a pic and slap it on there. The point is: imagine and dream.
8. Do some qi gong. It’s better than a ten-minute nap. Here's a good heart focused practice: (disregard his comment about vacation — it was filmed LAST summer!)
9. Get curious. Here are some funny questions to ask, of your family, friends, on social media, of yourself!
10. Get real. If you're feeling overwhelmed / anxious / sad / angry, and that's that, it's ok to ask for help. Check out www.scottbeardontwalk.com if you need some help feeling better in your relationship to yourself or others. Scott Bear Don’t Walk does happen to be my husband, it’s true. AND he’s a profoundly gifted therapist who uses mindfulness tools and getting real to help ease suffering. He sees individuals, couples and families virtually and in person.
Happy Summer. I mean it.
I'm here to help when you need help. Until then, take excellent care, be extremely kind to yourself, and know that I miss you and I'm sending a lot of love and good strong fire energy your way.
Love, (because there’s never too much love!)
Julie