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Emotional health, Meditation, Organic lifestyle, Seasons, Summer, Traditional Chinese Medicine, Whole Food Diet, Women's health

How to Stay Healthy This Summer According to Chinese Medicine

Summer is the season we associate with fun, relaxation, and carefree living. Our days are less structured, so our kids tend to stay up and sleep in later. We often become more lax with our diets too, as restaurants visited on family vacations don’t always have the best quality food. To stay well in summer, it’s important not to fall into unhealthy habits. Learn how to stay healthy in summer with these simple guidelines, so you can enjoy this season to the fullest!

How to Stay Healthy This Summer with TCM

1. Adjust Your Activity Level

The Yang energy of the sun reaches its maximum at the summer solstice on June 21. From there it starts a gradual decline until the winter Solstice in December.

What does that mean?

Since Yang is decreasing, Yin energy is increasing; we need to adjust our activity to become more Yin as well. Being “more Yin” means to embrace quiet, stillness, and our calm, receptive feminine nature.

I know, it doesn’t sound like summer. It’s supposed to be exciting!

Remember, this is a gradual change we’re adjusting to over the season. We can be lively in June and then start to ramp it down. By the end of August, hopefully we’re all grounded enough that kids can adjust well to the new school year and we can easily commit to our work life again.

If we ignore the cues from nature and go full force in the Summer Heat, we’re likely to burn out. This is bad new for our health in Fall, as we may get sick quickly and often without the restorative energy of Summer.

2. Get Some Morning Sun and Finish Activities Early

Part of adjusting your activity level is to also adjust the timing of your activities. If you live in a really hot climate, you already know how to do this well:

Get your workouts, errands, gardening, and other outdoor obligations done early.

You’ll need to resist the temptation to start the days slow. Trust me, you’ll be feeling great after absorbing that morning sun. It will elevate your mood and give you the energy you need to be productive. Then you can rest in the afternoon (which will become the hottest part of the day as summer progresses) completely guilt-free.

3. Eat These Foods to Stay Healthy in Summer

Summer is packed full of opportunities to eat out – restaurants, ballparks, amusement parks, family BBQs, etc. Since you may not always have control over these meals, it’s extra important to eat well at home.

Our digestion is stronger in summer. We’re now able to eat raw and cooling foods without gas and bloating.

These are the best foods to balance summer heat (from The Tao of Nutrition):

Everyone should do their best to refrain from these foods which may increase heat in the body and cause inflammation, dryness, constipation, and headaches.

processed sugar
alcohol
deep fried foods
caffeine (not too much chocolate either!)
hot, spicy foods

You may want to revisit: Have a Sweet Summer Without Excess Sugar

4. Be Cool and Refrain From Anger & Overexcitement

Anger and mania cause heat to rise internally according to Chinese Medicine philosophy. Accumulation of heat internally over a long period of time can cause disease. Anger and excitement are normal human emotions, of course, but it’s important to be mindful of what is causing them so we’re not caught up in these emotions continuously.

Meditation helps us become less reactive, and is a great practice to remain calm, cool, and level-headed. If you’re not ready to meditate, you can try to process your emotions through journaling or talking with a dear friend. You can try a Yin yoga practice which is an active meditation. Or use essential oils to manage your emotions and the heat that can arise.

Chinese Medicine helps us to see the connection between us and nature. Living in harmony with the rhythm of nature and preventing disease is the basis of it’s philosophy. If you adhere to these guidelines, or at least try returning to them whenever you get off track with summer (& sometimes unhealthy) fun, then you’ll find that you maintain wellness longer.

If you enjoyed this article, please share with your friends! Let me know what you think of these summer health tips in the comments. Well wishes to you…

Seasons, Summer, Traditional Chinese Medicine, yin yoga, Yoga

Cool & Ground with this Summer Yin Yoga Sequence

Yin Yoga embraces the essence of Taoist philosophy: living in harmony with nature. It’s a calm, restorative, healing approach that balances the Yang, active, and often aggressive nature of being that predominates our society. Try this summer yin yoga sequence to stay balanced this season.

According to Taoism and Chinese Medicine, humans are actually microcosms of nature. Summer is related to the element of fire and to the Heart and Small Intestine organs in the human body, as well as the Pericardium & Triple Burner (which do not exist as functional organs in Western anatomy). When the energetic channels that connect to these organs are out of balance, we could experience more heat in the body which may manifest as:

headaches
high fever
high blood pressure
mania
delirium
anger
constipation/dry stools
rashes
sleep disturbances

and more.

Through yin yoga, we can increase energy flow in the Heart, Small Intestine, Pericardium, and Triple Burner channels. The slow, mindful, yin approach is cooling in nature and is the perfect solution to the problems mentioned above. By cooling and grounding in the heat of summer, we can also maintain inner harmony. Try this Summer Yin Yoga sequence to stay cool & balanced!

Cool Down With This Summer Yin Yoga Sequence

This Summer Yin Yoga sequence dilates the Heart, Small Intestine, Pericardium, and Triple Burner energetic channels (in addition to all the others that reside in the upper body). Hold each posture for 2-5 minutes while releasing with gravity. As you let go in the muscles, the stretch will move deeper into the connective tissue, which is where the energetic channels reside. Stretching the connective tissue is perfectly safe as long as you’re not moving quickly in and out of the shape.

You’ll experience more space and freedom in the chest, arms, upper back, neck, and around the scapula in addition to finding equanimity in the heart and a wider perspective in the mind.

Eagle arms forward bend

Stand with your feet hip joint width apart or slightly wider. Reach your arms out in front and cross them over your chest at the upper arms. If you have the flexibility, continues winding around the forearms and joining up the palms. Let your knees bend as you fold forward at the hips. Allow your arms and head to be heavy to release around the scapula, upper back, and neck where the Small Intestine channels traverse. After holding for 1-2 minutes, unwind the arms, allowing them to hang. Repeat on the other side.

Prone Arm Cross

Lay on your belly and start with your arms out to the side. Sweep them forward as you lift your torso away from the ground and cross deeply at the upper arms. Reach the fingers away from each other. Once at your maximum stretch, relax your weight down onto the arms. When ready to exit, engage your core muscles to lift the torso and gently unwind the arms. Rest in neutral, prone, until ready to cross the arms the other way.

1/4 Downward Dog

From hands and knees, place one forearm to the ground under the shoulders perpendicular to the spine. Reach the other arm straight out in front. Relax your chest down and forearm down. You may want to stretch in cat pose before going to the other side.

Prone Twist

Come down onto your belly again for a deep chest/front shoulder stretch. Bring one arm out to the side with the elbow bent and palm down (this position creates a deeper stretch than with the arm straight and palm turned up). Use your other hand to tip your body over to the side. Place your legs in a position that helps you stay sideways for the appropriate amount of time. Rest on your belly in neutral, then go to the other side.

Fish in Reclined Bound Angle

Sit up with the soles of your feet together and your knees opening out to the sides from your hips. Place your hands under your buttocks. Lift your chest, reclining onto your forearms. If it feels safe, slowly bring your head to the ground.

Reclined Twist

Lay on your back with your feet on the ground, knees bent. Lift one leg, crossing it deeply at the upper thighs. Continue bringing the knees over into the direction of the cross. Open your chest to the other side, letting your arm move over head or out to the side to open the chest. Turn your head in the direction that feels best for your neck.

Be sure that you’re moving out of the Yin postures just as slowly as you’re moving into them. In between postures, give yourself some time in stillness to observe the energy circulating through your body into the places that need it. End in Savasana or a seated meditation.

Let me know what you think of this sequence after trying it! How does it make you feel?

Gut Health, Kids Health, Parenting, Recipes, Seasons, Summer, Supplements, Whole Food Diet, Women's health

Have A Sweet Summer Without Excess Sugar

Poolside popsicles, amusement park funnel cake, shopping mall lollipops, camp cupcakes – these are just a few of the many treats that parents enjoy giving their kids as a celebration of special Summer family time. Though your intention is to show your children you love them, indulging in these sweets can damage their health. I have some suggestions on how you can enjoy Summer without all the excess sugar.

Sweet treats, here and there, may not cause a much of an issue to your family’s health. My son has treats too – he is definitely NOT deprived – and he’s still pretty healthy. But I am one of those sometimes-unpopular parents who tries to enforce rules around sweets, regardless of the season, because I’m all too aware of what happens to a young body long-term with excess sugar.

What’s Wrong With Having Too Much Sugar?

None of us want to intentionally harm ourselves or family members by:

causing metabolic dysfunction
increasing internal inflammation
fueling addiction
depleting beneficial gut flora
feeding harmful gut flora
lowering the body’s immune defenses
setting up for food sensitivities and autoimmune disorders
increasing the risk of diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and cancer

However, these are the inevitable effects that sugar has on our bodies, young and old. Even just indulging over the Summer, you will likely find that your child is sick a lot in the Fall. And short-term, most of us have experienced the craziness of a child on a sugar high and the subsequent crash (or meltdown). It’s too much for me to take.

Our human genes are not accustomed to us eating a lot of sugar. We can’t purposely ignore this fact and then be surprised by the consequences.

Now that you’re aware of how sugar affect our bodies, are you willing to make changes in your family’s diet?

It IS possible to be the fun parent, to have an enjoyable Summer, have sweets, AND protect your child’s health.

Here’s how you can enjoy your Summer without the excess sugar, in just 3 steps:

1. Substitute in fresh fruit for refined sugar & artificial ingredients, but in moderation

The quality and quantity of sugary treats are both concerning.

Artificial colors and flavors have been shown to increase hyperactivity and cause behavioral issues in children. Plus, when a food has artificial colors & flavors it’s a pretty good indication that what you’re eating is not nutritious, but just a sugary laboratory concoction.

You can satisfy cravings for sweets by eating nature’s candy: FRUIT. And in the Summer, here in California, we are blessed with some of the best tasting, local, fresh fruit in the country.

You CAN get too much of a good thing though. When your diet is high in fruit, grains, and other carbohydrates (especially refined carbs), the non-beneficial gut bacteria in our bodies start to proliferate and crowd out the beneficial species. This can result in leaky gut and a weakened immune system. Our children do not need this challenge – we want them to grow strong and thrive!

2. Eat more fat

Consuming a lot of sugar can also lead to hypoglycemia and insulin resistance (Diabetes). But if you increase your fat intake with treats (and every meal, really), blood sugar remains stable. You avoid excess secretion of insulin and tap into glucagon stores instead.

You don’t want to eat just any fat though. Try to eat saturated fats from pastured-raised animals, coconut oil, olive oil, macadamia nut oil, or avocado oil. Processed oils can increase inflammation and lead to chronic disease.

Fat has earned a bad rap over the years, but in the last decade many studies have been done to show that traditional high fat diets of our ancestors do not cause high cholesterol & heart disease (as our governments has told us) but instead supports a healthy gut and growing body.

We all need more fat in our diets, especially kids, and especially if they’re eating a diet high in sugar!

We’ll explore more on fat here in a few weeks. But this article on Good Fats, Bad Fats by the Weston A. Price Foundation can help clear up a few myths that you may have been believing until now.

3. Enjoy treats with probiotics

Because sugar can wreak havoc on our precious gut flora, it’s important to stay ahead of this game by supplementing with double-encapsulated, high quality probiotics.

You can also have probiotic-containing foods as treats! Yogurt, creme fraiché, kefir, and kombucha can all be sweetened with fruit or honey, and make wonderful desserts!

It may take some time for you and your kids to make adjustments to your dessert habits. It’s much easier to control if you’re making these treats at home instead of consuming them in public places.

Nutrient-Dense Desserts to Balance Excess Summer Sugar

Lassi: India’s Delicious Yogurt Drink

from the Healthy Home Economist

Makes 2 servings

Ingredients

1 cup yogurt or kefir preferably raw
1/2 cup milk preferably raw
1 cup fresh fruit
2 tsp raw honey (optional)
2 drops stevia extract (optional)
1 cup ice (optional)

Instructions

Pour yogurt into clean, wide mouthed, quart sized mason jar
Add milk, fresh fruit of choice (eg. raspberries, mango, peaches or strawberries), and the optional honey or stevia or ice to the mason jar.
Blend for 15 seconds with a hand-held immersion blender.
Serve immediately. Refrigerate leftovers.