Maintaining Balance, Wellness and Joy This Summer
In Chinese Medicine, summer is the most “yang” time of year - a time when the body undergoes the greatest activity.
Things of course look a little different this summer, and while it’s difficult during a pandemic to fully spread your wings and take full advantage of all summer has to offer, there are plenty of ways to nourish your mind, body and spirit.
Taking Care of the Heart
In Eastern medicine, the organ associated with summer is the heart, which governs the mind and spirit, and controls our emotions, memory and thoughts. One of the top priorities of summer is to keep the heart and mind healthy.
It’s so important - this summer especially - to nourish our spirit and find joy through human connection.
Balancing the Fire Element
When the fire element is in balance, the heart is healthy, the mind is calm, we feel joyful and sleep is peaceful. When it’s unbalanced, we can become depressed or have experience manic behavior. Other symptoms associated with summer heat are excess sweating, dry mouth, agitation and/or heart palpitations, nervousness, dry mouth, constipation, heartburn and insomnia.
Late summer is associated with the dampness of the earth element. Since the summer is humid, we often feel physical heaviness, achy joints or muscle cramps or stomach upset (abdominal pains, diarrhea or low appetite).
Summer heat can creep up on you and lead to dehydration, sunburn, dizziness, and in extreme cases, heat exhaustion.
Beat the Heat and Stay Well This Summer
In the summer, I always recommend my patients eat cool and cold foods, which in Chinese medicine can reduce toxins, clear heat and generate body fluids.
Stock up on foods like watermelon, apricots, peaches, asparagus, broccoli, sprouts, cucumbers and green vegetables and herbs, like spinach, seaweed, cilantro, mint and dill.
Some essential oils that can be effective during summer are Cedarwood, geranium, cypress and eucalyptus.