Resources
Seasonal Support
Spring
Good bye winter stagnation and welcome to the refreshing spring time. Below are a couple of tips to help you during this creative period.
1. Wake up and stretch – Rising earlier and beginning a healthy morning routine of walking or stretching will help alert your brain that it’s time to wake up. As you set your internal clock to the sun, you will be better able to use your energy during the day and rest more soundly at night. In traditional chinese medicine they say the liver stores blood during periods of rest and then releases it to the tendons in times of activity, maintaining tendon health and flexibility. Try a gentle routine of yoga or tai chi moves.
2. Get outside and move – The liver is easy to stagnate in the spring. Fresh air, and outdoor activities of all kinds can keep liver Qi flowing. Especially if you have been feeling irritable, find tranquility in nature by taking a hike or walking through a park to smooth out that liver Qi and move stagnation.
3. Taste sour – Foods and drinks with sour tastes stimulate the liver Qi. Put lemon slices in your drinking water, use vinegar and olive oil for your salad dressing or garnish your sandwich with a slice of dill pickle. It has a contracting, astringent effect and dries and firms. A small amount of the sour flavor is essential for a balanced liver, but be careful not to consume too much or it may cause dryness.
4. Breath easy – You can get into the habit of cleansing of the sinuses with a neti pot/inhalation therapy and consuming raw, local honey. Honey nourishes, moistens and lubricates the intestines. A warm glass of water with a tablespoon of honey is a soothing way to start your day, add some fresh squeezed lemon juice and it’s the perfect spring tonic.
5. Rest your digestion – A good way to cleanse and prepare for renewal is by reducing consumption. Our naturopath can guide you on the best way to do a balanced and healthy cleanse.
6. Eat green – Green is the color of the liver and of springtime. Eating young plants like fresh, leafy greens, sprouts, and immature cereal grasses can improve the liver’s overall functions and aid in the movement of Qi.
7. Try lymphatic massage – This gentle form of massage helps the body’s lymphatic system rev up while strengthening the immune system and increasing white blood cell count Dry brushing your skin is one easy way to slough off winter’s dead skin and stimulate lymph drainage revealing a more vibrant glow to your skin. Our body’s largest organ should look and feel good.
8. Plant some seeds – Activities for grounding and nurturing like planting in the spring can have a soothing effect on the mind and help anchor any rising Liver energy. Start planting seeds inside now or outside around the middle of May. Think you don’t have green thumb? Cultivating a windowsill herb garden requires little to no gardening skills and it’s a handy way to add fresh flavors to your meals. Veggies like kale, leafy greens and some flower bulbs actually prefer the cooler temperatures to early spring so don’t shy away from planting outside especially if there is no frost on the ground.
Garlic Toasted Quinoa with Vegetables
Makes 2 generous servings
- 1 cup quinoa, rinsed
- 4 cloves garlic, diced
- 5 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cups vegetable broth or water
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 bunch spinach or baby chard, rinsed and chopped
- 1 bunch asparagus, washed and chopped, with woody ends removed
- 10 shiitake mushrooms, sliced
- 1/4 cup slivered almonds
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
Sauté garlic in 2 tablespoons oil in a large pot over high heat for 2 minutes or until tender. Add quinoa and another tablespoon of oil to coat the quinoa. Reduce heat to medium and toast, stirring constantly, until the quinoa turns brown (about 10 minutes).
Add the broth or water and bay leaf, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes (until liquid is absorbed).
While the quinoa is cooking, sauté the mushrooms in remaining 2 tablespoons of oil until soft. Add asparagus and cook until just tender. Add the greens and cook until wilted. Remove bay leaf and add the mushroom and greens to the quinoa. Add the almonds, and stir well to combine. Season with the soy sauce.
Summer
Season of Abundance
This season is a great time for you to concentrate on rebuilding the energy consumed during the winter and spring months. As summer activities can sometimes appropriate your relaxation and meditative time, make sure to find a balance between action and being, between social events and time to be in your garden, or relax in your hammock, and allow the earth to nourish you and recharge your battery pack.
Foods for Summer
- Increase foods with yin qualities (wet, cooling) — fruits are the most yin followed by vegetables.
- Reduce yang foods which are the more concentrated, heating ones such as proteins (meat and fish, nuts, seeds, beans), fats (dairy products, eggs) and complex carbohydrates (whole grains).
- So during the summer eat lots of fresh fruits and juices, multicoloured salads and vegetables, some seeds, nuts and grains and fewer dairy products and meat.
- Fresh fruits and juices such as apples, watermelon, bananas, strawberries, pears, peaches, plums and citrus fruits such as lemons and limes.
- Fresh vegetables such as cabbage, carrots, celery, avocado, seaweeds, spinach, cucumber, tomatoes, summer squash, broccoli, corn, Chinese yam, bitter gourd, pumpkin.
- Sprouts especially mung, soy and alfalfa. Beans such as mung beans.
- Aim for a rainbow of colours on your plate and an abundant variety of foods.
- Cook lightly and regularly add a little spicy, pungent or even fiery flavour such as red and green hot peppers, cayenne red pepper, fresh ginger, horseradish, black pepper, peppermint and coriander.
- Steam or simmer foods as quickly as possible.
- Use little salt and more water.
- To be more comfortable, drink hot liquids and take warm showers to induce sudden sweating and to cool the body.
- Drink flower and leaf teas including chrysanthemum, mint and chamomile.
- Avoid iced drinks and ice cream as they cause the stomach to contract thereby interfering with digestion.
- On hotter days, avoid heavy foods such as meats, eggs and too many nuts, seeds and grains as these cause sluggishness.
- Try to drink eight glasses of water a day, more if you will be out in the sun, and refrain from adding too much ice. Drinking ice-cold water may seem particularly tempting on a hot day, but it causes your body to have to use more energy to match the liquid within your body to your body’s natural temperature. Your body is already harboring too much energy from the heat and activity of the season. Take it easy on your body and help keep it balanced by trying to drink water without ice.
Feeling Lethargic
A fire deficiency is often characterized by a lack of activity. In this case, it’s important to eat heating foods like peppers, ginger, citrus, butter, meats, corn, cherries and basmati rice.
Too Much Energy
When fire is in excess, it often results in overexcitement, too much involvement and being overcommitted. It is suggested to eat bitter foods like romaine lettuce, dandelion greens, almonds and scallions, and cooling foods like cucumber, sprouts, watermelon, apples, lemons and limes. Avoid heavy foods like meats, eggs and oils.
Five Food Rules
Here are some tips on eating wisely:
- Chew your food very well. This makes it easier for your enzymes to break food down into the energy needed to keep the body going.
- When eating, stop when you are seven tenths full emphases the importance of moderation. Stop eating before you are completely full. This enhances the digestion and won’t overload the liver and kidneys’ ability to process waste products.
- Eat in a quiet, non-stressful environment. Make the dinner hour a special time with no television, phone calls or other loud distractions. Sit down to eat and make a rule to discuss only pleasant topics.
- Finish your last meal of the day at least three hours before bedtime. This prevents stress on the liver along with digestive problems like heartburn and acid reflux.
- Eat a diet of primarily lightly cooked foods, especially if you have weak digestion. Cooking allows easier assimilation of nutrients.
Exercise
Summer is the best time to do vigorous exercise if the weather is not too hot, avoiding the peak hours of the summer heat 10am to 2pm (so best done in the early morning) — at least 1 hour a day to include 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise that promotes sweating (eg running, swimming, tennis, cycling), 15 minutes of mild exercise (walking,) and 15 minutes of stretching.
Also, while doing daily activities, such as working outdoors or exercising, take breaks in the shade every hour to cool down your body.
Autumn
Steps You Can Take Day to Day
- Increase your exercise or any activity that increases breath. Even your daily commute can turn into a workout. Once you get into the habit of deep breathing you can drive along, radio and cell phone off, breathing deeply and paying attention to your driving and your surroundings.
- Hydrate — drink lots of water, and wean yourself from dehydrating fluids such as coffee, black tea and alcohol.
- Eat foods that are contracting and astringing, as this will match the seasonal change to go inward, eventually leading to winter. Such foods are often sour: pickles, sauerkraut, vinegar, lemons, limes and grapefruit. Other such foods are aduki beans, yogurt, some plums and apples, even rose hip tea. To combat the dryness add, millet, sweet potatoes and yams, seaweeds, almonds, pine nuts, eggs, crab, oyster, mussels, and again apples, persimmons, pears, and loquats.
- Set aside time to meditate. This can better come about after eliminating the clutter of too many activities from your calendar.
- In general, think “less is better.” Let the simple unclutteredness of autumn feed the soul.
Winter
Winter is a beautiful time of year that’s perfect for rejuvenating ourselves quietly while we prepare for the spring season. Winter can also be a perfect time to get sick, mainly because most of us resist changing our routine to accommodate the season’s demands like slowing down and getting more rest. Here are some tips to survive the winter months and enjoy its magic:
Winter Foods
In winter we need to eat foods to create warmth and support the Kidneys. Energetically warm foods include anchovies, bay leaves, chestnuts, chicken, coriander, fennel, leek, mussels, mutton, nutmeg, pine nuts, rosemary, spring onions, sweet potatoes and walnuts. Preparation of food can also add to the warming nature like stewing and slow cooking.
Helping Herbs
In winter, warm pungent herbs such as rosemary, shallots, garlic, onions, cinnamon cloves, black pepper, ginger, fennel, anise, dill and horseradish all help to remove cold.
When you feel like you are getting a common cold, try fresh ginger boiled in water with the white ends of two spring onion stalks. Boil for ten minutes to make a warming broth to give you energy and dispel the cold and wind.
Helpful Winter Practices
- Rub your ears for five minutes every day: because the ears are the sensory organ connected to the Kidney, stimulating and warming them can greatly enhance your Kidney and overall health.
- March in place: using flat, heavy feet, slowly stomp as if walking slowly in place for 4-5 minutes to stimulate the Kidney meridians, which begin in the soles of your feet.
- Take a break! The best thing you can do is follow nature at this time by resting—keep emotional and physical activities to a minimum. Do restorative yoga, with qi gong.
- So stay warm and ensure your neck is always covered, keep hydrated and nourished and try to give yourself the extra time and space to slow down, rest and meditate in this profound season of stillness.
Food for Radiance
- Wild salmon and shrimp – Omega-3 fatty acids fight inflammation and regulate brain chemistry.
- Cherry tomatoes and watermelon – Lycopene prevents the formation of inflammatory components associated with depression.
- Chilli peppers – Capsaicin reduces inflammation throughout the body, including the brain.
- Beets, spinach, beans and lentils – They provide the folates needed to support good mood and cognitive health.
- Garlic – Contains chromium and other components that act as natural antidepressants.
- Fruit and vegetables – A high intake of fruit and vegetables is associated with increased psychological well-being.