Summer 2019
Needle Notes
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Summer - The Fire Element - Heart, Small Intestine, Pericardium and
Triple Heater Meridians
While at the moment of this writing, here in the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont, it doesn't feel much like the Summer Solstice is upon us, there are the subtle implications of the changing season. The calling of the natural world once again pulls our attention to what is new and different on any given day. We have been doing a lot of work in our perennial beds and there are early summer happenings that only take the slightest attention to notice. The worms are busy doing their work just under the soil's surface and my favorite - the peony - is only days away from blooming. I can already imagine its sweet fragrance! The potted annuals - petunias, dahlias, impatiens in their window boxes, are all filling out, each day more luscious and robust than the day before. The deciduous trees have come into their full green, and we're seeing lots of animals on the move. One morning last week we had a black bear visit; it walked down our driveway. And the next day out on my bike I saw a doe and her just born fawn making their way back into the woods off the dirt road.
Reflecting on nature's wonder makes me so much more aware of the energetic movement of the season. Summer is the most yang and expansive time of year. Plants are at their most developed and animal life is generally at its most active. We typically wear fewer clothes and spend more time outside. We are ready to be in the warmth and the brightness of the sun, to sit and have chats with friends, go to a cafe or to hit the beach! People talk more and have more opportunities for fun and joy.
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Acupuncture Point of the Season
Heart 7 - Shen Men - translation = Spirit Gate
This is the
Source Point
on the heart meridian. On the crease of the flexure of the wrist, on the proximal radial side of the pisiform bone, upon the ulnar artery. This point is indicated for insomnia, heart palpitations - especially due to fright, irritability, chest pain and mania. This point calms the Shen or "spirit" of the heart. Another way to think of this heart spirit is the radiance that emanates from someone's eyes - that sparkle that's evident in one who is content. The heart houses our deepest essence and the Spirit Gate point is used to ensure that the essence is settled and at ease.
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Wellness
connect easily with other people
joy, passion, friendship
fall asleep easily
trusting intuition
regular and stable heart rhythm
Out of Balance
uncomfortably shy or reserved
depression, lethargy, aloneness
difficult to settle at night
confused thinking
irregular heartbeat or palpitations
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Seasonal Recipe -
A "Drag it Through the Garden" Burrito
What could be better than fresh organic vegetables from your local farmers' market?! We buy a full season CSA share from Joe's Brook Farm -
https://www.joesbrookfarm.com
in St. Johnsbury. Invariably we will stuff a Stacey's Organic Tortilla -
http://staceysorganic.com
with whatever veggies are in the basket of the week. Add some home made refried beans, a bit of plain yogurt, salsa and guacamole and you have a chock-a-block full meal!
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"The Sun" by Mary Oliver
Have you ever seen
anything
in your life
more wonderful
than the way the sun,
every evening,
relaxed and easy,
floats toward the horizon
and into the clouds or the hills,
or the rumpled sea,
and is gone--
and how it slides again
out of the blackness,
every morning,
on the other side of the world,
like a red flower
streaming upward on its heavenly oils,
say, on a morning in early summer,
at its perfect imperial distance--
and have you ever felt for anything
such wild love--
do you think there is anywhere, in any language,
a word billowing enough
for the pleasure
that fills you,
as the sun
reaches out,
as it warms you
as you stand there,
empty-handed--
or have you too
turned from this world--
or have you too
gone crazy
for power,
for things?
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Practical suggestions for cultivating the gifts of summer
- Balance solitude with activity. Ask yourself, What gives me joy? What makes my heart soar? Then go do it!
- Take time to replenish yourself: a walk in the woods, a cup of tea while sitting in your favorite chair, watching the sun go down, taking a retreat for a few hours or a few days.
- Eat bitter tasting vegetables (the bitter taste feeds your Fire) such as endive, spinach and watercress. Enjoy the bitter taste of dark chocolate, black coffee and red wine. These foods can stimulate digestion as well as nourish blood and the circulatory system.
- When it is hot outside, eat foods to cool you, such as fresh fruits. Drink cool spring water.
- Remember that whatever makes you smile will nourish you.
- Laugh more, especially at yourself. Lighten up!
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Hit the beach...
Have fun with friends this season!
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| the Acupuncture Works | 802-748-2020 | theacupunctureworks.com
offices in St. Johnsbury, VT and Hanover, NH
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