February Self-Healing Tips

The winter's solstice was upon us this year on December 21st. It is the shortest day of the year, the end of one planetary year, the beginning of a new one, and the official beginning of winter. Winter a season of reflection, and it is ruled by the Water element. It is also a time of consolidation and storage. We warm and store the yang energies deep within the body while the outer body cools. The way to harmonization with winter's energies is to embody our more yin qualities. We can do this by becoming more receptive, introspective, and storage-oriented. It is a good time to rest, to meditate deeply, and to store physical energy while staying active enough to keep the spine and joints flexible.

Salty and bitter flavored foods assist us through the cold season. These promote and sinking and centering quality and increase the capacity for storage. They also cool the

The winter's solstice was upon us this year on December 21st. It is the shortest day of the year, the end of one planetary year, the beginning of a new one, and the official beginning of winter. Winter a season of reflection, and it is ruled by the Water element. It is also a time of consolidation and storage. We warm and store the yang energies deep within the body while the outer body cools. The way to harmonization with winter's energies is to embody our more yin qualities. We can do this by becoming more receptive, introspective, and storage-oriented. It is a good time to rest, to meditate deeply, and to store physical energy while staying active enough to keep the spine and joints flexible.

Salty and bitter flavored foods assist us through the cold season. These promote and sinking and centering quality and increase the capacity for storage. They also cool the surface of the body while bringing body heat deeper and lower. Since we are in Southern California, we have the luxury that we can generally tolerate salads as a part of our diet all year round. Leaf lettuce is cooling in nature, bitter and sweet in flavor, dries damp, promotes diuresis, and has a calming action on the nervous system. It is rich in chlorophyll, iron, and vitamins A and C. Miso is a salty fermented soybean paste thought to have originated in China 2500 years ago. It contains up to 20% protein, amino acids, lactobacillus, which aids in digestion, promotes an alkaline internal environment, and promotes a healthy immune system.

Chinese Nutrition Self-Healing: Miso-Tahini Dressing

Try this: Find yourself some good organic lettuce leaves, whether endive or romaine is no matter. First soak your leaves in a diluted solution of vinegar (apple cider vinegar is fine and 1 tbsp vinegar to 1 gallon water) to remove parasites and microorganisms. Then combine 1 tbsp miso, 1 tbsp tahini, ¼ cup lemon juice, and ¼ cup water to make a thick miso-tahini puree. Add water until a consistency is achieved that suits your fancy for your salad dressing. If you want to make this more warming, try adding some dried ginger, fresh garlic and fresh scallions to your miso-tahini dressing.

Chinese Self-Acupressure: Bladder 40

With cooler weather and rampant Kidney-yang deficiency, many people experience weakness, tightness, achiness, or even forthright pain in the knees. Bladder 40 is an excellent point for self-massage that has an immediate and profound effect on the openness of the energy flow through the knee, up into hamstrings and down through the calf muscles and lower leg; it also strongly impacts the low back. Self-massage daily here can greatly help those of us who are limited in what we can do because of difficulties in the knees, the legs, and low-back, or for anyone who suffers pain in any of these areas.

Bladder 40, Wei Zhong, or Bend Middle, is located in the center of the crease behind the knee. Many of us are tempted to not go poking around back there, because of how tender it is, but I assure you that the slight discomfort will be worth it. To find it just reach around and feel your way to the center point between the big tendons on the back of either side of the knee. The energy of this point is somewhere between the size of a pea and a quarter, depending on your size and the flow of your energy on any given day.

Try this: Give yourself gentle massage at Bladder 40 on both legs twice-daily - before bed, before your practice, while watching television, or even as a work-day break at your desk and feel the tissues all around the knee joint, up and down the leg, and in the low-back become more spacious and free.