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Late Summer has arrived! This short season in Chinese medicine highlights the transition from Summer to Fall. While the season is short, its corresponding element, Earth, has a big impact on our lives. Earth is related to our digestive system, as well as feeling grounded, empathetic, and having good boundaries. It was seen as having such a significant impact on our health that there was an entire branch of Chinese medicine dedicated to it, called the Earth School. Learn a bit more about Late Summer and the Earth element below!
In this newsletter, you'll find:
- Clinic schedule updates & upcoming clinic break
- Information on the Late Summer season & Chinese medicine
- A few recent recipes, teas, and things I've read
As always, you can reply to this email with any ideas or questions - the emails go right to me!
Take care,
Kate Thomas, LAc
P.S. If you've recently visited the clinic, I'd appreciate it if you could take a minute to leave a Google review! Google reviews make a huge difference for small businesses - it helps businesses show up when someone searches. If you've already left a review, thank you so much!
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- As a reminder, the clinic will be closed September 19 -29! My first day back in the clinic is September 30. Scheduling is always a bit tight in the week before and week after a vacation, so schedule ahead if you're on a treatment plan!
- Current patients taking herbs: the last day to pick up a refill of your herbs before the break is September 18! Reach out to set up an herb pick-up before then, or I can set up a Fullscript recommendation for you (if the formula is available there) before I leave, and you can order when it's convenient for you. Just let me know what you'd prefer!
- New patient appointment availability: The next new patient appointment availability will likely be in October, so make sure you sign up for the waitlist to be notified of any openings!
- As we head into cold season, please take a moment to look over the illness policy for the clinic!
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Late Summer & Chinese Medicine
Late Summer is one of my favorite times of year! In Chinese medicine, Late Summer is viewed as distinct from Summer and Fall, with its own element, organs, and health recommendations. I wrote a bit about the season and ways to incorporate some Earth-based health practices in your day-to-day in the blog - check it out here:
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Late Summer is related to the Earth element. As you might expect, when balanced, the Earth element is all about feeling grounded and secure, both physically and mentally. Mentally, this can include feeling centered, having healthy boundaries and empathy, feeling secure in our sense of Self, having a healthy relationship with food, and being able to give and take in a balanced way. Physically, the Earth element is tied to our digestion, appetite, and muscles...
One of the things that I think often gets missed about Chinese medicine is how seasonally focused it is! I love sharing a bit about each season's correspondences and some tips we can incorporate into our lives to match the season. But one of the easiest ways is just to start out by observing. What do you notice around you as the seasons change? Do you notice you feel differently, physically and/or mentally? Are new symptoms popping up, or do old symptoms change? All of this can be helpful information!
For example, in Late Summer, it's common for people to experience some digestive system changes, especially if the Earth element may be a bit unbalanced (more in the blog on that!). As we move into Fall, dryness and Lung concerns become more prominent. If you know these things have affected you in the past, you can be better prepared to take care of yourself in a proactive way, rather than just struggling each year!
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Currently:
- I've been making versions of this Chinese Tofu and Eggs dish a lot lately because it's quick and easy. Instead of mixing the sauce in the recipe, I use Bachan's Japanese BBQ Sauce (which I guess makes it Japanese Tofu and Eggs? or something) to speed up the process. If you scale it down to single servings, it's about 1/3 block of tofu, 1 egg, and about 3-4 Tbsp of liquid.
- I also have been making "quick pickles" lately - root veggies covered in a mixture of vinegar, water, sugar, and seasonings. I riffed on this Daikon Radish recipe (added carrot and garlic), as well as another batch with red radishes I found at the farmers' market. I also have some plans to ferment things soon!
- With the change in seasons, I've switched over to drinking black tea most of the time. Rishi Earl Grey has been my favorite lately, but I've also been drinking a lot of Glengettie black tea. I did a tea inventory recently and found a box, and I'm not sure why I stopped drinking it!
- Oliver Burkemann's "What if you're already on top of things?" is a lovely reminder that we deserve to exist on this planet regardless of how much we check off our to do lists. I am also a big fan of the idea of a "done list," where you keep a list of things you have completed each day, instead of what you think you need to do. I first read about the idea years ago from Esme Weijun Wang, an author who writes (among other things) about disability and creativity and productivity, and I use the idea all the time. Burkemann describes it like so:
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This is why I'm such an enthusiastic proponent of keeping a "done list", which starts empty, first thing in the morning, and which you then gradually fill with whatever you accomplish through the day. Each entry is a cheering reminder that you could, after all, have spent the day doing nothing constructive – yet look what you did instead! (If you're in a serious psychological rut, just lower the bar for what gets to count as an accomplishment: nobody else need ever know that you added "brushed teeth" or "made coffee" to the list.)
But a done list isn't merely a way to feel better about yourself. If you can give up the impossible quest to pay off your productivity debt, and instead start thinking of each day as an opportunity to move a small-but-meaningful set of items over to your done list, you'll find yourself making better choices about what to focus on.
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As always, please feel free to email me with any thoughts or questions!
Take care,
Kate
P.S. Don't forget, all subscribers have access to my Resource Library!
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