Seasonal Health Tips

How To Support Your Nervous System During Dry January

January 09, 2025

Are you participating in a New Year’s group health challenge like Dry January? There’s also Sugar Free January and even Phone Free February. We all turn to things which help us cope in the moment- they give us a short term escape. If you’re tired of the way these quick fixes make you feel and are looking to make some changes, here are some tips for success:

Get Support

This is part of being kind to yourself: it can really impact your chances of success (whatever that means to you) when you have someone to call on during a particularly rough moment, or just to discuss how things are going, sharing the highs and the lows. This could be a friend, family member or mental health professional.

Make a Plan

First off, be clear about your goals. Is it to completely eliminate alcohol/sugar/tech addiction? Is it to stop turning to it during particular times? What is your definition of success in making this effort? Only you can answer that.

Second, make a plan for replacing the bad habit with something else, and make it specific and easy to do. Meditation, exercise, drinking a cup of tea, reading or journaling, or picking up phone to call a friend or relative are just a few ideas.

Acupuncture

Because acupuncture is fantastic for normalizing the functioning of the nervous system, once you have a plan in place it can create a bridge to facilitate adopting those healthier habits. Acupuncture has been shown to increase parasympathetic nervous system activity (think: rest and digest) and release endorphins. At the same time it reduces inappropriate levels of sympathetic nervous system activity (the fight or flight one) and the resulting stress hormone production (adrenaline).

In our clinic we look at what stands out about your symptoms and try to connect the dots, formulating a “pattern diagnosis” and choosing the most appropriate acupuncture points from there. We often teach our patients acupressure points to continue the progress at home, and love giving acupressure stickers on the body or ears which can be left in place for 3-4 days.

Herbs

The practitioners at our office are trained herbalists and can recommend a personalized herbal formula to help your body in this state of transition. One formula we turn to often is Xiao Yao San which is also called Free and Easy Wanderer. It regulates Liver Qi, nourishes the blood and support digestion. Many herbal formulas can safely be taken for 1-3 months so once Dry January is over, continuing with herbs can make it easier to maintain the momentum you’ve built around lifestyle changes.

Teas

We recommend teas such as chamomile, lavender, and mint to help calm your body and mind. Overall, the best tea for relaxation is your favorite tea :-). Make it a ritual that feels good to you, as it’s often more about the entire experience rather than purely the substance itself.

Heat Therapy In Chinese Medicine

December 17, 2021

Heat is an essential component of the therapeutic recommendations of Chinese Medicine. In order for our bodies to function optimally, we need warmth and proper circulation. Without it, cold sets in and circulation becomes sluggish. Whenever I meet a patient with signs of internal cold, I recommend a variety of ways they can build heat (also called yang energy) to feel better. Read more

Living With the Seasons: Spring and the Wood Element

April 12, 2021

Each of the 5 elements in Traditional Chinese Medicine has an associated season, organ, color, flavor and even emotion. You can live in greater harmony with the natural world by learning a little about each season, and it becomes easier to notice the connections between what you’re feeling and what’s going on in nature.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, the Wood element is associated with the Liver and Gallbladder organs and springtime.

Wood possesses qualities of movement and growth, new ideas, creativity and inspiration.

Signs your Wood Element is balanced:

– You are feeling creative, inspired and excited to start new projects and do a little planning for the future
– Your muscles feel relaxed and you’re feeling loose and flexible. Emotionally, you’re also relaxed and flexible, and the little things aren’t irritating you Read more

Late Summer and The Earth Element: Seasonal Wellness

September 03, 2020

Knowing a little about Late Summer and its associated Earth element can help you to optimize your health this time of year and ensure you’re in harmony with the season. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, there are actually 5 seasons and 5 elements:

Autumn (metal)
Winter (water)
Spring (wood)
Summer (fire)
Late Summer (earth)

Each season and element has its associated emotions, temperature, organs, flavor and even color. We’re now entering the season of Late Summer, which belongs to the Earth element. Late summer begins mid-August and goes until the Autumn Equinox on September 22nd.

Qualities of Late Summer and the Earth Element:

One Small Change That Could Make Mornings More Relaxing

September 13, 2016

Calling all smartphone addicts: do you wish your mornings felt more relaxed and less rushed? I’ve recently made a small shift that has helped me dramatically- and truly anyone can do it. *If you’re one of the lucky few who doesn’t consider yourself addicted to your smartphone, you can stop reading now- the following tip won’t apply to you.*

On a typical morning, I would wake up via my smartphone’s alarm clock. Then of course I immediately checked email, social media, the weather, the news, etc. Before I knew it, on some mornings anywhere from 20 to 40 minutes had passed. Then I realized I was running late and felt rushed, not to mention stressed out at all the emails and generally depressing news I had just read.

Something had to change. It was a terrible way to start my day.

So, I moved my cell phone charger to the kitchen, and got a good old fashioned battery-powered alarm clock. The change has been huge. Imagine waking up and actually being able to check in with your body for a moment, stretching and breathing. Instead of thinking about the email that was sent to you at 4 am from a needlessly freaked out coworker, you’re thinking about what you’d like for breakfast or your goals for the day. You might even use that extra 20 minutes to go for a quick jog.

Since moving my phone charger to the kitchen, it feels a little less urgent to look at my phone even when I am up and out of bed. I’m doing a lot more before work that makes that time feel like it belongs to me, and what I do with my time feels like a much more purposeful choice.

If you’re someone who starts your mornings with smartphone time, I encourage you to ask yourself if you’re prioritizing activities that make you feel the way you want to. For some people that really might be emails and social media, which is fine. However I think for a lot of us, it’s exercise, preparing a healthy lunch or time for connection with your roommates or family members that really sets the tone for the rest of the day.

Would things shift for you if you simply moved your phone charger?

Posts Categorized: Seasonal Health Tips