Spring Has Sprung!

For most of us, our concept of seasonal timing is way off. Unless you are a gardener, work with plants, farmer or otherwise spending your days outside, it probably feels quite early for Spring.

February 1st, 2018 marked the midway point between Winter Solstice and Spring Equinox. While both the Solstice and Equinox are thought to be the beginnings of their respective seasons, they are the height of their respective seasons. Really we look to the Lunar New Year as the Spring festival which was February 16th this year. 

The energy of the Spring is a huge shift from winter and no matter where you live the light is changing and so is nature. It is one of the most important seasons in terms of tuning in to pay attention to the needs and requests of your body, mind and spirit. 

In Chinese Medicine the Spring connects with the Wood element which connects to the Liver & Gall Bladder. The wood element is a lot about rigidity vs. flexibility, expansion and inspiration. Since the Liver is our biggest filter it helps to process all the good and bad we take in. Physically it helps us process toxins, supplements, alcohol, and all of the emotions. 

BODY - Your body craves flexibility in the spring. It can be hard if you are out of balance to get into stretching, but start a yoga practice today. Hip openers, can be wonderful to open up the Liver channel which runs from your big toe up into your groin and your rib cage. Working on stretching the outward side body is additionally helpful as the Gall Bladder has much to do with symptoms of tight IT bands, temple headaches, shortening of the torso and much neck & shoulder tension. Adding in some lemon water to your morning routine, herbs for the Liver and sour can help ease stress and add flexibility into your tendons. The Liver also does very will with spring bitter greens such as dandelion. 

MIND - When you are health the spring feels joyous and like a great time to get creative, you will dive in and start a garden or an art project. It's a great time to sign up for a course or start training for an athletic event. However, if you are depleted or overwhelmed the Spring can be a very difficult time for your. Mental stress is the most common way that people are out of balance. In Chinese medicine this mental stress is most often seen as Liver Qi Stagnation. Usually this leads to feelings of irritability and anger, and a short frustrated fuse. Using this time to expand your mindset can be deeply rewarding if you start a mindfulness practice and meditate, even 5 minutes a day.

SPIRIT - As mentioned above your mind will be delighted if you act on any inspiration that you have. A healthy Liver is not only full of ideas, but also uses energy to express them and communicate them outwardly to the world. 

They tried to bury us. They didn't know we were seeds. - Mexican proverb

If you took downtime and looked inward during the winter, the spring is a great time to make a leap forward on anything that came to mind. Often things that have been simmering in your subconscious come to light during the spring and can become even more fully expressed during the summer. It is a time that you might have vivid dreams, pay attention to them as that is often where you are processing the goings of each day as well as gaining insight to who you are and what work you are ready to do in the world. 

For a more in-depth look at your specific body and what you might need this season - join Emerge, a Spring Women's Circle. It's all virtual and it's beginning March 28th!

2018 Yang Earth Dog

2018 brings in the year of the Yang Earth Dog.

February 16th marks the beginning of the Lunar New Year which also marks the changing of the seasons. We are shifting from the dormancy of Winter to the upbeat energy of Spring. 

First let's talk about the Yang. There is Yin and Yang which are opposite, interdependent, transform into one another. Yang is the balancer to Yin and vice versa. Yang is light, energy, movement, action. Yin is darkness, rest, stillness and flow. 

Next, Earth is one of five elements. Earth is as it sounds. Very much grounded, peaceful, still. Earth connects to the Spleen and Stomach. This means that the element is connected to digestion, our muscles, rumination and thought. When the earth element is balance we see people being thoughtful, attentive, connected and grounded. When the earth element is out of balance we see people worried, anxious, with poor digestion and brain fog. 

This year with the earth element being in force we are all prone to both the balancing aspects and the imbalances of earth. It will be extra important to exercise, eat well, avoid foods that can be damp in nature. The most prominent damp foods are things with sugar, dairy, greasy or alcohol. 

The year of the dog comes once every 12 years. The dog is sweet, loyal, kind who values routine and justice. The dog can also be obsessive, overprotective and anxious when they are out of their routine or feel that something is unjust.

Dogs want what they want, when they want it. Yet when they are loyal to someone they are willing to forgive them over and over again. Dogs love their packs and can thrive in community. However they can be prone to groupthink and losing themselves amidst certain ideals. This year one of the biggest themes we will see is division between packs or groups. Many people will be aligning with community with a similar mindset and who feels aligned in regards to how one person things. It is important if you are part of a community to keep coming back to why you joined. If the community is no longer aligned with your goals and values it is important to split off from the pack. This will feel harder in 2018 with the nature of the year pushing us towards groups.

For more detailed information check out The Scholar Sage + Lillian Pearl Bridges

Justice in January

“We who engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive. Injustice must be exposed, with all the tension its exposure creates, to the light of human conscience at the air of national opinion before it can be cured.”

— MLK Jr. Letter from a Birmingham jail 1963 ​

The health and wellness world often veers away from tough and political topics. Because there is a notion that tough topics cause tension. In the healing and wellness world must not do anything to aggravate tension. In fact, as a wellness practitioner we are looking to significantly reduce tension. As with our political tensions, we hold physical tensions in our bodies, as MLK Jr. says this tension is merely bringing to surface a hidden tension that is already alive.

Companies that make money promoting health and wellness do not want to appear partisan or too radical. However, when we ignore the radical, we are ignoring the root.

The term radical often has a cultural understanding of extreme or 'out there'. If someone identifies or acts radically it appears to be away from representing the middle. But the etymology of the word suggests otherwise. Radical is similar to radish and the meaning of the word means "of or having roots". In a political sense it means "change from the roots.". Change from the roots, doesn't that sound powerful?

If a plant has a disease on it's leaves, can we treat only the leaves with a simple spray and cure the disease? Or are we simply masking the symptoms or tension while ignoring what may be at the roots?

This is important because in Chinese medicine we are always seeking the root cause. Yes, one patient may have headaches - and maybe there is a simple Chinese medicine diagnosis like... Liver Qi Stagnation (basically stress). But WHY do they have the headaches? WHY do they have the stress? Perhaps they are eating a food that causes a chemical stress reaction which causes the headaches. Or perhaps they are deeply unhappy with a job and that brings stress which brings a headache. 

However, we are doing a disservice to all when we are not able to have an open discussion with someone we do not agree with.

I am a firm believer in tough conversations at the right time. We can obviously always push off a tough conversation... with the reasoning of it not being the right time. That's not what I mean. Both parties have to be willing enough to be there to sit, and talk and listen in whatever form this conversation needs to happen. Even ending with the same thoughts, opinions and feelings the act of coming together to hear one another out is a form of healing. 

Tough conversations can be messy, painful and very uncomfortable. Practice that. Practice sitting with what is messy, painful and very uncomfortable. When you need breaks, take breaks. When it's absolutely not the right time, don't do it. When you regress and cannot put yourself in that situation, let yourself regress. Then, when you're ready enough, time and time again, keep showing up. It's Winter, it's time to do the shadow work, dig in and let the messy, dark, painful, uncomfortable happen. 

“First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Council-er or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to “order” than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: “I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action”; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man’s freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a “more convenient season.” Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.”

— MLK Jr. Letter from a Birmingham jail

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Reposted through Women Empower www.allgirlsempower.com

Self Care under Fire

Here in Northern California we are facing incredible amounts of wildfires which have devastated Napa and Sonoma Counties and are greatly affecting the surrounding areas. 

Here are some ways to care for yourself with herbs, nutrition and ways to care for those affected.

SELF - CARE

Get a mask - N95 or P100 - this category of mask will block out the size of particulate that is in the air. Most bay area stores are completely out. Order online to get shipped ASAP. If anyone has a better suggestion, I'd love to know how to get a mask faster. 

Get an air purifier. These fires could be out soon, but there will be residual particulate in the air that can affect you and your Lungs. There are all types, but the best according to The Sweethome is The Conway - linked here for $230 on Amazon. Higher end or budget pick listed on this post by The Sweethome.

Support your Lungs with Nutrition - the Lungs are a crucial part of our immune system and they are greatly supported by our digestion. 

To eat

• some sour flavors - with this dryness, our Lungs need support keeping moist. Sour helps to astringe moisture - citrus is one of the easiest ways to get sour. 
• some pungent flavors - radish, onion, garlic, ginger - this can help dispel toxins that are accumulating in the Lungs. 
• pears - are a superfood for the Lungs - AND they are in season - they help to moisten the lungs. Eat raw or make poached pears. Here is a great recipe with some seasonal spices.
• white unprocessed foods - pears, apples, onion, garlic, white rice, white sesame seeds, lotus root, lily bulb - all of these have medicinal effect in Chinese medicine specifically to support the Lungs
• warm cooked foods - support your digestion with soups
• fermented foods - eat fermented to support your gut health which in turn supports your immune system

To limit / avoid - 

• sugar
• dairy
• refined foods

Herbs

cordyceps - Root and Bones has a great product but is sold out at the time of this post. You can search on google. Mountain Rose herbs is a great supplier.  Or check with your local herb store.

• SF - Rainbow Grocery or The Scarlet Sage
• Oakland - Five Flavors Herbs or Homestead Apothecary
• Berkeley - Lhasa Kharnak

If you are having specific symptoms I recommend you check in with an herbalist or acupuncturist to create an herbal formula specific to your needs. I provide herbal consults. If you are interested you can sign up here. Or contact me for more details. 

How to Help

There are a lot of people to help right now and ways. There are options, do what you can with what you can.

With your dollars

Community Foundation of Napa County

Napa & Sonoma County Fire Relief

The Milo Foundation - their animal sanctuary was evacuated and they need dog food, cat food, cat litter, dog and cat bowls, financial donations, foster families and more. 

With your time

Foster an animal through The Milo Foundation or Hopalong

Bring Supplies

SO many medical offices, small businesses are taking donations and collecting them to send up. Check in with your community and see where you can bring helpful supplies!

I will do my best to update this list as things move forward. 

Healing Hurts - Charlottesville

“Wounds don’t heal the way you want them to, they heal the way they need to. It takes time for wounds to fade into scars. It takes time for the process of healing to take place. Give yourself that time. Give yourself that grace. Be gentle with your wounds. Be gentle with your heart. YOU DESERVE THAT.”

— Dele Olanubi

The tragedy in Charlottesville is a sharp reminder that there are so many hard edges, so much hate, so much scarcity, so much fear, so much division in our America. It has been a struggle to for me to find the right words and to take the right action. I spent time this week posting and reposting the work of many incredible people I follow who have been advocating for a world without white supremacy that unites to take action against hate.

As a healer, in my struggle to find words I have done what I know how to do, examining America as a living, breathing, heart beating body. Upon examination, I see our political system as broken limbs and our leader as a head completely detached from any symptoms of pain. I see America's heart as broken, like two charms separated into two pieces with a zig zag down the middle. Our continuous struggle to mend the broken heart charms but separation, scarcity, fear, otherness getting in the way. 

I have been thinking about healing the body, the thing I know how to do for myself, the thing I know how to help others do. If America were my patient what would I do?

Charlottesville is a gaping wound. The wound is deep, gushing, threatening the lifespan America's body. It is raw, exposed and bleeding out. We need help to save us. 

I have been struggling to find the right words. How to fight, how to heal, how to stay soft but firm. How do we heal this wound in time? What if time runs out? What if the pulse stops, there is no more breath in our country? How do we move forward in the midst of hate of close minded white supremacists, when our country was founded by people who had the same oppressive values? 

America has changed, healed and evolved since it was founded. But these old wounds are re-surfacing and coming to a head. It's painful, it's frightening and it needs to come out so that we keep talking about it. I know what I would say if America was my patient. I would say "better out than in." This does not mean that I support acts of violence or that I am rooting for my patient to experience pain. It means that when things lie dormant, under the surface they can be more dangerous, more powerful than when they are exposed and visible. As a practitioner when I see things come to the surface and show as symptoms, they are finally treatable. 

Let us keep hope as these terrifying and horrible actions surface that we continue conversations that need to happen. Let us see the symptoms and TAKE ACTION to treat what is happening. 

Resources are listed below. Please please please take the time to check them out. 

RESOURCES:

Want to be a white ally but need help? Join & support Safety Pin Box

BUSTLE - How to Help Victims of Charlottesville RIGHT NOW

Tema Okun on how to end White Supremacy Culture in Organizations

"This is a list of characteristics of white supremacy culture that show up in our organizations. Culture is powerful precisely because it is so present and at the same time so very difficult to name or identify. The characteristics listed below are damaging because they are used as norms and standards without being proactively named or chosen by the group. They are damaging because they promote white supremacy thinking. Because we all live in a white supremacy culture, these characteristics show up in the attitudes and behaviors of all of us – people of color and white people. Therefore, these attitudes and behaviors can show up in any group or organization, whether it is white-led or predominantly white or people of color-led or predominantly people of color."

Put your money towards businesses owned by POC, Women, LGBTQ and other minority groups. Our country runs on money and money deeply expresses our values. Not only spending your money but also following these people and reading their posts are an incredible way to support the America you want to live in. 

Late Summer Wellness

It’s August ya’ll and we are in the secret FIFTH season! Did you know there are actually five seasons. What else could there be besides the Spring, Summer, Fall, and Winter?

In Chinese medicine we have a very short and VERY important fifth season. For you it just blends in between summer and fall, but LATE Summer is actually it’s own thing.

Late summer has organ pairings – it’s own emotional symptoms – physical symptoms AND ways to take care of yourself through the shifting weirdness.

If you are starting to feel…

… a bit more worried, or just beginning to have your eye on the fall… yup, late summer shifts from freeform joy of experience into a bit more method and rhythm

…hmmm, maybe some digestion issues – definitely late summer. It’s season of the Stomach and Spleen, your digestive rulers.

…a bit more needy, wanting more touch, cuddles, and closeness… yup, that’s late summer too.

…cravings for sweet. Yum ice cream! Yes chocolate! Yay cookies! Sugar, sugar, sugar!

To have a healthy season...

…slow your roll from the fast pace, expansive, fun fun fun, go go go rhthym of pure summer. I mean it, literally, slow your roll. Schedule a little less, start to hibernate a tiny bit more and just slow down.

…start eating more warm & cooked food. Seriously. Summer it’s ok to go ham on the sushi and watermelon but late summer wants some digestive love. Eat more cooked foods.

…get a massage. Ahhh, you know the neediness, the touch? That’s your Spleen, it connects to your muscles and if you are deficient a massage can be the perfect way to give your Spleen the late summer self care it needs.

…ah, ok sugar. Sugar, sugar, sugar. Time to work on digestion, microbiome and a balanced nutritional intake.

To grasp this season a little bit deeper, reflect and get a delicious Late Summer recipe - consider checking out this Late Summer ebook

Goodbye to All That, on Loving and Leaving a Clinic

This was an essay I wrote as I am saying goodbye to the Clinic I have worked at for 4 years, owned for 2.5 and given thousands of acupuncture treatments to hundreds of people. The end is bittersweet and marks the beginning of a full launch into Well in the West. 

Inspired by Joan Didion’s  - Goodbye to All That, on Loving and Leaving New York.

“It is easy to see the beginnings of things, and harder to see the ends.” - Joan Didion

I remember the first time I found Service Workers’ Acupuncture Project on Yelp. It was a block from my apartment and treatments were done in a group setting. It was different from other community style clinics because there were massage tables instead of chairs. I had a background in community acupuncture, which usually means 5-10 recliners in a room. SWAP stood out because it had an intimacy I hadn’t seen in other group acupuncture clinics.

When I first introduced myself to Holly, the owner of SWAP, I said ‘Of the many community clinics that are now available in San Francisco, your clinic seems to align with many values that I have in my own life and practice.’ We made a lunch date, we chatted. She thought about how to incorporate me into her business and it happened easily, one baby step at a time.

My introduction sentence to Holly is still true now. This clinic, Service Workers Acupuncture Project is the most aligned with many values that I have in my own life and practice. It has been really important to keep the acupuncture affordable. It has been really important to keep acupuncture in a group setting. It has been really important to me to have space for loved ones to come get treatment together.

I have treated spouses, parents and children, best friends, business partners, on the tables next one another. The quiet exchange of glances that loved ones have as they come out of an acupuncture treatment is incredibly precious. It’s a fleeting moment of peace and connection. I can see how incredible it is to transform alongside someone you love. To somehow mend your heart a little bit, or walk away with a little less pain.  The love that emanates from people after an acupuncture treatment is almost tangible. It radiates exponentially more when the people in the room already have love for one another.

Over the past four years I have been able to celebrate with patients. It has always been a victory to fend off cancer for another year, to celebrate a pregnancy or birth. I have stood alongside people as they have quit their jobs or marriages, traveled the world, gotten their dream jobs, battled cancer and graduated school all while taking some time to get some acupuncture. I have also shared sorrow with patients as they have lost their parents, friends and colleagues, and for me, this year as I lost my dad. Celebrations and sorrows are focal points in the clinic. Together we mark growth, pain, and the passing of time.

I am lucky. Because, on a daily basis, I get to share in incredibly tender human moments. It is truly an honor to be an acupuncturist, to see these changes big and small, life changing, earth shattering. It reminds me that we all go through this. We are all on this ride together.

It has been an incredibly challenging decision to leave all that 513 Valencia has held for me, for us, and our time together. However, I am excited to make a bigger impact with Chinese medicine, and all the human tenderness that happens on a daily basis. I will be focusing most of my time on Well in the West’s new Seasonal Health Coaching program. It will be launching in the fall.

I will still be seeing patients privately in my home in Berkeley for now. And if you want to keep in touch on what treatment options, education I am offering, please hop on the newsletter for Well in the West. I will sometimes bare my soul, and sometimes give you recipes. It all goes together.

With great love & tenderness for all your healing,

Lauren Kaneko-Jones

Emerging into Spring

Last spring I had a huge emergence out of the vulnerability closet. I got engaged. Then I wrote about the complexities of engagement for me and the post got shared far and wide. It was scary to be exposed in that way.

The end of the summer I had a hard time maintaining the moment of Spring and as I began to get myself back into the grooves with back to school vibes of fall, my dad died.

Fall and winter were dark for me. (They are for everyone even without a recent loss.) The natural patterns of these seasons are looking inward and into places we have not looked at all year.

During Fall, the season was swallowed in the grief and logistics of a loved ones death. The Winter was welcomed as a time to hibernate, rest, take deep self-care and recover. To top it off I was dealing with the intense grief of losing my father paired with the ever present adrenal fatigue. 

But life goes on, and the darkness descends back into itself and life emerges again into Spring.

emerge definition: /əˈmərj/ verb 

1. to become manifest : become known
2. become apparent or prominent.
3. recover from or survive a difficult situation.

For me, the third definition resonates so deeply: 3. recover from or survive a difficult situation.

Now that Spring is here, I am ready to grow and move forward. I have to admit, it is fucking scary to recover and survive the death of my father. I can tell that this Spring I am experiencing immense growth. Simultaneously I am honoring that the whole world is new and raw without the presence of my dad's protection.

I look forward to this season of growth. I am curious to explore the recovery period of this season. And always, always looking forward to what emerges this year.