How to be Your Healthiest Self This Summer Through Traditional Chinese Medicine
Learn about what to eat, how to move your body, and how to cultivate balance using this ancient form of holistic medicine
We all have just experienced the miracle of the Summer Solstice that occurred on June 20th.
This day marks the first official day of summer. The sun reaches its peak in the sky and creates the longest day and shortest night in the Northern Hemisphere. All throughout history different cultures have celebrated this event as a spiritual connection between the amount of sunshine provided and the cycles of humanity.
Just as we observe in nature, life cycles in an out of itself. These celestial events remind us of how we too, cycle and regenerate, making room for growth, opportunity, new frequencies, and energy to flow toward and around us.
In Tradition Chinese Medicine (TCM), it has been studied extensively how this change in energy affects the human body and how if we can cultivate it, we can work towards improving our mind, body, and soul.
The Chinese culture observes holism in many different ways that differ from typical Western medicine. Scientists out of the West love to discount TCM as pseudoscience however, considering the practices and culture is hundreds of thousands of years older than that of the West, and they are currently leading the world in centenarians (people over 100 while factoring in population), I choose to believe that they are onto something.
Although the West considers the Summer Solstice the mark of Summer, TCM observes this day as a mark of changing seasonal energies.
The Yin and Yang of TCM sees the yin as dark and feminine, and the yang as light and masculine. Since this is the longest “day” of the year we experience a heightened amount of yang-fire energy. TCM explains how if we live our lives according to nature we are at our healthiest. This is the delicate balance of life.
As the summer brings an increase in light and yang energy, we find ourselves waking up earlier and staying out later. There is an increase in social activities and spontaneous activity which yields its own health benefits but can disturb others including sleep quantity and quality.
Being aware of these possible imbalances the summer can bring helps us tune- in and “tune up” our body, mind, and soul. A change in lifestyle habits or incorporating new ones will allow you to transition in this miraculous time to a new season and new you as you continue to grow in life.
The summertime is all about expansion, peak vitality, upwards movement, and engagement. Now is the time and your sign to start expanding your knowledge, start a new exercise that builds strength, work on that new project to move your goals forward, and go to that new café that opened around the corner from your house to be in the company of others.
TCM is all about fluidity, adaptation, and rhythm. There are several ways we can adjust our rhythm to the corresponding season through food, movement, and habits.
Things to Start Doing this Summer According to Traditional Chinese Medicine:
What To Eat According to the Organs of the Summer
During the summer it is all about the heart and the small intestine.
The Heart in TCM is not just the physical matter that pumps blood in our body but the house of our Shen (mind/spirit). When we nourish the Heart, we balance the spirit and bring ease to the mind. An unbalanced heart leads to insomnia, anxiety, and bad memory.
The Small Intestine governs the heart emotionally. When this organ is in balance we make better decisions, when it is out of balance we can experience abdominal pain and constipation.
To harmonize both these organs it is suggested to:
Eat breakfast between 7-9AM to optimize digestion
Eat slowly and mindfully
Drink lots of fluids throughout the day
Avoid eating late at night
Consume less alcohol, coffee, hot spices (cayenne, chili pepper oil), all spicy foods, refined carbohydrates, and excessive meat consumption
Consume more water, watermelon, green tea, endives, spinach, pineapple, apples, tangerine, oranges, pears, mint, barley, dill, cilantro, kiwi, lemon, yogurt, and cucumber.
AVOID ice cold beverages and foods including ice cream because it slows down digestion.
Read more about the science and benefits of eating slowly by clicking here.
2. Increase Your Social Presence IRL (in real life) (for my parents reading)
Remember summer is all about expansion so maybe now is the time to say yes to the friend who has been asking you to join Sunday brunch for months. Come out of your winter cocoon and allow your creative and social spirit guide you towards the things you like to do with others.
Here are some fun ideas you can do with friends, family, or any loved ones:
YOGA! What could be more expansive then literally opening up the parts of your body where stuck energy resides. Start your physical and spiritual journey with yoga with your significant other, a group of friends, or alone with your instructor. Nothing feels better then rolling out your mat under the shade of a big tree on a summer day and inhaling the smells of nature while doing something good for your body and soul. You can book a private, couple’s, or group yoga class with me here.
Buy a few small canvases and a couple paint colors from a local dollar store or Michael’s and have a creative girls day. You can hangout in an apartment with a bottle of wine and your favorite playlist or maybe go watch and paint the sunset together outside. Expanding your creative spirit always serves your soul well.
Learn to cook a new recipe with loved ones. Food has always been my favorite way to share my love for others. You can look up a fun new vegan summer salad recipe and listen to your favorite podcast while you and your significant other or friends have fun learning a new skill. Click here for a good summer salad recipe.
Start a Book Club! Expand your learning by starting to read a new book and make it a social activity by including others in the fun. You can hold weekly recap meetings that allow you to consider different points of views and have healthy debates on the context of the book you are reading.
Gardening can be a great exercise for you to do on your own or one that you can do with a parent or grandparent. It is always healthy to spend time with your family and gardening new flowers and vegetables with a loved one is a great way to feed the Earth and your souls.
3. Moving and Grooving
There is a reason why people gravitate towards bodies of water in the summer. To put out that fire energy of course. There are so many amazing ways you can get your body moving this summer that does not feel like redundant, boring forms of exercise. Like I mentioned before, nurturing the heart is a part of having a healthy summer so getting your heart pumping through fun activities is a gentle way to encourage healthy blood flow and live a longer, happier life.
Go for a swim! If you are lucky enough to live near a beach, opt for a fun day in the sun by maybe doing a quick yoga flow at sunrise and then a few laps and front stroke in the vast ocean. If you have a local pool or a family friend with a pool try to get into the water and do a mini workout that will feed the soul.
Try a Pilates class. My second love to yoga has to be Pilates. It is similar in its gentle movements but can be more challenging as it encourages a focus on your core. When you strengthen your core it feels as though your whole life changes because you grow stronger and your posture gets straighter. It is said that a straighter posture exudes more confidence in public settings. Try some of my favorite online Pilates classes here.
A walk in nature. Walks are such an underrated form of exercise. It is an incredible form of movement to nourish your mind, body, soul. Lookout for wild animals you may have never seen before and enjoy this gentle process of reconnecting to nature while also getting a light workout in.
Mental movement in meditation. I have said it here before there is nothing like a good meditation to start the day and clear your mind. A gentle way to restore balance, now is the time to slow down and process the emotions you have buried in your nocturnal, winter body. Release them gently through a 5-20 minute meditation and watch your thought patterns change with the season.
4. New Daily Habits You Can Try to Incorporate:
As we grow into our new state of being it is important to carry with us the lessons we have learned and prepare ourselves for the experiences to come. By reminding ourselves to be in the present moment, we can still expand into these new opportunities with new habits that will shape the next chapter of our life, and make it even better then before. Here are some simple habits you can try to start doing in your own life that may help improve a situation or habit you wish to leave behind in the previous cycle of your life.
Go to bed earlier. Our bodies have a circadian rhythm that it likes to follow to exist optimally. That includes resting at darkness and rising with the sun. So many of us want the experience of being amongst those who rise at 6AM and greet the day gloriously, however we fail when it comes to preparing for that new habit by not just simply going to bed earlier the night before. Try a nighttime routine if you struggle to fall asleep early so your body begins to recognize the pattern of when to rest. Aim for anytime between 10-11 PM.
Find time to play and feel childlike. We lose our innate curiosity and playfulness as we grow older but it is an important aspect to being human. Sometimes it might be fun to lose yourself in a fun board game, run around your backyard with your dog, draw and paint a funny picture, take up a new skill like learning an instrument or new language. Never lose your sense of wonder and excitement about life.
Incorporate more plants into your diet. Everyone craves the coolness of fruit in the summer be you mustn’t forget its neighbor the vegetable. When you make your morning smoothie with papaya and mango, throw a handful of spinach and swiss chard in there as well and watch as your body becomes more alive and you experience an infusion of energy from the crispness of fresh vegetables from Mother Earth.
The emotion associated with summer according to TCM is JOY. However you choose to define your joy, I hope you find it and use it to bring about an even better you.