Health Tips
Staying Balanced In The Summer With Chinese Medicine
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By Gurneet M. Singh, Acupuncturist

One of the most important principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine is harmonious balance, which is best represented by the Chinese yin yang symbol. This symbol demonstrates how opposing and constantly changing qualities of ourselves and of nature interact with each other in order to create balance. Specifically, the yin represents quiet, slow, passive, timid, inward, cold, contracting, and intuitive qualities; while the yang symbolizes expressive, quick, energetic, aggressive, outward, hot, expanding, and logical elements.

In Chinese Medicine, the summer time is regarded as the most yang season of the year. Therefore, in order to stay in balance and remain healthy, it is essential to nourish your yin. Yin nourishing activities include relaxing activities that support your spirit, such as:

t'ai chi qi gong yoga
meditation prayer deep breathing
guided visual imagery walking bare foot in the grass taking a warm bath
writing painting sitting in the park or beach
reading for leisure gardening chanting mantras or affirmations
listening to your favorite music taking peaceful naps

Every day, try to include yin nourishing activities that allow your body to rest, rejuvenate, and harmonize itself. Balance is the key!

To learn more about staying balanced and Traditional Chinese Medicine, call 215-627-6279 to schedule an acupuncture visit with Triune's acupuncturist, Gurneet Singh, today!

Resources: Healing with Whole Foods by Paul Pitchford

 
Staying cool in the summer time with traditional chinese medicine!
By Gurneet Singh

During these hot days of the summer, we can cool off by making some refreshing changes to our diets. Some tips to stay coolÉ

  • Stay hydrated! A great rule of thumb of how much water to consume daily is to drink approximately ½ of your body weight in ounces.
  • Tasty, cooling fruits: apples, grapefruit, oranges, peaches, watermelon, pineapples, pears, bananas, persimmon, lemons, limes.
  • Vegetables: broccoli, celery, cucumber, lettuce, tomato, spinach, watercress.
  • Beans: navy beans, kidney beans, lima beans, mung bean, soybean
  • Spices: ginger, black pepper, cayenne, red hot pepper, green hot peppers, and horseradish. Spices initially create warmth in the body, but as the heat rises to the surface of your skin and you start to sweatÉthe overall affect is to cool you down!
  • Teas: using chrysanthemum, mint, and chamomile. Once again, the heat from the teas helps you sweat and cool off! Also, you could let the herbal tea cool off and refrigerate it, add a little honey and you have a healthy ice tea.
  • Grains: roasted barley, long grain brown rice.
  • Limit cold foods which weaken digestion. So, be careful about consuming too much ice cream or ice cold drinks!
  • Final tipÉ.It is best to eat light foods in small amounts frequently throughout the day to avoid feeling sluggish during hot days. Take advantage of the local farmer's markets and assortment of available fresh vegetables and fruits. Create beautiful, colorful meals!

To find out more ways that Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine can help you, visit www.lotus-healing.com and please call to schedule a COMPLIMENTARY consult or a discounted first visit with our acupuncturist, Gurneet Singh, R.Ac.

(Reference: Healing with Whole Foods, by Paul Pitchford)