by Kellie Chambers, L.Ac.

Summer has begun! Nature’s Yang Qi is at its peak for the year.  As we look to nature, the trees’ leaves have grown and expanded, the sun is high in the sky and even the flowers begin to make room for the fruit.  It is the time to “gather ye rosebuds while ye may.”  These few months of summer are the absolute best (and easiest) time of year to take really good care of ourselves, gathering the bounty of summer’s qi, and preparing ourselves for the coming winter.  Here are some suggestions for optimizing the benefits of summer’s qi and creating an amazingly healthy year to come for you and your family:

  1. Summer is the season of Joy and it sounds like Laughter!  Laughter is some of the strongest medicine summer has to offer, so don’t take yourself too seriously.  In Chinese Medicine, The joy of summer is associated with the Heart.  Open your heart and find the deep love that lives in your relationships.  Your heart is ready to lead!
  2. Get out in the Sun and absorb some vitamin D–at least 45 minutes per day. Accessing summer’s qi regularly helps you to accumulate the stores you’ll need for the dark of winter.
  3. Begin to increase your physical activity and Sweat a bit more. Sweating allows the body to burn away excess toxins, and in this way is cleansing. Also, because of the abundance of sun and Yang Qi, there is more free energy available for engaging in fun activities.  Using the abundance of energy helps to establish a practice to facilitate a healthy winter.
  4. As the sun rises earlier and sets later in summer you may want to go to bed a little later. This is in accordance with the season, just remember to rise a little earlier as well, and take advantage of the abundance of the season’s sun, warmth, and fresh qi.
  5. As your Yang Qi starts to spread over your body, your internal body will gradually begin to cool down. During this time of the year, the surface of the earth is warm and when you step underground or into a tunnel it is very cool.  Our bodies mirror this same structure. Our Yang Qi moves toward the outside and we feel hot, however our internal organs are cool. Therefore, on a hot day you may not feel very hungry or you may thirst for cool drinks. However, throughout this season it is best to eat and drink warm or room temperature foods and beverages, like soups and easily digestible foods for harmonizing your internal body with your external environment. You may also eat or drink 2-3 slices of ginger after breakfast, as this really warms up the digestion for your day ahead, and helps keep your internal system warm.  If you do feel like having something cool to eat or drink, be gentle with this, so that you don’t shock your digestive system, and focus on lunch or an afternoon snack for this, as the Yang qi is most abundant at these times of day, and can help you to warm your insides back up.
  6. Currently the weather is variable, cool one day and hot the next.  It rains, then it dries out.  These changes confuse our body’s Wei Qi (Defensive Qi). To help to bring harmony back to the Wei Qi: When you feel warm, take off layers starting at the top (e.g. hat, jacket, long sleeves) and not from the bottom (e.g. socks, pants). When you feel cool warm yourself from the inside out with food and drink and healthy nutrition.  Finally, practice Ling Gui’s Pai Da Qigong, an excellent form to strengthen the “Qi soldiers,” for balancing your Wei Qi (Defensive Qi). Ling Gui’s Pai Da Qigong Practice
  7. Finally, with all this fresh qi available out there, we tend to think we are invincible. Remember in this season, that life is a balancing act.  We can really overdo it in the summer, and become injured or overtaxed, limiting what’s possible for the year. Seek balance while gathering the abundance of summer.  Be gentle on yourself and allow for the rest that you need as well as the nourishing Yin activities that really compliment the extra output all that yummy Yang Qi is asking of you. As Yang is at its peak, the seed of Yin is just beginning to grow, and like all seeds, it too needs encouragement and attention.  Finding this balance will help you to maintain the ability to continue with all the nourishing pursuits of summer, and set yourself up for an amazing year to come.

 Here’s to an abundance of joy, health, and lovely qi this summer!!!