Keys4Healing Essence

  Eating for Summer: Staying Cool Without Weakening Digestion In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), summer is the season of  Fire —associated with the  Heart , the  Small Intestine , and the outward expression of joy. It’s a time of growth, movement, and social activity. But the same fire that brings vitality can also overheat the system, especially if we’re not mindful of what we eat and drink. TCM encourages seasonal eating not through hard rules, but through balance. In summer, this means cooling the body without damaging the digestion. One of the first instincts in hot weather is to reach for cold drinks and raw foods. And while that can feel satisfying in the moment, TCM offers a more nuanced view. Cold foods and drinks may temporarily reduce body temperature, but they also inhibit the  Spleen and Stomach Qi —the very organs responsible for transforming food into energy. If these become weakened, we may experience bloating, fatigue, loose stools, or even p...

Ground Your Emotions with Summer Energy Summer is the season of the Heart—full of warmth, joy, and expansive energy. But when that energy becomes too scattered, it can lead to restlessness, anxiety, or even burnout. Here’s a simple self-healing Qigong technique to help ground your emotions and bring your energy back to center:  Interlace your fingers and gently massage your stomach around the navel in a clockwise, circular motion. Start from the right side (near the liver) and move across and down—just like the natural flow of your digestive energy. This practice helps:  Calm the mind and heart  Aid digestion after big meals  Anchor your Qi and emotional energy in the lower Dan Tian Make it part of your summer routine to stay grounded, centered, and in harmony with the season’s fire. Many Blessings, Chunyi Lin

It’s been called the monkey mind — the endless chattering in your head as you jump from thought to thought while you daydream, analyze your relationships, or worry over the future. Eventually, you start to feel like your thoughts are spinning in circles, and you’re left totally confused. One way to tame this wild creature in your head is through meditation. Although the paradox is that when you clear your mind for meditation, you actually invite the monkey in your mind to play. This is when you are given the opportunity to tame this mental beast by moving beyond thought — to become aware of a thought rather than thinking a thought. The difference is subtle but significant. When you are aware of your thoughts, you can let your thoughts rise and float away without letting them pull you in different directions. Being able to concentrate is one of the tools that allows you to slow down your thought process and focus on observing your thoughts. To develop your concentration, you may want t...