Summer is the time when plants bloom and reach their full potential. It corresponds to the Fire Element where the yang energy is dominant, it is bright, warm, and activities and interactions are at their peak.
While in winter time, we are invited to nourish our health by resting and staying within. We reflect and explore questions like our purpose in life. What would I like for the coming year to happen? Who would I like to become?
The Heart is the main organ associated with the Fire Element and its associated season of summer. The Heart is referred to as the Emperor, is Yin in nature and its Yang pair is the Small Intestine. The Heart’s main function is to circulate oxygenated blood throughout the body. In Chinese Medicine, mental activity is also associated with the Heart. The Heart houses the Shen. The Shen is sometimes compared to our mind, but it is actually much deeper than that. The Shen includes our thought processes, memory, consciousness, intelligence and emotional well-being. And summer is the most appropriate time to cultivate and calm the Shen
Living through the Fire Element
In Summer time, we nourish our health by acting on these desires and purposes. The days are long and bright, and nature gives us the energy needed to realize the projects we’ve envisioned.
The spirit of the Heart, Shen, represents our ability to be our true self. It is that small seed that was created from the union of our parents and developed within us as a growing light along our life. When we are aligned with our true self, this light is reflected in our eyes and shines bright.
The Shen is the spirit of the Fire Element so it is especially important to cultivate our light during the Summer, the season of the Fire.
Summertime is an especially important time to nourish the connection with ourselves, our loved ones, and the world around us.
Connect with your Heart’s desires
Connection: Don’t stay alone! Make time to connect with friends and family. Because of the abundance of daylight and potential activities, this is a great time to make new friends and nourish old relationships.
Joy and Passion: Dance! Sing! Play! This is the time to use movement and self-expression to generate qi, and ultimately health.
When we feel connected to nature and our lives with a sense of joyful purpose, our Shen sparkles and we thrive. It’s when we’ve lost our connection to ourselves and the community around us that our Shen suffers.
When our Shen and inner light is disturbed, we can experience:
- insomnia, anxiety and palpitations
- lack of coherence in life
- no sense of purpose
- lack of inspiration
- hyperactivity and lack of center, restlessness and fatigue
Practices to support the health of your Fire element
- pause and listen to your heart
- practice Heart meditation
- drinking calming Rose tea
- practice awareness back into the body (notice your legs, abdomen, skin…)
- rise with the sun, and do gentle stretches
- acupressure: massage the point Heart 9 (the little fingernail)
- take the Rescue flower essences
- conversation: express yourself honestly and freely to those we care about and trust
- wear red or pink
Tea recipes that I love for Summer
Green tea with mint and lemon
Rose bud tea with ginger and lemon
If you’re feeling low or uninspired, like your inner energy is not at all aligned with summer time, acupuncture can help!