Balance Blog
All Things Health, Wellness, and Chinese Medicine
Summer Damp-Heat: What It Is, How It Feels, and How to Beat It (TCM-Style!)
Struggling with summer sluggishness in Charleston’s heat? Learn how Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) helps clear damp-heat- a common pattern in hot, humid weather that can cause bloating, brain fog, skin flare-ups, and more. We break down the signs of damp-heat and share natural ways to treat it with acupuncture, Chinese herbs, essential oils, and at-home acupressure. Discover how to stay cool, clear, and energized all summer long!
Acupuncture Point Stomach 36: A Powerhouse for Health
Acupuncture point Stomach 36 (St36) is renowned in TCM for its powerful effects on the body's overall vitality and well-being. While all acupuncture points on the body promote healing, ST36 stands out for its wide range of health benefits. Learn more and enjoy a simple guide to performing a DIY treatment.
Summer Acupuncture for Winter Wellness
According to TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) theory, summer is the best season to nourish the body and treat winter diseases. Chinese Medicine proposes that we can harness the yang energy of summer to increase our immunity and vitality, come winter.
TCM, Summer + the Fire Element
In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), each season is associated with specific elements, organs, emotions, and health practices to maintain harmony and balance. Summer, governed by the Fire element, is a time of abundance, activity, and outward energy. Here’s how TCM approaches health during the toasty summer season!
TCM Food Therapy for Summer Wellness
Summer is just around the corner! Beach days, barbecues, and pool hangs are calling our name. The energy of the season is all about joy, connection, expansiveness, and fun. To enjoy the season to its fullest, TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine) teaches us how to live in harmony with the season and the feisty element of Fire. Food therapy plays a major role in how we can maintain good health year round!
Late Summer, the Earth Element + Chinese Medicine
In Chinese Medicine, we take seasonal changes as opportunities to better our health and prevent disease. Late Summer is the time to reinforce the vitality of the earth element.. Adjusting our qi with the flow of the seasons will help us cultivate balance, resiliency, and vibrant health throughout the year.
TCM Tips for a Healthy Summer
Things are warming up and we've got your TCM tips to help you enjoy a happy and healthy summer! The transition from Spring to Summer is represented by the wood element moving into the FIRE element. The new growth and budding energy of spring is now exploding into summer vibrance and abundance. Whether you thrive in the heat or want to melt away, self-care is essential this time of year.
Embrace the Earth Element
Chinese Medicine proposes that we will feel our best if we live according to the seasons. In late Summer, it is the Earth element that is the most active and also the most vulnerable. With appropriate diet and lifestyle adjustments, we can cultivate a healthy Earth element, a strong gut and optimal immunity.
The Spirit of the Small Intestine Acupuncture Channel
In Five Element theory, each of the five elements has a correlating season and organ system pair. For the Fire element, the season is Summer and the organ systems are the Heart and Small Intestine. Here, the spotlight is on the Small Intestine- a favorite channel used to clear summer-related heat and dampness, improve mental clarity, calm the spirit, and support digestion and gut health.
Summer Self-Care from a Chinese Medical Perspective
Summer is here! Whether you thrive in the heat or want to melt away, self-care is essential this time of year. The organ system related to the fire element is the heart, so our summer our wellness outine should support a healthy heart and circulatory system. As the heat turns up, here are our favorite ways to stay healthy!