Humans and all other organisms are consistently modifying and adjusting to survive, become more fit, and thrive.  Physical and behavioral traits evolve in response to stressors or rewards. In a world of increasing technology, transhumanism, augmented reality and artificial intelligence, we have grown increasingly disconnected from nature.  

I invite you to return to the dynamic and seasonal rhythm. In the slowing, you will find your true connection.  In stopping, you will find your way. Winter is the season to rest, restore and reconnect.  We may be uncomfortable in the stillness of this season, unable to settle.  We will have to remember our innate connection. Sometimes that means support.  Our adrenals have often been taxed in our efforts to adapt to a rapidly changing world. We may feel the burnout of caregiving, parenting, adulting, working.  Winter is the perfect season for adaptogenic herbs and mushrooms.  Read on to see the particular gift of each of these highly regarded supports.

Support your journey back to Source. Purchase the entire collection.

The Element Wisdom card decks are perfect to inspire healthy habits that are in harmony with the greater natural seasons. 73 unique messages provide guidance during each season as well as the transitional days around the solstices & equinoxes. 365 days of wisdom in 5 seasonal decks ~ water, wood, fire, earth, metal.

Water, Metal, Earth, Wood and Fire decks are in stock & available for purchase in the Square store.

At times we need supplemental support for our organs, seasonal or situational. Adaptogens support your body and mind back to homeostasis (dynamic balance). Their actions increase or decrease chemical reactions within your body related to stress. They act on the nervous system and the adrenals. Some of my favorite adaptogens are:

Ashwaganda to Soothe

Ashwagandha has over 4,000 years of traditional use in Ayurvedic medicine for improving energy and sleep, balancing hormones, supporting memory and learning, promoting libido, and anti-aging. Ashwagandha promotes calm. It has anti-inflammatory properties.  It boosts the immune system and can be helpful with arthritis and fertility challenges.

Rhodiola to Calm Spirit

Rhodiola extract helps promote a calm emotional state and supports strong mental performance, optimal immune function, and hormonal balance. It is a key adaptogen for reducing anxiety. It improves mental and physical stamina, improves sleep, and reduces stress, “burn out,” and irritability. It boosts the immune system, decreases the frequency of colds and infections, and reduces inflammation. It is used in the treatment of chronic fatigue syndrome as well as fibromyalgia.  It can be beneficial for poor appetite and as part of a treatment plan for chronic stress headaches.

Tulsi to Vitalize

Holy basil has been revered in India for over 5,000 years as an herb that calms the mind and spirit, and promotes longevity. In Ayurvedic medicine it is called Tulsi, which means “incomparable one.” It is used to improve energy and relieve fatigue, for its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant actions, and to lower blood glucose, triglycerides, and cholesterol. Holy basil may also protect the liver, helps with nicotine withdrawal, and elevates the mood, especially providing relief from mild depression. While this herb is related to common basil, it is a different species and common basil is not a substitute.

Siberian Ginseng to enhance Performance

Eleutherococcus is one of the most well-researched adaptogens. It is used to increase mental alertness and performance, enhance concentration and increase energy and stamina, reduce stress and fatigue, reduce dream-disrupted sleep and insomnia, and enhance immunity and improve detoxification. It is anabolic, which means it helps build muscle and prevents the breakdown of muscle as we age.

Reishi mushroom to Nourish

Reishi mushrooms are highly regarded in Chinese medicine to nourish andsupport adrenal function. While Reishi is best known for promoting health immunity, resistance to colds and infections, and reducing inflammation, Reishi also helps support the body’s natural abilities to detoxify from environmental exposures, and also calms the nervous system, promoting deeper, more relaxing and restorative sleep.

I recommend professional grade products.  Otherwise, we may end up with re-labeled, expired, counterfeit or adulterated supplements. Create or Log into your Fullscript account to access my on-line pharmacracy. 

You can click here to view my winter adrenal stress protocol. 

I help patients individualize this protocol and typically prescribe one of the following:

Book a telemedicine visit for a supplement review, seasonal wellness plan or naturopathic consult. 

Welcome Fall With Gong Therapy

Gillian Shapiro and Gong at Alberta Orchard Wellness

by Gillian Shapiro

Family Herbalist, Ayurvedic Health Counselor, Gong Therapy Practitioner, Kundalini Yoga and Meditation Instructor, Reiki Practitoner, GriefYogaTM Instructor

We have entered Fall season in the Western hemisphere, a season dominated by the vata dosha. Vata is one of the three doshas or constitutions according to the ancient science of Ayurveda, the sister science to Yoga which is over 5000 years old. The word “Ayurveda” means “science of life”. All of us are made up of a blend of the elements of fire, water, air, ether and earth. In Ayurveda. these elements are categorized into three doshas; namely, vata, pitta and kapha and we contain different proportions of the doshas in our physical, mental and emotional bodies. We’ll focus on vata due to the time of year. Vata is governed by the elements of air and space and is characterized by the qualities of light, dry, brittle, subtle, hard, rough, active, clear and cold. It governs movement. The colon is the main organ associated with vata. The auditory channel is the prominent sense, according to this ancient science, which leads me to the gong and its potential as an especially effective therapy given the time of year. If you are interested in determining your own dosha, follow the link to the online dosha questionnaire courtesy of my herbal mentor, Don Ollsin of Grassroots Herbalism: Dosha Questionnaire

Gillian Shapiro & Gong at Alberta Orchard Wellness

The gong, as a form of sound or sonic therapy, is a wonderful way to welcome this transition to Fall as the weather cools, days become shorter, and leaves dazzle us with their technicolor splendor.  The gong is a musical instrument but when played for meditation, it is used to facilitate health and vitality.

Everything is made up of vibration and the gong vibrates the cells in our bodies. In fact, we are made up of 70% water, meaning we conduct sound! Sound has the potential to profoundly transform us on a cellular level.

Among the variety of potential benefits of the gong are:

• A sense of security and grounding;
• Opening the higher chakras (energy centers); 
• Pain management (particularly migraines);
• Especially soothing for high vata constitutions, i.e., calming and unplugging the overactive mind, reducing anxiety, worry and overwhelm and relief for insomnia; 
• Encourages deep relaxation and a meditative state;
• Trauma and PTSD symptoms;
• Promotes emotional release when working through grief, by moving stuck energy, and breaking and releasing emotional and energetic blocks.

Gillian offers one hour gong therapy appointments at Alberta Orchard Wellness on Monday evenings  from 5-8 p.m. Please follow our two step process today to book your session for Fall.

Book Gong Therapy here and  Pre-pay for your session here or contact us if you need help booking via albertaorchard.com or drsaritaelizabeth.com.

The sounds are oftentimes magical and have been described as ethereal, cosmic, like being in outer space and also likened to ocean waves crashing over us.  The sounds can also be loud and intense, at times, to promote a deep release for the nervous system.

The gong activates the parasympathetic nervous system (also known as the “rest and digest” system), nourishing us energetically, thereby reducing stress and soothing the overly taxed sympathetic “fight or flight” nervous system that we tend to live in during these busy, stressful times.

A gong therapy session is a one-on-one private session, customized to your specific needs based on an intake questionnaire you complete at the beginning of the session.  A typical session lasts one hour and may also include breath work (pranayama), mantra, affirmations, stretching and/or mudras.

Gong therapy is an ideal companion to talk therapy, yoga/meditation, massage therapy, acupuncture, Reiki and many other modalities as well as conventional medical treatments.

The environment is safe, supportive, non-judgmental and soul nourishing.  No prior experience with Yoga, Ayurveda or the gong are necessary. Come with the intention to surrender to the waves of sound and vibration. Of course, everyone is invited to show up and participate when I offer gong baths, private sessions, classes or workshops around town that include the gong. Follow the “Beech Hills Wellness” page on Facebook to check out the schedule or email me at vegout.gillian@gmail.com to be added to our monthly newsletter to keep track of our wellness offerings.  Gillian

What inspired you to learn gong therapy?  I have loved the cosmic sounds and vibrations of the gong since I first experienced them in a yoga class in NYC, where I ultimately did my kundalini yoga teacher training. The gong’s ability to change our state of mind and our consciousness is so profound, as has been my experience. I initially learned to play the gong during a hands-on module of my teacher training that I specifically requested.  I simply could not get enough of this sacred instrument so I had to buy one when I moved to Alabama six+ years ago, where I actually had the space for it (unlike in my NYC apartment). From then on, I practiced and shared the gong’s amazingness with students in my yoga classes. I was called to go a step further and learn Gong Therapy to deepen my understanding of more specific healing protocols facilitated by the gong. Private sessions are unique in that way; I can play to a person’s specific body system, chakra or emotion that needs support.  

From Dr. Cox:

There is a lot of interest in sound healing from ancient Tibetan metal to New Age crystal bowls, from binaural beats (get a free download: https://free-binaural-beats.com/ ) to tuning forks, from to NASA recordings to Masuru Emoto’s photos of frozen sound portrayed in his The Hidden Messages from Water

For research regarding sound and resonance healing please visit the nonprofit, Sound Healing Research Foundation: https://soundhealingcenter.com/shrf/

Check out this Amazing 17 minute TEDx talk with Music Professor Anthony Holland with drug~less sound resonance healing with Cancer.

 https://video.search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?fr=yhs-iba-1&hsimp=yhs-1&hspart=iba&p=sound+healing+TED+anthony#id=1&vid=3c71874722106f1a4a78e402e62df285&action=click

Gillian offers one hour gong therapy appointments at Alberta Orchard Wellness on Monday evenings  from 5-8 p.m. Please follow our two step process today to experience sound healing this Fall!

Book Gong Therapy here and  Pre-pay for your session here or or contact us if you need help booking via visit albertaorchard.com or drsaritaelizabeth.com.

THE SEPARATOR OF PURE FROM IMPURE

            As most of the planet is enduring and even setting heat records during the peak of the fiery summer season, in the Southern U.S., we are experiencing an unseasonably cool period this week.  Here we continue with our seasonal theme of the fire element and the elemental organ system. The element of fire embodies the bright, light, energetic essence of yang. However, fire without the grounding influence of Earth easily flares out of control.  The 2nd century dictionary Shuowen jiezi defines the heart as an Earth element, predating the concept of Heart as Fire in the modern Five Element construct.  Anxiety, from the perspective of heart, is most effectively remedied with a counterbalance of downward energy and therapy to settle, calm, stabilize and return to its original nature of yin. Think ‘talking some one down off the cliff’, down time’, and even coming back ‘down to earth’.  The earth provides a multiplicity of glorious medicines for supporting our hearts like

HIBISCUS AND HAWTHORN

Click the link above to learn how modern research supports the use of these traditional plants in cardiovascular health by Dr Tori Hudson, ND

Take a couple of minutes and watch this video from Bennett Nurseries in Huntsville, Alabama about growing native hibiscus in Alabama! 

At Alberta Orchard Wellness, we have successfully grown Red Thai Rosella (Hibiscus sabdariffa)  last summer and Gongura (Hibiscus cannabinus) this summer in our hugelkulture mound. Both are edible and showy plants, requiring little water. From our gardens, we save and replant their seeds yearly as these Hibiscus varieties are annuals in our climate . These flowers may look familiar to you as they are in the mallow (Malvaceae) family, like okra and cotton, and thrive in similar climates. So if you already grow okra, also plant Hibiscus next time!

Supplemental HAWTHORNE is available online at fullscript, our electronic pharmacy, that delivers professional grade supplements directly to your doors (free shipping $50+). It just takes just a minute to create a new account or log into your existing account:

My favorite Hawthorne supplement is Wise Woman’s solid extract 

Small Intestine Meridian

The small intestine meridian is the yang meridian paired with the heart yin meridian.  Like the heart, the small intestine is also associated with the emotions of joy or agitation. The heart is responsible for almost all mental functions, including emotions, thoughts, consciousness, and sleep patterns. These mental and emotional activities rely on our ability to make sound judgments, which is controlled by the small intestine. The small intestine is where most of the physical nutrition of our food gets absorbed into our body.  Likewise, the small intestine asks you to be aware of what is surrounding you. What you are absorbing? What company do you keep? What nourishes you mentally, emotionally, and spiritually?

Much like references to the heart as an emotional organ, the small intestines are also referenced similarly, such as the common expressions of “having a gut feeling” or “butterflies in the stomach”, which indicate a mental and emotional connection.

The Small Intestine Meridian starts from the tip of the little finger and crosses the wrist. It runs up along the back side of the forearm up to the back of shoulder, traversing our “wings” or scapula then crossing the neck and cheek as it reaches the outer corner of the eye, finally ending at the ear.

Image Sourced from Traditional Chinese Medicine World Foundation

Examples of acupuncture/acupressure for the small intestine include:

SI17 – Tianrong – Tinnitus, deafness, sore throat, swelling and pain of the neck

SI16 – Sore throat, sudden loss of voice, pain and stiffness of the neck, tinnitus, deafness

SI15 – Jianzhongshu – Cough, asthma, shoulder and back pain

SI13 – Quyuan – Shoulder and scapular pain

SI12 – Bingfeng – Shoulder and scapular pain as well as aching and numbness in the upper extremities

Separator of the Pure from the Impure

As the small intestine is responsible for separating clear from turbid on a physiological level, it also governs the mental ability to separate what is right and wrong on a mental level.  Physiologically speaking, the small intestine

• Receives bile from the gallbladder, fluid from the pancreas which includes enzymes and enzyme precursors: anylase, nucleases and enzyme precursors, trypsinogen and chymotrypsinogen
• Breaks down and digests carbohydrates and proteins
• Converts fats to fatty acids
• Orders secretions from gall bladder and pancreas
• Kills microbes via lymph follicles
• Absorbs nutrients, vitamins and minerals, and water
• Moves digested food by peristalsis obtaining rhythm commands from the migrating motor complex and mediated by the Vegas nerve during parasympathy (rest and digest)

The small intestine sorts the pure from the impure

When the small intestine is injured with food poisonings or is compromised with low acid,  pharmaceutical acid blockers, weak sphincters, or chronic constipation, parasites may set up housekeeping and we become sick (SIBO). In other instances, the small intestine loses its ability to absorb when the microvilli fingers are flattened as in celiac disease.  Damage or decreased tone of the vagal nerve intervention of the small intestine can manifest as depression, PTSD (gut-brain axis mechanism), as well as inflammatory bowel disease. Hyper reactivity, increased histamine, and food allergies occur when intestinal permeability is present, increasing exposure and response to foreign particles during the digestion process. In my clinical practice, I find small intestine disease very often overlooked and under diagnosed as a culprit of digestive based physical, mental, and emotional symptoms.  So much so that I have categorized these as “mystery diseases” ~ patients still suffer after having been to loads of doctors and yet received no definitive diagnosis or successful treatments.

Ayurveda – Digestive Fire

In Ayurveda, the small intestine and stomach are ruled by the fire element ~ Pitta and is also known as the body’s digestive fire.  While it is the most well known ‘agni’, the digestive agni is just one of the 40 subtypes.  Angi is the divine intelligence present in each and every cell, every process in the body. Agni is any activity involving heat, light, transformation, transmutation, or conversion. Agni is the creative flame of intelligence. Agni is the spark of life, the sparkle in the eye, the light of the heart. The body’s ability to transform external items into fuel, energy and vitality depends on the health and balance of the digestive fire as it physically transforms the food into energy and power.

Keys to keeping your digestive fire healthy:

• Eat moderate amounts based on your constitution, mindfully
• Eat routinely with 90-240 minutes between meals to allow a complete cycle of the migrating motor complex 
• Eat fruit away from other foods
• Avoid cold drinks and minime water with meals to allow for best concentration of digestive enzymes and fluids
• Drink warm herbal teas like ginger, chamomile, peppermint, fennel tea to support digestion
• Eat in a relaxed state 
• Use digestive spices in cooking:  ginger, cardamom, cumin, fennel, cinnamon, turmeric and black pepper.
• Eat like a queen/king for breakfast, a prince/princess for lunch, and a pauper for dinner

Nauli Kriya – fire washing the intestines is an incredibly powerful practice to strengthen the digestive fire and release toxins and negative patterning to encourage unrestricted, natural movement of the internal organs. These videos break the exercise into basic steps that can be developed over time. Note:  not for use during pregnancy, with hernias or intestinal ulcers due to increased abdominal pressure. I have linked both a female and male example of the practice with slight variations that may work for you:

youtube.com/watch?v=wYYGj544mPEhow-to-do-nauli-kriya

youtube.com/watch?v=wYYGj544mPE

Three Levels of Sorting

The small intestine sorts on three levels: physically, mentally, and spiritually; 1) physically, it draws out the nutrients from the food we eat by separating the pure from the impure; 2) it mentally sorts the constant bombardment of our modern environment by eliminating aspects of life such as crime, violence, hatred, and aggression that cause our minds to be impure with negativity; 3) on a spiritual level, our small intestine sorts the deep and dark elements of life that overwhelm the essence of love and joy. The small intestine has the power to separate the goodness from the evil and nasty aspects of life.

FIRE OF THE HEART HEATS UP THE SMALL INTESTINES!

The Small Intestine is indirectly affected by emotions such as anger that causes Qi to stagnate. The fire of the heart heats up the small intestine and signs of excess heat in the small intestine include:

   Abdominal pain

   Small Intestine heat

   Tongue ulcers

   Scanty, dark, painful, or bloody urination

   Heated fluids

   Insomnia, mental restlessness, throat pain, thirst

   Sudden hearing loss

   Red tongue with a swollen red tip and a yellow coat

   Rapid pulse

SMALL INTESTINE DEFICIENCY AND COLD

   Abdominal Pain, relieved by warm and pressure

   Cold obstructing intestines

   Diarrhea

   Weak spleen yang

   Pale and scant urination

   Desire for warm liquids

   Pale tongue with a white coat

   Deep, slow, and weak pulse

SUPPORT YOUR Small Intestine BY TRYING BONE BROTH

Follow this link to a delicious bone broth recipe by Dr Allison Siebecker, ND

for her full text article about bone broth click here

Rich in nutrients, bone broth contains protein, cartilage (remove before cooking if SIBO), calcium and minerals. Our bodies easily digest bone broth, its yummy, and brings a calming and restorative energy to our homes and minds all while repairing our gut lining.

Try bone broth to support the small intestine