How did you come to know and love tea?

I grew up with a mom who always created an herb garden wherever she has lived and helped me develop a taste for herbal brews early on starting with spearmint sun tea and catnip.I learned so much about tea in the town I lived for medical school – Portland, Oregon. They actually have tea shops and tea shops within Chinese gardens. My Chinese Medicine teachers always packed their traveling suitcases with tea and spices. The ah too true joke with them is that packaged teas that we drink in this country are the sweepings off the factory floors from their country. I choose bulk tea from high quality vendors and use a tea pot with strainer or french press.  I add hot water until the liquid is near to colorless. Any extra tea can be stored in the fridge for 3-4 days.

What is your favorite tea or tea blend for Winter?
My go to winter tea is chai or a spiced bone broth

Click to learn how to free the medicine in leaves, roots, barks and berries in this week’s Cultivating Wellness blog http://drsaritaelizabeth.com/brewing-teas-free-their-medi…/

Below is an easy Bone Broth preparation for you to enjoy.

Simple Slow Cooker Bone Broth

Crockpot, Pruning shears, Ladle, Skimmer, Mesh strainer, Freezer containers

Instructions

Fill crockpot ¾ of the way full with bones. Add dried spices/herbs. Add salt/seaweed. Add vinegar/lemon juice. Add just enough filtered water to cover the bones. Cook on low 18-72 hours

Add vegetables, skins/ends/stems at any time during the cooking process. Skim fat/gelatin and retain for later use. Fill containers with broth. Freeze for later use.

Soup = cooking liquid for gains, vegetable simmers, tea, gravy

Five Element Analysis

Soups, especially broths are Water Element nourishment. Each type bone directs the energy to more specific Elements

Pork, Deer, Turkey or Duck to Water to nourish the Kidney, Bladder & Adrenals

Chicken to Wood to nourish Liver & Gallbladder

Beef to Earth (and Water) to nourish Stomach, Spleen & Pancreas as well as Kidney, Bladder & Adrenals

The epithelial cells lining the small intestine turnover every 2-3 days

The epidermal cells of the skin change every 29-45 days

Red blood cells are replaced every 120 days and then recycled

Hepatic cells are exchanged between seasons up to one year

Adipose fat cells are replaced around every 8 years

Skeletal muscle cells turnover about every 15 years

Cardiomyocytes heart muscle cells are made new around 40 years

Neural cells don’t turnover after birth, but we can certainly re-wire them.

Do these numbers clarify that we can most certainly change our health to the good? 

What if is the way forward is backwards?  What if time is a spiral not a line? What if space & time can warp? What if time is an illusion.

Consider our common language: catch up, move forward, climb the ladder, hustle culture, get ahead. Sounds exhausting.

Are there any signs that we may want to step back? Yes, of course. Do any of these sound familiar?

I’ve sent out a hundred resumes but have gotten zero callbacks. I keep messaging but no one replies. I feel sick to my stomach every time I think of it. I wake up grinding my teeth afterwards. I’m board; I’ve lost my spark, passion, creativity for the project. The same conversation occurs again and again with no resolve. I’ve become someone I no longer recognize or like. The environment (internally and externally) is consistently negative, toxic or abusive. My body rebels: I oversleep, I forget important dates, deadlines, I double book, my shoulders are in knots. Technology fails when I work on the project: consistent internet outages, glitches, 404 messages, files won’t load. 

What can happen when we take a step back? A new perspective, an allowing, respite, presence, creativity. Stepping back can allow us to reconsider and reconfigure with newfound clarity. 

Are there any practical tips to stepping back?

• Pause. 
• Breathe.
• Rest.
• Practice compassion.
• Set Boundaries.
• Apply self-love
• Reflect.

Sometimes stepping down is then next step. Sometimes stepping up is the next step. 

When have you stepped back and the result

has been better than you could have ever imagined?

The tips are appropriate for seasonal wellness and are helpful all year long for constitutional Element Earth types.

Want to establish or return to care with Dr Cox? Book here!

Paying close attention to the coming and going of feelings within the body leads us to a deeper understanding of impermanence.  This mind-body understanding of impermanence guides us deeper into allowing. 

Have you tried body scanning? 

Enjoy a free body scan script here

or choose from a free guided 20, 30 or 45 minute audio here

Body scanning is a widely used technique for stress reduction. As we practice this mindfulness act again and again, we may start to notice the sensation arise prior to an emotion or feeling.  The question then becomes, are we reacting to the external situation or an internal stimulation?  

Sensations arise and sensation pass. 

Situations arise and situations pass. 

Body scan meditations help reduce stress & anxiety, improve concentration, begat clarity and helps us live in the present moment. This study shows that body scanning can even reduce the severity & perception of chronic pain immediately.

Practices that focus the mind and explore sensation help us discover that, generally, we are reacting to internal, pre-programmed stimulus.  To break our reactive patterns and form new habit patterns: be still, notice the sensation, be still some more, notice again.

Mandala for the Earth Season

To create an Element Wisdom Card Mandala

 Create sacred space through ritual.

Design the space. Your sacred expression.

Some of my favorite ways to create sacred space:

Open with prayer. 

Bow to the four directions.

Invite our guides.

Give thanks.

Light a candle, smudge, chant.

Choose 5-8 cards.  Arrange them in a circle within concentric rings of found or precious materials like seasonal fruits/vegetables, flowers, leaves, shells, stones, sticks, feathers, etc.  Choose an elemental center piece:  an earthenware filled with soil/clay, a transparent vase of water or a shell, a bell, a wooden bowl, an incense burner. Cards and objects may also be arranged by cardinal directions.

I created a mandala with intention and drew

3 Jedi mind tricks, 3 suggestions, 1 body self care tip & 1 inquiry

• Change is a constant
• Change directions without losing balance.
• Does your ‘yes’ serve the balance?
• Redistribute & Mobilize
• It’s All Good
• Collaboration is the truth
• Shake into your muscles
• Convert discord into harmony

The center is an earthen bowl with Alabama Red Clay. Placing an earthen vessel in the center of the home or filling a vessel with earth in an area of your home or room adds grounding via feng shui placement during these times of change.

Cotton bags sewn in Georgia. Cards printed in Mississippi. Bags stamped by me. Persimmons grown at Alberta Orchard Wellness. To learn more or purchase element-wisdom cards, visit our website www.drsaritaelizabeth.com

Fun, going with the flow, adventure, excitement, allowing a natural unfolding?

No way, Nope, No. Not for me. I just can’t. That’s crazy. 

From the latin roots: sua – from + sponte – of (one’s) own accord

Recall the last time you had a good belly laugh? True laughter arises spontaneously. 

When was the last time you were spontaneous? A last minute yes to extra concert tickets? a trip to the beach without previous planning? dancing in the kitchen to a favorite song? a walk to clear your head after hours on the computer? chasing a rainbow or sunset? a random act of kindness?

Do you have a great story about a decision you make spontaneously?

Why be spontaneous?

It can contribute to our happiness, expose us to new things and engender adaptability. Life events can turn out better than we could ever imagine (or plan) when we allow natural unfolding verses forcing desired outcomes.

5 ways to encourage spontaneity:

Be present

Be open to new things

Be flexible

Trust your intuition

Connect with your feelings & emotions

Spontaneity v Impulsivity

In short, spontaneity considers the consequences of the decision.  Impulsivity does not.

Today autumn begins in the Northern Hemisphere, while the folks in the Southern Hemisphere are preparing for warmer, spring weather. 

In 2025, the Autumnal Equinox arrives on Monday, September 22, at 1:19 P.M. Central Standard Time. The autumn equinox happens at the same moment worldwide marking the astronomical start of fall in the Northern Hemisphere – the moment when the direct ray of the sun crosses the equator to the South. After the autumnal equinox, nights begin to grow longer than the days until the winter solstice in December, when the days start to grow longer and the nights are shorter. The Autumnal Equinox represents the symmetry between light and darkness, as a balance is struck between day and night.

According to the Chinese Medicine understanding of the cycle of the seasons, we have technically returned to Earth phase, or Doyo, which is the transitional time when the seasons change, four times per year. After this return to earth transition, we will be in the metal phase of the seasons which invites reflection and resonates with breath and sound healing.

The Earth element is associated with times of change throughout the year, which happen between each of the seasons around the two equinoxes and the two solstices. These transition phases begin about 7 days before each equinox and solstice and continue for about 7 days after, which constitute an approximate three-week period of adjustment between the seasons. 

I  embrace and promote the wisdom of seasonal cycles  increasing awareness of and balancing our individual constitutions within dynamic change and to honor repeating cycles throughout our return to our wholeness.  

WHAT IS THE EQUINOX?

The word “equinox” comes from Latin aequus, meaning “equal,” and nox, “night.” On the equinox, length of day and night are roughly equal.

During the equinox, the sun crosses the “celestial equator”—an imaginary line or extrapolation of Earth’s equator line into space. The equinox occurs precisely when the sun’s center passes through this line. When the sun crosses the equator from north to south, this marks the autumnal equinox; when it crosses from south to north, it marks the vernal equinox.

At this exact moment, the lengths of day and night are approximately equal around the world in the Northern and Southern hemispheres — hence the term “equinox,” which is derived from the Latin phrase meaning “equal night.”

Image credit: NASA

Why the Autumnal Equinox Doesn’t Fall on the Same Day Every Year

Depending on the part of the world and time zone where you live, the equinox usually falls on either September 22 or 23; although it can sometimes occur anytime between September 21 and 24. That is because the equinox is not an exact, daylong event but is defined by the position of the Earth and the sun at a particular moment in time. 

Ancient Autumn Traditions 

The fall equinox has been celebrated by cultures for ages as people track the transitions of the Earth’s paths around the Sun. Indigenous cultures recognized EARTH wisdom and understood that the Winter Solstice, Spring Equinox, Summer Solstice, and Autumn Equinox reflect our own inner spiritual journey.

• An ancient stone monument called Intihuatana at Machu Picchu in Peru, which means “Hitching Post of the Sun”, serves as a solar clock to mark the dates of the equinoxes and solstices.  
• In Mexico, the Mayans built a giant pyramid called Chichen Itza. On the equinoxes, a snake created by light appears to slither down the pyramid’s steps.
• And of course, in England, Stonehenge is aligned with the equinoxes and solstices.

An image of the serpent appearing on the side of the Temple of Kukulcan on the equinox at Chichen Itza

SIGNIFICANCE

The Autumnal Equinox is a significant time of year to honor the harvest, which may be an actual harvest of fruits and vegetables from your garden or the harvest of efforts and intentions for your life that you set earlier in the year.  This Earth seasonal return represents the harvest time of year, when we acknowledge the gifts and abundance in our lives. It is a time when we can see, in nature, a reflection of our own lives as we go through cycles of growth, harvest, death, and rebirth.

At the Autumnal Equinox, it’s important to take a moment to go inward. Life is a continuous circle of shifting and evolving, dying, and being reborn again. Because change is a constant, it is possible to identify unbroken patterns within the ebb and flow of life. As we become quiet during this time of transition, we are allowing space for our greater vision to emerge and set in motion the intentions for another cycle. I invite you to take some time September 22 to be mindful of your life cycle, honor your own growth and shine your inner light.

Whole food is medicine.  Processed food steals your vitality. Ultra processed food creates chronic disease, offers pharmacy and invites slow death.

One of the top three outcomes of the lockdowns of 2020/2021, in my opinion, was the return to or beginning of cooking at home.  We can choose better quality products than most restaurants are able to provide on small margins.  We are, therefore, improving our economic health while improving our physical health.

Let food be thy medicine, let medicine be thy food.

~Hippocrates

The Basics: Where? When?  How?

Where? Where we acquire our food matters. Ideally, we hunt and gather or eat from a garden – our own garden or from our local farmer’s or brick and mortar vegetable markets.  When we shop at a conventional grocery store, shop the perimeter. 

In an ideal world, our foods are free from harmful chemicals, pesticides and pharmaceuticals (antibiotics, antifungals, growth hormone). Animal (and animal fats) are raised in their natural environments. Soils are replete with the broad spectrum of minerals and micro-organisms that render our foods nutritious.

When? Foods should be consumed or preserved in seasonal time. In a world which offers food from all corners of the county during all seasons – choose seasonal and buy local. The choices in your neighborhood may not be perfect, or we may not be able to allocate our resources to only organic and farm raised products. But we can educate & inform ourselves of the best options available today. Consume or process the foods for later consumption as soon after acquisition as possible.

How?  Make the best choices possible.  I hope this link will help you make the best choices available to you. This list from the Environmental Working Group is updated yearly: Dirty Dozen & Clean Fifteen

One of my favorite resource books is Healing with Whole Foods written by Paul Pitchford. Learn more here:

Every felt ‘butterflies in your stomach”? Ever become nauseous at the thought of a situation or seeing a person? Ever had a “gut wrenching” experience? 

These sensations may be fleeting or protracted.  How do we care for this intuitive, reactive nervous system?

Here are two ways to support the gut:

1.My favorite physical support is a yogic cleansing technique, nauli.

2. My favorite nutritional support includes personalized probiotics & herbs.

Gut Roll: the Good Kind!

Nauli is a yoga technique used in Panchakarma to cleanse the internal organs and tone the abdominal by doing a rolling motion using the abdominal muscles. While perhaps more directly impacting the large and small intestines, the spleen, stomach and pancreas get a great massage with Nauli.

Give Nauli a try by following the beginner’s basics below!

NAULI 

• Stand with your feet about shoulder width apart and  knees slightly
  bent (about 5 degrees)
• Straighten your spine
• Relax your shoulders, arms and chest; feel the weight of your body
  directed down toward your knees
• Begin the exercise by pushing your abdomen out, feeling a slight
  pressure as if your stomach was full
• Pull your abdomen inward and try to make your belly button touch
  the spine; this completes one full round
• After completing 10 rounds pull your abdomen inward
  as much as you can and hold then allow gravity to release the hold. repeat the series, increasing to 50 by the end of week four.

Attaching a healthy habit to an already existing habit simply sets us up for success

I find it convenient to start my morning with nauli immediately after I neti or brush my teeth.  Try nauli every time you brush your teeth.

Watch a demonstration video here

Herbal Gut Support

Support the Earth element and our guts, by trying Triphala, the “Ayurvedic pre/probiotic.” Triphala contains three fruits with five of the six tastes recognized in Ayurvedic medicine including: Sweet, Sour, Bitter, Pungent and Astringent. Triphala (or a constitutionally appropriate probiotic or a spore formulation) is an excellent supplement for the transitional Earth seasons (four times a year). Two weeks of continual use then as needed or on a rotational basis is my general prescription for folks.

I encourage you to choose probiotic strains, spores, fermented foods and drinks suited for your unique health. Strains of flora should be customized for food allergies, weight loss, constipation, diarrhea, cognition, post anti-biotic care. At times, a triphala enema with sesame oil may be right for you.  Other times a butyrate or coffee might be a best choice for your digestive health concerns. Probiotics and enemas can be used prophylactically in a seasonal rhythm during the 14-18 days around the solstices and equinoxes to support the earth element. Schedule a telemedicine visit to customize your probiotic strains, discuss your health concerns or create a seasonal wellness plan here:

LOCAL LOCAL LOCAL

At Alberta Orchard Wellness in Tuscaloosa, we recommend shopping local when possible and utilizing Fullscript, our professional online pharmacy for specialty products or home delivery and convenience.

Sign up for your free account today to have professional grade products that you can trust the quality delivered to your door. The catalog is open & a discount applied for you to shop your prescription, personal needs and seasonal sales.