Category Archives: Fall

Earth: Cook & chop your way to wellness

Dr. Elizabeth Cox, ND, LAc Posted on by

Food comes from the Earth.  Processed food is not food.  If it did not grow in the dirt or on a bush, vine, tree or graze on the earth, it’s not food.  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 … Continue reading →

Earth: Spice it up with Ginger

Dr. Elizabeth Cox, ND, LAc Posted on by

Spice it up with Ginger.   Meet Fresh Ginger. Nature: warm Taste: slightly sweet, acrid Action: releases exterior, disperses cold: stops cough, alleviates vomiting, regulates migrating motor complex of Small Intestine Skin: promotes urination, reduces edema Affinity:  Lung, Spleen & Stomach According to eastern dietetics & herbalism – foods, spices, herbs and medicine have a distinct nature, action, direction & affinity with one or more organs.   As we become more familiar with these qualities in some of our familiar foods, we begin to fine tune our eating & drinking to the dynamic rhythms of the season.  We also eat … Continue reading →

Metal: Shine on you crazy diamond

Dr. Elizabeth Cox, ND, LAc Posted on by

Shine on you crazy diamond! Allow your inner light to shine through as we move into days of diminishing daylight. Our moods may change with less light.  Diamonds form from elemental carbon between 237,000 – 1.3 million times atmospheric pressure deep within the earth.  Carbon is the fourth most abundant element in the universe according to mass. This makes carbon rather ‘ordinary’.  However the brilliance of the diamond is acquired from intense pressure to ordinary carbon.  Like carbon, our extraordinary-ness is derived from our ordinary-ness plus stress.  The practice of being present moment to moment helps us appreciate the extraordinary in … Continue reading →

Metal: Mirror. Mirror.

Dr. Elizabeth Cox, ND, LAc Posted on by

In Chinese culture the circle shape is associated with the Metal/Fall season and represents oneness, unity and being fulfilled. Perhaps one of the most common circles we encounter in our daily lives are mirrors. It is in a mirror that we can physically reflect on ourselves, however it is possible to reflect without a mirror as well. Look for circles today, but more importantly, reflect on what makes you whole. One self-care practice that I invite my patients to incorporate into their daily lives is looking into their eyes in the mirror daily upon waking and speak ‘I love you’ … Continue reading →

M: THANKSGIVING BLESSING

Dr. Elizabeth Cox, ND, LAc Posted on by

A Haudenosaunee “Thanksgiving” Prayer:   A Native American Traditional Blessing Today we have gathered and we see that the cycles of life continue. We have been given the duty to live in balance and harmony with each other and all living things. So now, we bring our minds together as one as we give greetings and thanks to each other as People. Now our minds are one. The Earth Mother We are all thankful to our Mother, the Earth, for she gives us all that we need for life. She supports our feet as we walk about upon her. It … Continue reading →

Brewing Teas: Free Their Medicine

Dr. Elizabeth Cox, ND, LAc Posted on by

As the days become shorter and we move further into the autumn season, let us embrace this Metal Element time of year. The Fall season is the body’s last attempt to rid itself of toxins and pathogens before Winter, when our bodies naturally slow down and rest. Seasonal Health Refresher: The Metal Element expresses itself as the Lungs and Large Intestine.  It is one of the five elements in Chinese Medical Theory. As Metal relates to autumn, Water relates to winter, Wood relates to spring, Fire relates to summer, and Earth is the transitional time between all of the seasons. … Continue reading →

BREATHE DEEP

Dr. Elizabeth Cox, ND, LAc Posted on by

Breathe Deep.  Are you mindful of your breathing? Healthy lungs are vital to our overall health.   The autumn season represents the Lung (肺)  phase of our body’s seasonal cycle as it is the season associated with the Lung and its partner, the Large Intestine (Colon). If you are prone to catching colds or struggle with allergies in the Fall, it’s important to take care of these organs! Every organ in our bodies has functions and responsibilities. Some are physical while others are psychological and spiritual.  The metal element, which peaks during the autumn season, governs the LUNGS as well … Continue reading →

FIRE CREATES EARTH

Dr. Elizabeth Cox, ND, LAc Posted on by

Love Heals. Period. In Memoriam In a recent post about Fire pericardium, I introducted you to Dr. Rachel Eppinga, ND, LAc.  Rachel passed from this world into the light on the autumn equinox. Her body was diseased with cancer. I’ve included the last message she sent out to her community/tribe below. Rachel was a wayshower of how to reflect and transmute beauty in any situation; she was a beacon of light, a gatherer of women to heal together. I was recently gifted a very special Love Qigong from my dear colleague Rachel Eppinga, ND, LAc, when we gathered in Hara Mara, … Continue reading →

Return to Earth Autumn Equinox

Dr. Elizabeth Cox, ND, LAc Posted on by

RETURN TO EARTH ELEMENT Autumn days come quickly, like the running of a hound on the moor. –Irish proverb Autumn is right around the corner for all of us in the Northern Hemisphere, while the folks in the Southern Hemisphere are preparing for warmer, spring weather.  In 2019, the Autumnal Equinox arrives on Monday, September 23, at 3:50 A.M. Eastern Standard Time. The autumn equinox happens at the same moment worldwide marking the astronomical start of fall in the Northern Hemisphere. After the autumnal equinox, nights begin to grow longer than the days until the winter solstice in December, when the days start to … Continue reading →