Category Archives: Qi energy

Water ~ Have a cuppa bone broth or chai

Dr. Elizabeth Cox, ND, LAc Posted on by

Cozy up with a cuppa bone broth or chai tea.  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 … Continue reading →

Earth: Down to earth

Dr. Elizabeth Cox, ND, LAc Posted on by

Down to Earth. What does the phrase ‘down to earth’ mean to you? Earth Writing Exercise Take a moment. Find pen and paper. Transcribe the phrase Down to Earth.  Place both feet on the ground. Take three deep breaths, expanding your ribs. Write free associations of what ‘down to earth’ means to you for 90 seconds. Wake the spleen, an earth organ with the exercise below.  Repeat the automatic writing exercise.   Wake the Spleen With both feet on the ground, raise your left arm. Wake the spleen organ by tapping on your left side, one hand width below the … Continue reading →

Earth: Too much sitting injures the spleen: qi gong

Dr. Elizabeth Cox, ND, LAc Posted on by

The digestive organs are injured by stagnation.  Desk or remote virtual jobs, long hours of studying, research and writing keep us seated.  Relaxing and decompressing may also become habituated to screen time, gaming or media binging. Fatigue sets in from lack of activity; a sedentary life is injurious. Frankly, it is killing us slowly. The combination of oversitting and overthinking is a harmful combination for the earth organs,  particularly the spleen.  The lack of healthy circulation settles dampness deep into our systems. If you are prone to oversitting, please build in healthy habits.  Set a timer at the desk for … Continue reading →

Water ~ Be like Water

Dr. Elizabeth Cox, ND, LAc Posted on by

    Winter, according to the wisdom of the elements, is about dreaming, resting, relaxing, restoring, recharging and germinating seeds which will break through the thawing frozen ground of winter come spring when energy naturally moves upward and outward.  Plans made and action taken in harmony with the greater cycles of the cosmos, are much more likely to come to fruition. Over the last few years, I have been observing, studying and syncing myself with the elemental cycles as practiced by the ancients. I often call it ‘re-wilding’ myself. I started with Seasonal Wellness classes in 2015. In 2019 I … Continue reading →

Return to Earth

Dr. Elizabeth Cox, ND, LAc Posted on by

Clicking the grey ‘follow’ envelope above will deliver weekly health and wellness tips to your inbox via our weekly cultivating wellness blog. We are dynamic beings.  We change.  We change under influences such as the seasons, life situation, and our current physical, mental, emotional and spiritual states and even the aging process.  Typically we have main constitution element and a secondary constitutional  (which may be the same or different as the main element). As we become more and more self aware and heal our imbalances, we will manifest and move more freely from one elemental state to the next during the natural generative … 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 →