SUMMER FIRE! THE SEASON OF JOY

Summer, ahh sweet summertime ~ this season of joy is not surprisingly associated with the element of fire. Summer’s fire ignites life! It’s an exciting time of year as our gardens mature with flowers, fruits, and vegetables during these long, hot, summer days. It is the season for adventures and activity; a time when our yang energy is at its peak. Summer’s fire spreads warmth, fosters growth, and expresses itself as life in full bloom. The fire element, in our bodies, governs the heart, small intestine, pericardium, and triple burner. In balance, fire manifests as joy and propriety; while out of balance, it manifests as hatred and coldness. See upcoming summer posts for more about the fire within us. 

Summer superfood:  berries

Berries, generally, are high in polyphenols and anthocyanin providing dense nutrition to our cells with a strong affinity for our heart and cardiovascular systems.  Blueberries, particularly, are a super food with recent research suggesting positive effects in patients with type 2 diabetes, osteoarthritis, and hypertension in addition to blueberries’ antiviral and antimicrobial qualities. They are packed with vitamins C, K1 (a blood thinner), manganese, and fiber. Cooking denatures some micronutrients while some are relatively concentrated by freezing and dehydrating as water content diminishes.  Fresh picked off the bush is the most wholesome and life affirming choice.

The 4th of July holiday marks the peak season of blueberries at Alberta Orchard Wellness. A plant native to the American woodlands, blueberry (Vaccinium sp.) is hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture Plant zones 3 through 10. The bushes thrive on creek and river banks, mountainous terrain, and in slightly acidic soils. In the home garden, seasonal epsom salt applications and pine straw or bark mulching help maintain a slightly acidic pH.

Important Note! At least two varieties of blueberry are required for optimal production by creating healthy cross pollination.

Many of our patients and visitors know about Petals from the Past, a nursery in Jemison, Alabama specializing in native plants and plants that thrive in our native soils. These folks love to share their wealth of knowledge so be sure to check out their educational videos like the one for cultivating blueberries linked here.

We planted the southern boundry of our parking area with several different varieties of blueberries that thrive in our local zone 8 including Tifblue, Rabbiteye, Brightwell, Powderblue, Climax and Premier. A diversity of varieties, which produces fruit at staggered times throughout the growing season, expands our harvest for spring and summer fruitings. This is a plant that we encourage all of our patients to work into their healthy home landscape. Their early spring bell shaped flowers provide pollen to honeybees.  In the summer, their sweet and astringent berries fill our bellies. Not only do we delight in harvesting and eating fresh berries, our feathered and four legged friends also feast upon blueberries ripe off the vine. Their taste is sweet and sour and their nature is warm.  In the fall, their ovate leaves turn firey yellow, rust and red. Plant blueberries against a fence, in a row, or in a clump or grove in a well drained area.  Bear in mind that they will lose their foliage in the winter.  Consider seasonal, companion, under-plantings; we utilize cayenne peppers, potatoes, gladiolas, salvia, parsley, and blue curl as seasonal spots.

A recent study, funded by the United States Highbush Blueberry Council (USHBC), found that blueberries may improve joint health by reducing pain, stiffness, and difficulty in performing daily activities due to osteoarthritis inflammation. Another USHBC study of US veterans, in coordination with the Stratton VA Medical Center, in Albany, New York, investigated the effects of blueberry consumption and glycemic control in veterans with type 2 diabetes. It found that daily consumption of 22 g of freeze-dried blueberries for two months results in better glycemic control and lower triglyceride concentrations with improvement in the liver enzymes, all of which are positive effects that may support cardiometabolic health of men with type 2 diabetes. In Chinese dietary medicine, berries are astringent by nature, acting on the  entire qi of the body and rectifying damp pathology. For example, excess dampness or damp accumulations may manifest as chronic sinusitis, yeast or fungal infections, and tumors.  While many fruits are restricted as they are cloying or moisturizing, berries can be freely enjoyed with the assurance that they are quite literally medicine! They nourish the blood and the kidneys, therefore providing support for anemia and all concerns of brain function from ADHA to dementia.

Follow the links below for more research on the superpowers of blueberries.

Hypertension

https://www.naturalmedicinejournal.com/journal/2015-06/blueberries-vs-hypertension

Anti-microbial

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31199652

Antiviral

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31137514

“Let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food.” – Hippocrates

Embrace and make the most out of this summer season by rising early and practice movement or yoga that reaches for the sun to nourish us just as its energy and fire make our gardens grow. 

Sunrise yoga:

The Sun Salutation originated as a series of prostrations to the sun, honoring Surya as the source of energy and light for the world. Known in Sanskrit as surya namaskar, Sun Salutation is practiced in several popular styles of yoga, including Ashtanga, vinyasa, and power. Traditionally, it is performed at dawn, facing the rising sun.

Although there are variations and no right way, Sun Salutation generally consists of a sequence of twelve poses, including a symmetrical standing pose (tadasana), lifting the arms, bending to touch the earth, a lunge, the downward facing dog, a prone pose that flows into an upward­-facing lift of the chest, followed by a return to downward dog, another lunge, and once again touching the earth in a forward bend, then lifting the arms, and returning to the initial standing pose. Through each cycle of the series, you move backward, then forward. Use the video below for guidance until you know the Sun Salutation by heart.

If you need more detailed instruction, this video (click here) demonstrates the traditional Sun Salutation.  Brooklyn Yoga School founder, Lily Cushman, gives step by step instruction and no yoga experience is required. 

Sun salutation  (www.BrooklynYogaSchool.com or  www.LilyCushman.com)   

Music “Dawning” by Benjy Wertheimer from Soul of the Esraj album.