This is one of the amazing ways:

Mandala ~ Create sacred space. 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, a bell, a wooden bowl, an incense burner. Cards and objects may also be arranged by cardinal directions.

Purchase Element Wisdom Card Decks here

Did you know you can search the card titles on the Cultivating Wellness Blog? 

Our real time project for 2022 and 2023 is adding musing about the cards. 

Send us your favorite ways to play and images for 10% off any card deck or the entire collection!

albertaorchard@gmail.com

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 arm pit.

Vocalize the sound of the spleen: whooooo (like the wise owl calling)- gutteral and brethless

Repeat eight times.

Shanren kan wo xinshi?  Wo xin shi!

Do I posses the earth attributes of integrity and deep trust?  Yes I do!

The phrase down to earth can refer to an approachable person.  Someone that is practical, plain spoken, honest, realistic, trustworthy, unassuming, unpretentious.

What did your list reveal? Which of those qualities do you posses? Which qualities would you like to strengthen?

If there is a quality you would like to embody or strengthen in yourself?

Try replacing the sound of the spleen with the quality that you wish to strengthen.  For example, tap ‘trust’ into your spleen.

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 30 minutes to take a 5 minute movement break out of the chair.

Shake away any accumulated worries, negative postures.

Take a few stretches or yoga poses.

Walk to the water station and hydrate.

Walk a few flights of stairs.

Take a walk around the block.

Learn and practice Heaven & Earth Rotation Daily

Heaven & Earth Rotation: Qi Gong Earth Exercise

1. Open the gates of heaven (top of head ~ meeting of ten thousand things) and earth (bottom of feet ~ bubbling spring) again. 
2. Pivot from the lower back with smooth and continuous action. The left palm, facing earth, pushes downward while the right palm, faces heaven, pulls upward. 
3. At the end of the pivot, alternate hand positions. 
4. Repeat 40 times while imagining healing, golden light internally healing and balancing your spleen, stomach and pancreas.

Purchase your element wisdom card deck to support your daily health & wellness journey

Cultivate wellness this Earth season by practicing exercises for healing the spleen with Qigong support. 

These 18 days around each equinox and solstice is ruled by Earth.  Sound and color are powerful agents to help balance the Earth organs of spleen, stomach and pancreas.

The color yellow in Ayurvedic medicine is associated with Manipura Charaka, digestive organs, individuality and trust.

The color yellow/gold strengthens the function of these organs and emotions.  Wear a gold layer near your digestive organs.  Wrap in a golden scarf. Use golden linens on your table. Place your element wisdom cards in a earthen bowl on your table or kitchen bar and choose one each day.

Fill your pancreas with golden light.

Fill your stomach with golden light.

Fill your spleen with golden light.

Purchase your Element Wisdom Earth Deck here

Spending time in the woods—a practice the Japanese call “forest bathing”—is strongly linked to lower blood pressure, heart rate and stress hormones and decreased anxiety, depression and fatigue.

Time in a forest is linked to decreased inflammation, which has been implicated in chronic disease.

After your time with nature, scan your body for sensations. 

Take 3-5 deep and present breaths, expand into your ribs to relax your diaphragm.

Imprint this feeling with gratitude and a positive affirmation. 

Scientists have repeatedly found that human anticancer natural killer cells significantly increase after walks in a forest. In one such study, published in 2010 in the Journal of Biological Regulators and Homeostatic Agents, the number and activity of killer cells increased in a group of twelve healthy men after two walks, each two hours long, in a one-day trip to a forest park in the Tokyo suburbs. So did anti-cancer proteins, according to the research led by Qing Li, an associate professor at the Nippon Medical School. Cortisol in the blood and adrenaline in the urine significantly decreased. The effects lasted at least seven days, the researchers found.

 Providing fun and uncomplicated ways to live in dynamic harmony with the seasons has been my focus over the last five years. My clinical pearls are available as five seasonal decks offering a year of daily guidance and inspiration (element-wisdom.com).

Positive Affirmations from the Element Wisdom Earth deck:

It’s okay, really.

Everything I need is already here.

I am.

Click to learn more about Element Wisdom Cards

A study published in Nature’s Scientific Reports in 2019 found the 20,000 participants were significantly more likely to report good health and well-being when they spent 120 minutes or more in nature a week. The good vibe peaked at 200 to 300 minutes a week. Anything less than two hours didn’t make a difference.

There still is a lot researchers don’t know, like how physiologically nature influences health. They are racing to find answers by scanning brains, quizzing people to see how cognition is affected by different environments and planting a full-grown forest in a schoolyard to learn how much and what type of tree canopy is needed to curb air pollution and alleviate asthma.

Clinical trials found that every park visit decreased parents’ stress and increased children’s resilience.

Pediatricians at the UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital in Oakland, Calif., have been so concerned about the lack of nature in their urban patients’ lives that they write prescriptions for it. Every year, “we ask: Do they have access to outdoors and green spaces? If no, they automatically get a referral to our program,” says Nooshin Razani. One Saturday a month “we invite them to nature outings with us,” she says.

How are you touching the earth today?

The Earth element is associated with times of change throughout the year, which happen between each of the seasons around the two solstices and the two equinoxes. 

Solstices and equinoxes are astronomical event of the Sun reaching its highest position in the sky as viewed from the North or South Pole, one day to mark the onset of the winter season and one day to mark the onset of the summer season of 72 days each . On these days the tilt of the axis of the Earth (with respect to the Sun) is the maximum at 23° 26′. A transition phases begin about 7 days before each solstice and equinox and continue for about 7 days after, which constitute an approximate three-week period of adjustment between the seasons. Totaling 72 days, the Doyo, or Earth, is its own “mini-season”. It is a time of transformation and balancing, as well as a time of fluctuating temperature and weather before completely transitioning to the next season. It is common for people to get sick or have health complications during these transitional periods. It presents an opportunity for us to fortify our own internal Earth, to claim or reclaim our central and rightful position between heaven and Earth, and to allow the proper flow of energy (qi) and healing light through us.

This mini-season invites us to center before adjusting to the change of season. Every season has an organ system that peaks, a balancing taste, sound, color, direction. Learning and developing habits that optimize our mind, body, spirit each season, trains us in the ever changing nature of life. When we seek stability in external forces like jobs or relationships, we may not cope well when they change.  However when we embrace dynamic lifestyle habits of each season, we learn to relax and even rejoice in the ever changing nature of reality.

During this transition season, literally practice balancing exercise. 

Tree pose

1. From standing, shift your weight onto your right foot.
2. Position your left foot to the side with your heel lifted, or place the sole of your foot against your ankle, shin, or thigh.
3. Place your hands in any comfortable position.
4. Hold for up to 1 minute.
5. Then do the opposite side.

*During this exercise, avoid placing your foot on your knee.*

Heel-to-toe walk

1. Stand with your heels pressing into a wall.
2. Place your left foot in front of your right foot.
3. Touch your left heel to your right toes.
4. Then place your right foot in front of your right foot.
5. Touch your right heel to your left toes.
6. Continue for 20 steps.

Mind-Body Balance Exercise

After a series of at least 8 physical balance postures, sit quietly and notice your next 8 breaths.

Now reflect on any upcoming changes that you are facing for a minimum of 8 minutes.

Decisions made from a centered and quiet place, can be trusted.

Decisions made from anxiety, worry, reaction and stress, are to be avoided.

I simplify my personal meals during this mini season between gatherings, events and celebrations.  Simple whole food sides are a form of self love and sometimes a full mono meal.

I bring a simple, whole foods dishes to gatherings.  They are time savers, stress reducers and super foods! Believe it or not, it starts a lot of conversations. One of my all time favorites is Roasted Rosemary Sweet Potatoes. 

ONLY 2 main ingredients

1. Roasted Rosemary Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients

• 3 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small branch fresh rosemary
• 3-4 medium sweet potatoes, scrubbed and rough chopped with skins on
• Chunky sea salt, to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
2. Combine oil and chopped, crushed rosemary leaves in a small bowl. Pour 2 tablespoons of rosemary oil mixture in the bottom of a 2-quart covered baking dish. Drizzle the remaining rosemary oil on the top. Toss in dish. Season generously with salt.
3. Roast for 1 hour, covered, until potatoes are tender (test with fork). Increase oven heat to 450 degrees F. Remove cover and roast another 10-15 minutes, until tops of potatoes are browned and crisp.

WHOLE FOODS SUPPORT

When I work with my patients, we co-create wellness plans. We are dynamic and our needs change as we change. These are best modified every season. I spoke with one of  my patients this week regarding her prescription.  She was astonished that her prescription provided such an immediate change in her energy levels.  What was it? A whole foods multi-vitamin. 
She was curious if they also made them for men for her husband. Yes! They do and the kids.  All supplements are not created equal. My professional Fullscript pharmacy provides practitioner grade, highly vetted support direct to your door.
Click on the image below to access the full catalog via my Fullscript account. 
Search, click and purchase. 

Soup Cleanse recipes can be found  a few posts back (click here).

Wanna dive deeper into the cleanse with spices, soup toppers and self-care actions?  Check back in for our upcoming posts or follow our blog to have the posts delivered to your email

Water is the representative element of Winter.  The Kidney Bladder organ pair and the Adrenal glands (as the endocrine extension of the Kidney) are manifestations of Water in the landscape of the human body. *Read about lifestyle practices and self-care actions to take now for best Winter health* This energy of this trio peaks during the winter season.  The nature of water is to flow.  When there is excessive cold the water freezes causing blockages. When there is excessive heat the water element becomes gas, rises to the sky (lungs) and begins a new cycle been transformed, transmuted.

The highest good is like water, it is good at benefitting the ten thousand and yet it does not contend with them. It dwells in places the multitudes detest; therefore, it is close to the dao.

~Dao De Jing

Energy in the body is in dream state during the winter.  It’s creative energies rise in the spring, blossom in the summer, being deterioration in the fall and come to quiescence in the winter.  The transitions between seasons and is the focus of our second soup in the series. *Learn more about the Doyo – Earth – Transition season here* and the Earth element rule all transitional periods.

The color associated with the Earth elements is golden yellow and the taste is sweet. To Further direct the golden winter squash on this soup toward the Earth element trio, concentrate your efforts on spicing and topping to enhance the power of the soup. Winter squash and pumpkin are detoxifying and cooling in nature thereby quenching thirst, relieving irritability and alleviate skin lesions. Additionally they all leech dampness remedying edema and difficult urination.

Whole Foods Cooking Hack:

Cook your winter squash and pumpkins whole!!  This is by far the easiest method to process these hard shelled beauties.  Preheat the oven to 425.  Place whole gourd on baking sheet, pierce with ice pick or sharp knife and cook 60-90 minutes. Let cool.  While still warm, peel the skin, slice and scoop out the seeds then the flesh. Honestly, this method is super easy and will become your favorite way to cook the golden gourds ~ well unless you still enjoy the struggle. Which is also fine.

Spices: 

Cardamom: (read more about Cardamom here)

nature: warm, pungent

action: ‘wakes’ the spleen, removes dampness, promotes circulation of qi and warm these organs, stops vomiting

affinity:  Kidney, Spleen & Stomach

Cinnamon:

nature: hot, pungent, sweet

action: warms any coldness in the body, fortifies yang, unblocks channels, stops pain, generates qi and blood

affinity: Kidney, Spleen, Liver, Heart

Toppers:

Miso (chickpea or soybean) ring: 

As a salt substitute and probiotic drizzle a ring around the edge of the bowl to benefit the spleen and the large intestine. Reduce a spoonful of paste in warm water to liquid consistency.

Walnuts: crush and sprinkle (raw or toasted) to benefit the spleen and kidney and add a dose of omega 3 fatty acids.

Flax:

nature: neutral, sweet

action: laxative, relieves pain and inflammation

affinity:  Spleen, pancreas, large intestine

Self Care:

To support the spleen and stomach: visualize golden light filling your stomach, spleen and pancreas.

Consider 5 minutes of qi gong to loosen the muscles and get the qi circulating.

I hope you enjoy this journey!  Be creative.  Love your body with healthy foods.

xoxoxoxo Sarita