EARTH

TRANSITION

In Sanskrit, Ayurveda means knowledge of life.  Ancient Ayurvedic medicine classifies a person’s physical and emotional state of being using the three doshas—vata, kapha, and pitta. The doshas are the energies running throughout our bodies and minds that control all of our physical and mental systems. Everyone has a specific constitution, or Prakruti, that is determined by the proportions of the three doshas at the time of conception. A person’s body contains elements of all three of the doshas with one element usually taking precedence over the other two elements. These energies create the characteristics and particulars that define every person’s individual makeup. Disease and health issues occur when the three doshas are out of balance. The doshas derive from the Five Elements and their related attributes.

Vata ~ Space and Air

Pitta ~Fire and Water

Kapha ~ Earth and Water

Pitta energy, associated with fire, influences the digestive and endocrine systems. People with pitta energy have fiery personalities and are intelligent and quick-paced. Ulcers, inflammation, digestive issues, anger, heartburn, and arthritis can manifest when pitta energy is out of balance, and practices to restore balance are: staying cool, unwinding, laughter therapy, me-time and rest.

Vata energy is of the air and space. It is associated with breathing and blood circulation. Vata energy is dominant in people who are lively, creative, and think outside of the box. Vata imbalance can cause joint pain, constipation, dry skin, and emotional stress.  Vata types benefit from meditation, and other nourishing self-care practices like: oilation and oil pulling, staying warm, (learning how to) be still, relax and stay calm.

Kapha energy, related to earth and water, is associated with the chest, torso and back. Kapha dominant people display a strong constitution with a calm temperament. A person with a kapha energy imbalance may suffer from obesity, diabetes, sinus infections, and gallbladder problems and can benefit from dry skin brushing, short periods of intensive exercise that increase internal heat and result in sweating, energizing music and home/workspace organization.

The doshas are constantly reacting and responding to our environments and choices. Toxic exposures, an unhealthy diet, habits and lifestyle choices, seasonal changes, emotional upset, and stress all affect the balance of the tridosha. Watch for our upcoming fall guest post with Gillian Shapiro on sound healing;  she will provide a dosha quiz link to learn more about your patterns.

PANCHAKARMA

Panchakarma is the purification therapy used in Ayurvedic medicine , which is based on the concept that all disease is created by the build-up of toxins in the body and by imbalances between the body, mind and spirit. To address the accumulation of toxic substances in the body, a detoxification therapy is prescribed to cleanse the body. Panchakarma is used to treat any disease, especially those that are chronic, systemic, and stress-related. 

Panchakarma brings the doshas into equilibrium while restoring health and wellness.

Panchakarma consists of five detoxifying treatments that use oil treatments, massage, sweating, exercises, and herbal remedies among other methods to help restore balance in the body. I was fortunate to learn these treatments apprentice style at Mount Madonna Center just after graduation from NUNM. I worked at and managed Kaya Kalpa Wellness Center for three years, and fell in love with oilation therapies like abhyanga, swedena, and shirodhara (my absolute favorite treatment to bliss out!) I encourage all my patients to check out and book bodywork at their work or vacation destinations, particularly new therapies that may not be offered in their own communities. These cleansing treatments help to eliminate toxins from the body and restore the nervous system.  Panchakarma typically includes gut support through supplementation, diet and yoga exercises to cleanse the gut. 

I will be offering Shirodhara as a seasonal wellness opportunity this winter at my clinic in Tuscaloosa. You will be able to pre-pay and book online for my limited availability.  The treatment requires two quarts of pure or medicated and organic oils (typically sesame, sometimes cocount oil) or milk.  I create a ritual space and perform the treatment with a deeply meditative presence. Information and Pre-Pay link .  On-line booking will be available during December for Winter Solstice to Spring Equinox dates. You can also contact our office to pre-pay for first available and preferred scheduling choice. According to a research project published in Journal of Ayurveda Integrative Medicine. 2013.

A standardized Shirodhara leads to a state of alert calmness similar to the relaxation response observed in meditation. The clinical benefits observed with Shirodhara in anxiety neurosis, hypertension, and stress aggravation due to chronic degenerative diseases could be mediated through these adaptive physiological effects.

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) and, at times, an appropriate enema ingredient with sesame oil. Two weeks of continual use then as needed or on a rotational basis is my general prescription for folks. I encourage you to try various probiotic strains, spores, fermented foods and drinks as well.  They can be used in a seasonal rhythm during the 14-18 day period around the solstices and equinoxes to support the earth element.

LOCAL LOCAL LOCAL

At Alberta Orchard Wellness in Tuscaloosa, we recommend shopping local when possible.  Manna Grocery (I worked here before going off to the West Coast for medical school) carries good quality herbs, supplements, produce, and spices. If you can’t find exactly what you need there, or you live out of town or simply don’t wish to deal with the traffic cones and road construction round town, we suggest you use our on-line pharmacies Fullscript or Wellavate, which deliver professional grade, reliable supplements, and teas right to your door.  If you are already established with them, just click through or visit our website to create an account. Simply enroll and search the catalog.  Be assured that all of these products are professional quality.  No worries for outdated, counterfeit, or adulterated products.

Persimmons & Park City!

I’ve been in Park City, Utah this week for a professional workshop (more on that later!) and I’ve been looking forward to coming home to the persimmons at AOW. They are approaching peak ripeness and I will be sure to post here and on my social media accounts when they are ready for U-peak. In the meantime, lets have a peek at the nutritional value of persimmons. They are a wonderful locally grown, fresh, whole food to include in your diet during their Earth transitional season. Just this past week, a study was published that shows that the stalk extract is an effective anti-inflammatory agent. Many Asian cultural medicines use all parts of the plant:  root, rootlets, bark, inner bark, caylx, branch/stem, leaf, flower, fruit, etc.  These different parts have  different affinities for the body parts and the same or different properties in the body.

The edible fruit of the persimmon tree is sweet, flavorful, and full of antioxidants and nutrients. In fact, the Greeks called the persimmon fruit  “the divine fruit”.  The tree belongs to the Ericales order of plants, which also includes brazil nuts, blueberries, and tea. Although there are several varieties of persimmon fruit, the most commonly cultivated comes from the Japanese persimmon fruit tree, known by its scientific name of Diospyros kaki. Persimmons originated in ancient China and a United States military officer brought a persimmon variety native to Japan back to Washington D.C. during the 1880s. Today, persimmons are grown throughout the U.S. and especially in California, where hundreds of different varieties are grown. These cultivars are most typically grafted to our wild, native persimmon rootstock, Diospyros virginiana.  This female wild variety produces a small fruit with a nutty, amaretto flavor only when completely ripe.  It is a favorite treat of our deer population, a puker trick for unknowing kids, and the seed design serves as winter weather folklore.
The persimmon fruits are eaten raw, cooked or dried and they be can added to just about anything from salads to baked goods and more!

At Alberta Orchard Wellness, our success with the Asian grafted fruit trees has been greatly because we planted where the native American persimmons on our property naturally grow.  Imagine that.  Nature shows us how to be successful gardeners if only we observe then act in harmony with her wisdom. 

https://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/fruits-and-fruit-juices/2016/2

One persimmon (168 grams) contains:

• Calories:118
• Carbs:31 grams
• Protein:1 gram
• Fat:0.3 grams
• Fiber:6 grams
• Vitamin A:55% of the RDI
• Vitamin C:22% of the RDI
• Vitamin E:6% of the RDI
• Vitamin K:5% of the RDI
• Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine):8% of the RDI
• Potassium:8% of the RDI
• Copper:9% of the RDI
• Manganese:30% of the RDI

Also: thiamin (B1), riboflavin (B2), folate, magnesium, potassium and  phosphorus with trace selenium, copper, zinc.

Persimmon Benefits

1. Packed with antioxidants
2. Supports regularity
3. Promotes healthy vision
4. Reduces cholesterol levels
5. Decreases inflammation
6. Leaves: Lower blood pressure
7. Antibacterial

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 side-to-side 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.

I find it convenient to start my morning with nauli immediately after I neti or brush my teeth.  Attaching a healthy habit to an already existing habit simply sets us up for success.  Try nauli every time you brush your teeth.

A video demonstrating nauli is linked below.

https://youtu.be/yHtNn0jKk0w

THE SEPARATOR OF PURE FROM IMPURE

            As most of the planet is enduring and even setting heat records during the peak of the fiery summer season, in the Southern U.S., we are experiencing an unseasonably cool period this week.  Here we continue with our seasonal theme of the fire element and the elemental organ system. The element of fire embodies the bright, light, energetic essence of yang. However, fire without the grounding influence of Earth easily flares out of control.  The 2nd century dictionary Shuowen jiezi defines the heart as an Earth element, predating the concept of Heart as Fire in the modern Five Element construct.  Anxiety, from the perspective of heart, is most effectively remedied with a counterbalance of downward energy and therapy to settle, calm, stabilize and return to its original nature of yin. Think ‘talking some one down off the cliff’, down time’, and even coming back ‘down to earth’.  The earth provides a multiplicity of glorious medicines for supporting our hearts like

HIBISCUS AND HAWTHORN

Click the link above to learn how modern research supports the use of these traditional plants in cardiovascular health by Dr Tori Hudson, ND

Take a couple of minutes and watch this video from Bennett Nurseries in Huntsville, Alabama about growing native hibiscus in Alabama! 

At Alberta Orchard Wellness, we have successfully grown Red Thai Rosella (Hibiscus sabdariffa)  last summer and Gongura (Hibiscus cannabinus) this summer in our hugelkulture mound. Both are edible and showy plants, requiring little water. From our gardens, we save and replant their seeds yearly as these Hibiscus varieties are annuals in our climate . These flowers may look familiar to you as they are in the mallow (Malvaceae) family, like okra and cotton, and thrive in similar climates. So if you already grow okra, also plant Hibiscus next time!

Supplemental HAWTHORNE is available online at fullscript, our electronic pharmacy, that delivers professional grade supplements directly to your doors (free shipping $50+). It just takes just a minute to create a new account or log into your existing account:

My favorite Hawthorne supplement is Wise Woman’s solid extract 

Small Intestine Meridian

The small intestine meridian is the yang meridian paired with the heart yin meridian.  Like the heart, the small intestine is also associated with the emotions of joy or agitation. The heart is responsible for almost all mental functions, including emotions, thoughts, consciousness, and sleep patterns. These mental and emotional activities rely on our ability to make sound judgments, which is controlled by the small intestine. The small intestine is where most of the physical nutrition of our food gets absorbed into our body.  Likewise, the small intestine asks you to be aware of what is surrounding you. What you are absorbing? What company do you keep? What nourishes you mentally, emotionally, and spiritually?

Much like references to the heart as an emotional organ, the small intestines are also referenced similarly, such as the common expressions of “having a gut feeling” or “butterflies in the stomach”, which indicate a mental and emotional connection.

The Small Intestine Meridian starts from the tip of the little finger and crosses the wrist. It runs up along the back side of the forearm up to the back of shoulder, traversing our “wings” or scapula then crossing the neck and cheek as it reaches the outer corner of the eye, finally ending at the ear.

Image Sourced from Traditional Chinese Medicine World Foundation

Examples of acupuncture/acupressure for the small intestine include:

SI17 – Tianrong – Tinnitus, deafness, sore throat, swelling and pain of the neck

SI16 – Sore throat, sudden loss of voice, pain and stiffness of the neck, tinnitus, deafness

SI15 – Jianzhongshu – Cough, asthma, shoulder and back pain

SI13 – Quyuan – Shoulder and scapular pain

SI12 – Bingfeng – Shoulder and scapular pain as well as aching and numbness in the upper extremities

Separator of the Pure from the Impure

As the small intestine is responsible for separating clear from turbid on a physiological level, it also governs the mental ability to separate what is right and wrong on a mental level.  Physiologically speaking, the small intestine

• Receives bile from the gallbladder, fluid from the pancreas which includes enzymes and enzyme precursors: anylase, nucleases and enzyme precursors, trypsinogen and chymotrypsinogen
• Breaks down and digests carbohydrates and proteins
• Converts fats to fatty acids
• Orders secretions from gall bladder and pancreas
• Kills microbes via lymph follicles
• Absorbs nutrients, vitamins and minerals, and water
• Moves digested food by peristalsis obtaining rhythm commands from the migrating motor complex and mediated by the Vegas nerve during parasympathy (rest and digest)

The small intestine sorts the pure from the impure

When the small intestine is injured with food poisonings or is compromised with low acid,  pharmaceutical acid blockers, weak sphincters, or chronic constipation, parasites may set up housekeeping and we become sick (SIBO). In other instances, the small intestine loses its ability to absorb when the microvilli fingers are flattened as in celiac disease.  Damage or decreased tone of the vagal nerve intervention of the small intestine can manifest as depression, PTSD (gut-brain axis mechanism), as well as inflammatory bowel disease. Hyper reactivity, increased histamine, and food allergies occur when intestinal permeability is present, increasing exposure and response to foreign particles during the digestion process. In my clinical practice, I find small intestine disease very often overlooked and under diagnosed as a culprit of digestive based physical, mental, and emotional symptoms.  So much so that I have categorized these as “mystery diseases” ~ patients still suffer after having been to loads of doctors and yet received no definitive diagnosis or successful treatments.

Ayurveda – Digestive Fire

In Ayurveda, the small intestine and stomach are ruled by the fire element ~ Pitta and is also known as the body’s digestive fire.  While it is the most well known ‘agni’, the digestive agni is just one of the 40 subtypes.  Angi is the divine intelligence present in each and every cell, every process in the body. Agni is any activity involving heat, light, transformation, transmutation, or conversion. Agni is the creative flame of intelligence. Agni is the spark of life, the sparkle in the eye, the light of the heart. The body’s ability to transform external items into fuel, energy and vitality depends on the health and balance of the digestive fire as it physically transforms the food into energy and power.

Keys to keeping your digestive fire healthy:

• Eat moderate amounts based on your constitution, mindfully
• Eat routinely with 90-240 minutes between meals to allow a complete cycle of the migrating motor complex 
• Eat fruit away from other foods
• Avoid cold drinks and minime water with meals to allow for best concentration of digestive enzymes and fluids
• Drink warm herbal teas like ginger, chamomile, peppermint, fennel tea to support digestion
• Eat in a relaxed state 
• Use digestive spices in cooking:  ginger, cardamom, cumin, fennel, cinnamon, turmeric and black pepper.
• Eat like a queen/king for breakfast, a prince/princess for lunch, and a pauper for dinner

Nauli Kriya – fire washing the intestines is an incredibly powerful practice to strengthen the digestive fire and release toxins and negative patterning to encourage unrestricted, natural movement of the internal organs. These videos break the exercise into basic steps that can be developed over time. Note:  not for use during pregnancy, with hernias or intestinal ulcers due to increased abdominal pressure. I have linked both a female and male example of the practice with slight variations that may work for you:

youtube.com/watch?v=wYYGj544mPEhow-to-do-nauli-kriya

youtube.com/watch?v=wYYGj544mPE

Three Levels of Sorting

The small intestine sorts on three levels: physically, mentally, and spiritually; 1) physically, it draws out the nutrients from the food we eat by separating the pure from the impure; 2) it mentally sorts the constant bombardment of our modern environment by eliminating aspects of life such as crime, violence, hatred, and aggression that cause our minds to be impure with negativity; 3) on a spiritual level, our small intestine sorts the deep and dark elements of life that overwhelm the essence of love and joy. The small intestine has the power to separate the goodness from the evil and nasty aspects of life.

FIRE OF THE HEART HEATS UP THE SMALL INTESTINES!

The Small Intestine is indirectly affected by emotions such as anger that causes Qi to stagnate. The fire of the heart heats up the small intestine and signs of excess heat in the small intestine include:

   Abdominal pain

   Small Intestine heat

   Tongue ulcers

   Scanty, dark, painful, or bloody urination

   Heated fluids

   Insomnia, mental restlessness, throat pain, thirst

   Sudden hearing loss

   Red tongue with a swollen red tip and a yellow coat

   Rapid pulse

SMALL INTESTINE DEFICIENCY AND COLD

   Abdominal Pain, relieved by warm and pressure

   Cold obstructing intestines

   Diarrhea

   Weak spleen yang

   Pale and scant urination

   Desire for warm liquids

   Pale tongue with a white coat

   Deep, slow, and weak pulse

SUPPORT YOUR Small Intestine BY TRYING BONE BROTH

Follow this link to a delicious bone broth recipe by Dr Allison Siebecker, ND

for her full text article about bone broth click here

Rich in nutrients, bone broth contains protein, cartilage (remove before cooking if SIBO), calcium and minerals. Our bodies easily digest bone broth, its yummy, and brings a calming and restorative energy to our homes and minds all while repairing our gut lining.

Try bone broth to support the small intestine