Fire Element
Happy Solstice! In this Fire element newsletter you’ll find everything from seasonal health and wellness tips and dietary/herbal recommendations to Fire element Qi Gong exercises and an acupressure point to try at home. TL;DR (too long; didn’t read) – skip to the bold sections below for ways to healthily engage your Fire element!
Summer's Fire energy can manifest in many ways. Imagine you’re at an outdoor barbecue; the temperature is in the mid 90’s and everyone is sweating like crazy, trying to find shade and something cold to drink. Bubbling conversation leads to laughter, and friends joyfully embrace as they reconnect. Heat, sweat, laughter, love and joy are all contained within the Fire element. Its gifts include warmth, passion and partnership.
What happens when we’re lacking fire in body, mind or spirit? Physically, we may feel sluggish and tired or experience chills. We might have poor circulation of blood and body fluids, there may be issues with menstruation or sexual function, or we could experience numbness in our extremities. When our stomach fire is lacking, it can lead to poor digestion, diarrhea or abdominal pain. On a mental/emotional level there may be no capacity for warmth or compassion towards ourselves or others and it might feel difficult to connect in a heartfelt way. On a spirit level, it may feel like a lack of joy; nature is showcasing its vitality and lightness, but we’re unable to blossom ourselves and join the party. Alternately, if we have an excess of fire, it may show up as hot and inflamed joints, insomnia, constipation or burning diarrhea. It could also present as mania, or in someone who is a “fun junkie,” always laughing and joking, unable to come down. So how do we keep our fire balanced?
Before diving into effective ways to engage your Fire element – a quick note on qi. Qi is often broadly translated as “life force energy.” It moves though our bodies, organs and acupuncture channels in different ways depending on the nature of what it’s animating. Imagine the sail on a sailboat; the cloth is our physical form, and the propelling wind is the qi. Each element has two organs related to it (the exception being four in Fire). The yin organs associated with Fire are the Heart and Pericardium, the yang organs are the Small Intestine and the Triple Heater.
Qi Gong
While acupuncture is one of the most effective ways to assure the proper flow of qi, there are other effective actions we can take. Qi gong was developed thousands of years ago as a branch of Chinese Medicine and it involves a series of slow, coordinated movements and breathing. An ancient saying goes, “where there is free flow, there is no pain, where there is no free flow, there is pain.” By facilitating the free flow of qi, qi gong can help maintain health of body, mind and spirit. Mimi Kuo-Deemer is one of my favorite practitioners for Qi gong – her approach is clear, descriptive and informative. Here’s a link to her Fire Element Qi Gong video. You’re welcome to try the whole sequence, or simply pick one or two moves that resonate and practice those.
Acupressure points
What are they and how are they used? While needles can have a more pronounced effect, these are acupuncture points that can be activated with finger pressure. Either press and hold the point with medium pressure, or, while engaging with pressure you can make small clockwise circles – either way, hold it for anywhere from 1-3 minutes on both the left and right sides of the body. This can be done as needed or a handful of times a day.
PC 6 (Pericardium 6, Nei Guan, Inner Frontier Gate)
Location: Bring all five fingertips together to pop out your tendons. From the center of your wrist, move two thumb widths closer to your body and find this point between the two major tendons.
Uses: This point assures that the gate to the heart is well-oiled and moving freely, not rusted shut and not too loose. It calms and opens the chest, helping to clear chest pain and tightness, and can be used after a shock. It assures the free flow of blood and qi, calming anxiety and panic, and easing depression. It brightens mental functioning and restores joy and vitality. It can also help with insomnia and is an excellent point for nausea.
Dietary tip
What is one of the most effective “herbs”/foods in Chinese medicine to clear heat in the summer? No, not ice cream…watermelon (xi gua)! If you’re experiencing intense thirst, heat irritation or dark, scanty urine, chomp down on some watermelon to restore your fluids, calm irritation and clear heat buildup.
Other ways to engage Fire
In nature, summer is a time when things come to fruition. Young plants that burst onto the scene in spring are now blossoming/fruiting and everything is in its maximum expression. This is a cause for celebration! To connect with your Fire element, do things that bring you joy. Whether that’s dancing with friends or solo in your room, going for a run, painting, writing, playing music, you name it! Prioritizing fun is essential for our mental and physical health. So whether that’s having a squirt gun battle with your kids or secretly jamming out to your favorite song at work, the Fire element is giving you full permission to do so. And of course, if you’re feeling lower ebb, something like having a heart to heart conversation with a good friend is equally nourishing.
If you’d like to explore your Fire element further, or would like to address any of the above symptoms, I’d be happy to see you for treatment. For more information about my practice, please visit here.
Happy Summer! 🔥
Warmly,
Corey