Category: outdoor activity

Turn Off the News . . .

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“And Build a Garden with Me” ~ Lukas Nelson

I am sitting in my backyard in the healing sunshine, embracing seasonal living while watching nature do its colorful dance. The winter weather brings a different look to the acupuncture cabin — the grass is a rich dark green, the flowers are gone and the red oak is hanging onto its last few leaves. The Acupuncture Cabin is cozy and warm, sunlight filters into the room and shines on the table, and on crisp dry days I slide open the cabin doors. You can hear the birds go about gathering the seeds I’ve put out for them…

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), our Lung organ system is where we want to send our self-love this winter.

Ancient Chinese Secrets for Health in Winter

In TCM, the lungs and large intestine organs are linked by the same meridian system — this means cold, dry or damp winter air penetrates easily from the most superficial organ – the lungs, to one of the deepest organs – the large intestine. So to remain healthy we must support the lungs to be a strong barrier to weather extremes–this helps avoid cough, common colds and other viruses. In TCM we believe you don’t just “catch” a virus or contagion — you become ill with a virus when your body systems including the innate immune system are not well tended to. The foundation of Tibetan medicine is that mind and body are closely related. Therefore, Tibetan physicians have always considered a sound mind as a prerequisite for a healthy body. To keep the mind healthy, meditation is important to stay balanced and out of fear patterns that break down our bodies resilience. The Dali Lama promotes that as we move forward to make new discoveries, we must preserve and promote our ancient wisdom –and the innate wisdom of our own bodies.

The Cedar bloom is here, so let’s support the immune system to stay balanced and out of overreaction during this prolific show!

Keeping our lungs moist in dry weather is a good for the immune system. My favorite food for moistening the lungs is pears. Eat them in abundance. I love them steamed. Pears are in season now, because what our body needs grows in the season and location we live within. Nourish and strengthen your body with the abundant deep root vegetables, dark hearty greens and healing herbs that grow in the winter. We need them for energy stores, strength and stamina — nature is so smart!

Check out the seasonal foods that grow in the Austin region here. And shop your local farmers market – it’s charged with healing energy, kindhearted people, and amazing local farmers and food!

Modern Tips for Immunity Boosting

  • Sugar is a #1 immune system dis-regulator –Get your sugar naturally – in fruits, sweet herbs and veggies like carrots, beets and dates.
  • Zinc is helpful — Oysters, chickpeas, cashews and almonds are a great sources.
  • Vitamin D — Eat mushrooms; they lower risk of infection.
  • Probiotics — Eat fermented veggies and yogurt without added sugar. Many foods contain healthy prebiotics to assist your body in producing probiotics.
  • Eat antiviral and antibacterial foods — Chew a clove of garlic a day. Try Young Living’s Vitality Line Oregano – one or two drops is plenty. These both pack a punch, so don’t overdo it. Yowza!
  • If needed for an infection, concentrated plant supplements like Mediherb’s Andographis and Boswellia are good. And Astragalus can be helpful pre and post imfection. I can help you find the perfect supplements for your body at your next appointment, or via an online herbal consult. Reach out at cls@seasonsheatlh.com.
  • Get plenty of sleep — Sleep helps with cytokine production. These signal the immune system to do its job by affecting the growth of all blood cells and other cells to help the body’s immune and inflammatory responses.
  • Avoid excess EMF’s in your home — Check out some well-tested and documented remedies here at Aulterra. Spending many hours on and around electronics can lower your immunity.
  • Nurture your nature by managing your stress – You’ll enjoy the benefits of reduced cortisol. This also lowers fight or flight patterns and anxiety, depression and overwhelm. Try calming music and meditation; I love Joe Despensa’s YouTube videos. Try lying on the earth and connecting with its healing heartbeat — taking in nature quickly calms the spirit.
  • Keep your body moving — Keep your rivers of innate wisdom flowing with movement.
  • Acupuncture for optimum health — Acupuncture supports and balances your whole body and immune system through your energetic pathways!

You might also further pursue the paradigm shift that’s happening in the medical field – towards modalities that empower our body and its innate wisdom, instead of compromising it. Along those lines, I want to share with you a new favorite place of mine. Try the sauna and cold plunge! . . . Kuya

I also like Dr. Zach Bush’s YouTube videos and symposium on the “Innate Immune System” and how it functions optimally.

An essential oil remedy to soothe sore throats and tame coughs

Honey-Thyme Cough Alleviator

Mix in small bowl:

1/3 cup honey (use Manuka honey to increase the antiviral effects of this remedy)
6 drops thyme essential oil (To be sure the thyme essential oil you select is suitable for internal use, try Young Living’s vitality line.)

Store in small jar and use 1/2 to 1 tsp as needed or add to Traditional Medicinal’s Breathe Easy Tea.

Acupuncture Cabin and Seasons Health News

  • My patients will now have access to my new online pharmacy with a 25% discount on all supplements ordered there. I will get you set up at your next appointment.
  • I am collaborating with Marci Warren, LPC, a holistic trauma therapist with over 15 years of experience healing self and others. You will love her! In early May we will co-facilitate a women’s healing group in nature for women who care for others. This foundational support is vital for recovery, healing and post-traumatic growth — especially for women who carry so much. I am excited to share ancient healing remedies with the group — including healing with plants, Qi Gong exercises to support and cleanse our energy and many Ancient Chinese Secrets! More information to come!

I encourage you to come enjoy the warm, cozy Acupuncture Cabin soon – it’s a special place each season of the year. Slow down, breathe, nurture yourself abundantly. Stop doing and just BE in silence with your beautiful self — that is where the waves of calm and connection to your wisdom are found.

I wish you all a New Year full of joy and confidence that you and your loved ones are safe, sound and healthy. Whether you are new to Seasons Health or a long-time friend, I am grateful for you. I would love for you to share this post with anyone you feel would be happy to receive it. Many thanks.

“People travel to wonder at the height of mountains, at the huge waves of sea, at the long courses of rivers, at the vast compass of the ocean, at the circular motion of the stars; and they pass by themselves without wondering.” ~ St. Augustine

With Love,

Charlotte
Seasons Health

SOS — Self Care Is Necessary for Good Health and Vitality

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Do You Feel Hungover From The Ups And Downs Of The Last Two Years?

Over the last two years there has been so much transition. This is hard on our physical and emotional body – and our immune system to boot! I invite you to slow down and immerse yourself in self care — rushing head on can be dangerous after navigating difficult times. FILL YOUR CUP SEVERAL TIMES A DAY with deep self care for your physical and emotional body. Then, from that place of going inward – expand out to your community and all your to do’s.

In the beginning of the spring of 2020, I found myself with a lot of time on my hands to contemplate. After losing my contract job as an acupuncturist due to the pandemic, the stillness and time I spent outdoors reflecting upon what was next for me is something I’m now deeply grateful for. I spent time on my back screened porch watching fireflies in the early evening; I ate my breakfast and dinner on the porch, watching wildlife coming to take in the spring air with me.

A thoughtful patient gifted me an Audubon membership and I went on an early misty morning bird walk at Commons Ford Ranch this spring. I was impressed by the many species of birds I saw in just two hours — including a Yellow Billed Cuckoo! Yep, there really is such a creature and it predicts the rain with it’s loud call more accurately than our weatherman! This slowing and stillness amongst the sights and sounds of nature helped me sort things out, and let necessary things go. I found gratitude for things taken for granted in my busy day to day life – time with my precious son, our sweet cottage home, and my health and vitality in the second half of my life. I was inspired to create a pollinators garden — I built it, and they came! The bees, the butterflies, moths, hummingbirds and other birds are all participating in the natural habitat I’m nurturing for them. And, I built the wonderful Acupuncture Cabin for you! This has all connected me to something very important . . . .

We Are All Part of Nature And The Natural Process Of Things

In my garden I give to the planet that supports me . . . I never use pesticides inside or out, I plant native trees and plants for the abundant wildlife. Here, I watch the cycles of life that have always taken place on our planet unfold before my eyes and listen to what it has to teach. Hippocrates said, “When there is an imbalance on earth, look to nature for answers . . . ” We have experienced a profound look at a great imbalance over the past years. And still the cycle of life continues. Through my TCM practice, I have been the grateful witness of new babies coming into our world, and many on their way currently growing in the ever amazing mother’s womb.

My Masters of Science at AOMA Integrative School of Medicine was the beginning of my learning to think outside mainstream medicine whenever I can to support health, and to remember how truly powerful and amazing our innate immune system is when we nurture it.

Traditional Chinese Medicine and holistic healthcare offer tried and true methods for building a strong immune system, and for supporting immunity through a health crisis.

Connect To Nature — What Do You Like To Do Outdoors?

The Negative Ions In Nature Are Healing!

Put your body in moving water, a river, a waterfall, a natural spring. Lie on the earth and get your daily grounding in . . . If not in your own backyard, we have an abundance of beautiful parks right here in the Austin area. I recommend Austin’s very own Barton Springs, Pedernales Falls State Park, South Llano River State Park, and Blanco State Park. Further out there is Garner State Park, and Lost Maples. Oh my gosh so many to choose from — I recommend the book “The Swimming Holes of Texas” by Julie Wernersbach and Carolyn Tracy at University of Texas Press, Austin.

The gift of living a healthy lifestyle is priceless, as it helps our immune system do it’s job. Eat healthy, local and seasonal. Plant a Garden — get inspiration from Barbara Kingsolver’s Book “Animal, Vegetable, Miracle,” and any read by Michael Pollan who says, “Eat Food, Not too Much, Mostly Plants.”

Get plenty of sleep, move your body daily, drink spring water, (I like Mountain Valley) and they deliver it right to my door!

In that spirit, I would like to invite you to the Acupuncture Cabin, it is such a sweet place to come for a relaxing, deeply restorative self care session.

The Acupuncture Cabin in the Spring

Now the wildflowers are gone but the pollinators garden is buzzing right along. My patients love the open air cabin on cool days, gentle rain sounds on the metal roof, sun filtering through the green vines at the window, birds singing in the garden, the music . . . come embrace the experience!

REMEMBER ACUPUNCTURE IS GOOD FOR THE SOUL!

  • Great for boosting immunity
  • Calms the Central Nervous System
  • Good before and after traveling — I can help you with a supplemental immune support travel kit!
  • Helps restore your parasympathetic nervous system’s resting state, and get you out of fight or flight patterns — treating anxiety, depression, and PTSD.
  • And I offer telemedicine Traditional Chinese Medicine and Holistic Healthcare consults, to promote wellness, or to support recovery from an illness.

I am here for you my Seasons Health friends. Just shoot me an email to make an appointment at the Acupuncture Cabin, or for me to come to you for a home visit. Please, share my blog with any friends or family you think may be interested. Thank you for supporting my practice.

Namaste, Charlotte

“Your work is to discover your world and then with all your heart give yourself to it“ Buddha

Staying Grounded in a Health Crisis and Embracing Boredom

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Let’s all take a collective deep cleansing breath and reset our nervous systems.  

We are living in times unseen for many of us.  Rather than repeat the important mainstream do’s and don’ts we’ve all heard by now, I’d like to share with you some ancient wisdom to keep us grounded and in a place where we can do the most good for ourselves and others.

Check the “Run for your life!” mind chatter

The body’s stress response is designed on an evolutionary level to protect us from danger in emergency situations.  Where swift action is required in order to save ourselves or another, this stress response gives us power to survive.  Our body releases glucose, cortisol and other hormones into the blood stream during high stress. These hormones and chemicals help us run faster, increase strength and sharpen brain function. Our blood pressure rises and we’re primed to conquer any emergency! This same stress response shuts down systems in our body that are not required in an emergency like our digestion, reproductive hormones and other endocrine system functions that are vital. Ideally, this stress response would only be put into action on rare occasions.  Yet in today’s fast-paced stressful environment, some of us get stuck in patterns of stressful thoughts, rushing around and not sleeping or eating well.  This creates chronic health issues over time. Our bodies forget how to slow down and settle into our “Rest and Restore” parasympathetic nervous system.

Do you scroll email, news or social media late at night when your body needs to rest, restore and gather back the Qi it lost during the day?  It’s no wonder we are so stressed.  This pattern is unsettling to the central nervous system – fear-induced mind chatter and social media, non-stop doing, and not enough “being” throws our body into an excited response called the sympathetic response aka “fight or flight.” It’s characterized by anxiety, rapid heart rate and shallow breathing which depletes us of our vital resources and our super powers when we truly need them.

Embracing Boredom And Coping With Stress

Many today feel the need to be perpetually stimulated — watching the news as we eat, listening to music during exercise or chores, being on our laptop, phone and TV all at the same time. It’s a constant stream of stimuli.  If you find absence of this stimulus brings discomfort and you are scrambling to fill the space with talk or technology,  it may be time to practice embracing stillness and just be with what is.  Teach your body to rest and restore.

A wise meditation teacher Chogyam Trungpa taught about two kinds of boredom:

  1. “Hot Boredom” is that strong uncomfortable feeling that propels us to seek entertainment. It’s like being locked in a padded cell where we feel irritated, bored, closed in with just our thoughts.  Yet as we evolve in our practice of being still we begin to move into a different, higher state.
  2. “Cool Boredom” is where we notice our boredom without reacting to it in the same way.  It feels more spacious; we allow ourselves to sit with it, observe and lean into the boredom and thoughts without judgement — allowing it to exist as it is.  When we do this daily, a shift occurs over time and we learn to tap into the deep calm river that flows through each of us when needed.  It’s this steady calm transferred into real life situations — like the health crisis our country is experiencing today — that make us stronger individually and collectively.   So don’t buy into the fear. Stay steady my friends.

Ancient secrets Sustain calm and balance in the storms of life

Slow down, ground, and just be in each moment as it unfolds:

  • Just one deep breath can reset your nervous system.  For a deeper reset try 4-7-8 breathing (there are many good videos on youtube.com.)
  • Practice daily mindfulness: meditate, walk, close your eyes and just be with the stillness.
  • My personal favorite app to support mental well being is “Calm.”  I use their simple 5-10 minute guided meditations daily. The sleep stories lull me off to dreamland, I enjoy the soothing music compositions as I go about my day, and am especially impressed by the classes they offer by masters in the field of mindfulness. Patients can email me for a 30-day free trial of the Calm Premium app to get started.
  • Yoga may elevate the brain’s GABA levels and create calm.
  • GET OUTSIDE! Get fresh air daily.  Whether it’s sunny or rainy — take a walk, dig in the garden, pull weeds, hug a tree, feel the wind in your hair, connect to the earth under your feet and hear the music of nature!

Facing COVID-19

As for COVID-19, yes it is out there . . . and yes, this is a worthy of our calm and collected attention.  Remember your daily calming practices.  From there, take good care of yourselves and others. As my Dad told me often, “Don’t be scared, be smart,” and remember to separate facts from fear.

Please Note:  If you or someone in your family shows signs of COVID-19, you cannot show up at any walk-in urgent care or other clinic (including Seasons Health).  At this time, most clinics do not have the tools available to test you correctly. Please stay home if you think you are getting a cold/flu or COVID-19. Then call your doctor, describe your symptoms and they will inform you of the next steps to take. If you are experiencing any urgent symptoms, such as high fever, difficulty breathing or other symptoms of immediate concern, call 911, or go to your local emergency room.

Helpful links:

CDC Coronavirus Homepage
CDC Proper Handwashing Technique
City of Austin Updates on COVID-19

Other ideas to get you through the storm

  • Take a few daily supplements for preventative care such as vitamin C, Zinc, and a probiotic. There are many other options for preventative care and illness I suggest based upon each individual’s needs.
  • Practice good self-care to maintain a healthy immune system:  get plenty of exercise, healthy foods, purified water and sleep. Bring in your own special stress busters. I like to take long walks, practice yoga and meditation, bounce on my mini trampoline, garden, and get plenty of deep belly laughs!
  • Avoid exposure to crowds for now; avoid being with others when either you are they are feeling sick — don’t wait until you run a fever to self-quarantine. Remember studies are showing many people are asymptomatic with COVID-19.  One of those studies, published by Eurosurveillance found that of the 634 who tested positive aboard the Diamond Princess cruise ship 328 of them showed no symptoms.  This means people who have the virus could be spreading it without knowing, which could be especially dangerous to older adults and people with underlying health issues.
  • Essence oils are a wonderful addition to your wellness kit
    • Create a calming atmosphere by Defusing therapeutic-grade essential oils in your home:  Like Young Living’s Stress Away, and Grounding, thieves, lavender or orange.
    • Looking to purify the air: Purification is the blend for you.
    • To create an uplifting environment try peppermint, lemon or lavender, or blend the three!
    • Think respiratory care with R.C., Raven and my favorite Ravintsara. These can bring a comforting aroma when applied to the chest.
    • Please Note:  Young Living’s Vitality line of oils are labeled for internal use, so you can safely and confidently use them as an addition to your wellness routine.  Thieves Vitality is a good choice to support a healthy immune system.*  Other vitality oils to consider?  How about Lemon Vitality.  It only takes a drop or two.
    • *These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.  This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
    • Please contact me if you would like to learn more about essence oils and why I choose Young Living.
    • See Leslie’s Lifestyle Links on Facebook for more essence oil tips.

I invite you to tap into the deeper still waters of healing that run through each of us when we take time to sit, let go and listen to our inner wisdom.  Teach the people you love to do the same . . . Moreover, I am here to help and support you, your family and friends as you navigate the best choices for your health needs.

Charlotte’s Home Visits and Remote Holistic Healthcare Consults

**I am always available for online/remote holistic healthcare consults.** I can help you navigate the many options available for both preventive and healing purposes.  Together we will come up with a plan that may include diet, nutrition, lifestyle and calming tips, Chinese herbal formulas, and other wellness formulas.  Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicine formulas have been around for centuries; they helped us through SARS and other health epidemics in the past.  They are now among the best and safest of herbal antivirals.

I close with sage advice from The Way of Zen to guide you through your days, this one is hanging in my very own kitchen:

Do one thing at a time

Do Things slowly and mindfully

Connect Deeply with People and Nature

Meditate frequently

Appreciate Silence

Expect Nothing

Be grateful for everything

Observe without judgment

Consume less, create more

Let go of fears and desires

Listen to understand, not to respond

Be Patient and generous

Love Deeply

Live Simply

And there is Always John Prine, who advises in his “Spanish Pipedream” song:

Blow up your TV, throw away your paper

Go to the country and build you a home

Plant you a garden, eat a lot of peaches

And try and find Jesus on your own . . .

From the light in me to the light in you, I wish you peace and calm to carry on through the storms of life.  We will all do this together, and we will be fine.

— Charlotte