Xiǎo Chái Hú Tāng for jet lag, and other herbs I don’t travel without
Here are 4 formulas for jet lag that I don’t travel without, and how I use them.
Sichuan peppercorns diaries: home remedy for reflux
Swallow 8-10 whole Sichuan peppercorns 花椒 huājiāo once daily before a meal to unclog your intestines and increase peristalsis. Do not cook with the peppercorns and then eat them. Peppercorns that have been heated until the aromatics are released (i.e., like the ones that came as a garnish on your dish at a restaurant) will create Stomach Heat before passing through to your intestines.
Leave yourself a little white space
It's fall, we're entering into a season associated with the color white and the lungs, and I'm thinking today about breathing room.
Nourishing yin
Wednesday, November 15, 2023 3:55pm
I have several patients right now who need yin nourishing so I’m hoping to jot down a few thoughts while my Boon is upstairs hanging out with Grandpapa (I hope they are both napping).
The most important thing to nourish yin is to sleep. If your sleep is super disregulated, just sleep as much as you can, whenever you can. But if you have some agency over when you sleep, it is important to be in deep sleep during Liver o’clock (by the 12-hour Chinese chronobiology clock, which I will try to find a link to) so your body can thoroughly detox its blood while you are asleep.
If you are already sleeping the correct hours, but still not growing yin (i.e., you have dryness, you are restless, there’s not enough yin to anchor your yang so you are hot and bothered frequently), try avoiding spicy and deep fried foods.
Sleep Hygiene
What I do for sleep is as follows:
- Try to exercise daily, but not right before bed.
- Stop eating after 8pm.
- Stop using screens after 8pm.
- Go camping.
- Be outside 10-15 minutes every day.
- Avoid caffeine.
- Cuddle my cat.
Slow Breathing
excerpt from an email to a patient sent February 21, 2016 at 9:35am:
You can work on slow breathing. I mean really slow, smooth, and relaxed, like you're sipping sweet air through a straw that's the very back of your airways to fill up your lungs from the bottom to the top.
Monday, April 14, 2014
I hit myself in the face with a bungee cord while trying to untangle it from the spokes of my new bicycle today. It cut the bridge of my nose and bruised my left eyebrow.