THE FIRE PHASE OF SUMMER

As we move into summer, living in alignment with the seasons, as well as the location we are in, allows our bodies to feel more at home in their natural habitat. It allows our spirits to weave into the cycles and rhythms of our dance of life with ease and grace and fluidity. Recognizing that we are part of a greater whole, part of the dance of the universe, allows us to nourish our personal microcosms, our internal universe, in the natural laws and relationships of the macrocosms of the universe, creating and amplifying our creative life force energy.

When we forget to honor these rhythms and cycles, the natural laws of the relational energetics and vibrations, there is a dulling effect of our life force energy and vitality, which eventually takes the direction of destruction and decay.

The wisdom of creation lies in the rhythms of the cosmos, which on earth play out through the polarity dancing ebb and flow of yin and yang and the five elemental, energetic vibrations (which I will also refer to as phases or transformations). These five energetics are water, wood, fire, earth and metal.

Summer is associated with the fire phase from early May through the peak of summer Solstice and on to early July. During this peak yang time, the energy is expansive and connecting, it is the time of warmth, growth and increased light. To maximize the energy of the next season we want to move into harmony with the season we are in. Summer is our time to witness ourselves, and the world around us, in their fullest potential and expression.  Everything is in full bloom, connection, creativity and activity. The meridians of this season are the Heart (housing our Shen Spirit), the Small Intestine, the Pericardium and the San Jiao, these meridian systems govern warmth, connection, joy, passion and purpose. Together when in balance they support in calming and nourishing the Shen and your intuition. Through a dancing balance of yin and yang, of fire and water (otherwise the fire would burn up all material matter and self destruct), we find the meeting of our will and hearts desires to meet our destiny.

We can see in the hot summer days, that being slow and relaxed is more in alignment with the energy.

Early Summer Lifestyle Practices:

Wake up early, watch the sun rise, so your circadian rhythm tunes into the day and releases the right hormonal cascade through the day.

Go to bed a little later, we don’t need as much sleep in the summer, we can enjoy the daylight longer and more so if we take a mid day rest. 

Have a mid day rest to break from the peak sun - yoga nidra would be perfect for this time of day as a full body reset. Also gives us an opportunity to replenish and assess our capacity and adjust our experiences accordingly.

Balance with the spirit of water, go swimming, find a river or waterfall to be in the presence of structured water, soothing the fire.

Enjoy some more physical activities like swimming, running, skipping, kung fu basic, give your heart some cardio time.

Balance with lower and personal practices like meditation, qi gong, yin or hatha yoga, walking, forest bathing. 

Create quiet contemplative solo time, like writing, reading, or playing an instrument. Explore journal prompts for self inquiry and meditation to develop a connection to your inner truth. 

Get creative, do things that bring you joy, maybe a hobby you love or group activities you love that allow your creativity to flow.

Play, Play, Play. Spend time with loved ones. Get out to mindful festivals, gatherings, social time, appreciate your senses, smell, sights, sounds and tactile aspects of the symphony of nature.

If you would like some inspiration for connecting with the fire element of summer in nature, and re wild your relationship to nature. Sonja also offers a 30 Day email missive of short notes with ways to fall in love with the gifts that nature is offering in the summer.

It can be found and signed up for at https://alchemyofemotions.love/rewildsummer

Early Summer Nourishment

Heart-friendly foods

Fire element

Gently transition into the season with paying attention to the temperature.  Slowly integrating the following into your days. In the yang of summer it is vital to preserve our yin and fluids with our diet. We want foods that support digestion and calms the mind, pacifying the Heart and Small Intestine. Light meals, with largest meal at lunch supports the digestion. Heavy foods on hot days cause the body and digestion to be sluggish.

Cook higher temperature with shorter times in the summer.

When cooking with water, light steam or quick boil, when cooking with oil, a light sautee is most appropriate.

In Chinese medicine, raw foods are harmful to the stomach and spleen and can cause problems due to cold contracting and holding in sweat and heat, so we can’t regulate our temperature with sweat. in the summer heat if eaten all the time.So minimize these and balance with enough lightly cooked food or warm teas to keep the digestive fires going.  In warm countries like the south of India, they eat cooked foods and drink warm teas so as not to put out the vitality of the digestive fire. 

Bitter/light/mildly sour flavors, instead of spicy or sweet. Bitter foods harmonize and support the heart and small intestine.

Calming and cooling foods (energetically cool foods pacify heat, this does not necessary refer to cooked or raw but to the natural energetic temperature of the food)

Cooling foods: lettuce, cucumber, cilantro, watercress, mint, dill, spinach, seafood, tomatoes, barley.

Teas: Chrysanthemum, Mint, honeysuckle, lotus leaves, logan, green tea, cucumber, lemon, saffron, nettle

Greens: dandelion, arugula, ramps, fiddleheads,

Grains: millet, job’s tears, pearl barley, oats, buck wheat

Legumes: aduki beans, mung beans

Vegetables: daikon, mushrooms, asparagus, celery, cilantro, lily bulbs, bitter melon, silk gourd, summer squash, winter melon, cucumber, tomato, eggplant, corn, bokchoy, sprouts, chinese cabbage, mushrooms, celery, lettuce, endive, dandelion (root and leaves), endive, snow pease, spinach, rocket, seaweed

Fruit: honeydew, lemon, berries, plums, cherry, watermelon, elderberry, pineapple, papaya

Protein: plant-based protein, mungbean, azuki bean, soy milk, gingko nut, yogurt, fish, tofu, tempeh, soy beans, duck, seafood, mushrooms

Herbs:  coriander, basil, marjoram, cilantro, parsley, rosemary, thyme

If you would love a Seasonal Attunement in person experience, we will be hosting a Fire Phase retreat June 7th - 10th at Cedar Healing Arts in Gravenhurst, Muskoka Area.

https://www.cedarhealingarts.com/retreats

We will have Fire Phase qi gong and meditation, Acupuncture and Sound treatments, Teaching of Daoist 5 Phase - Fire season, how to align as well as emotions of this phase. We will go explore lakes, forests and rives, swimming and nature meditations, fire ceremony and evening yin yoga with sound journeys.

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