Summer Solstice is the height of summer, the longest day of the year, and the time when the sun is the highest in the sky. It is the zenith of yang energy and the beginning of the end of summer. After the solstice yang begins it’s decline as yin is birthed as we head towards autumn and the days get shorter. In the winter, when yang is born inside of yin, we celebrate the time with candles, twinkling lights, and stories from various religions about the coming of the light. Rar
Happy Chinese New Year, Imbolc, and the First Day of Spring! This time of year, beginning with the last new moon in January has the potential for recalibrating our sense of life. There is a tremendous potential for renewal, inspiration, and freshness. It is like being a child young and new. Yang is returning and below the ground, some seeds are beginning to sprout. It is a fantastic time to let go of the old, break up habitual patterns, and move towards the people and things
Many things have reminded me of Liu Ming lately, using the tea pot I got from him, a certain incense smell, a moment in a ritual, and a remembering to calibrate my life with the cycles of the seasons and the stars. I have increasingly felt a calling to write about my time with him and to share some of his teachings as a way to keep them alive. Liu Ming was a taoist teacher, philosopher, and practitioner that heavily influenced my understanding of health and wellness. He taugh
Our fluid bodies need water so they do not become rigid and hard. Water is a crucial aspect of our being, essential to life. It is what we are made of. Our relationship to water is part of our thriving relationship with life itself. Water is life. Begin the Day With Hydration Drinking water first thing in the morning on an empty stomach has great benefits. I recommend drinking it warm - hot (to protect the spleen) with a small amount of Himalayan sea salt added to it to guide