Five Element Acupuncture Homer

08/07/2026

Acupuncture works by treating the whole person across three interconnected dimensions: Body, Mind, and Spirit.

Acupuncture Should Be a Leading Therapy for Mental Health

Check out the article or podcast here:
https://acupuncturetoday.com/article/40134-acupuncture-should-be-a-leading-therapy-for-mental-health

07/11/2026

According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), summer is the season of the Fire element, and the organ associated with it is the Heart.

In TCM dietary theory, every organ network has a corresponding color that nourishes it. For the Heart, that color is red.

Eating naturally red foods during the hottest months of the year is a beautiful, intentional way to cool the body, generate fluids, and keep your Shen (spirit/mind) calm and anchored.

Why Red Foods in the Summer?
When summer heat spikes, it can easily overstimulate the Heart system. In TCM, this doesn't just mean your physical cardiovascular system; it includes your sleep quality, mental clarity, and emotional balance.

High heat can lead to Heart Fire,which often shows up as:
😬Restlessness or anxiety
😴Insomnia or vivid dreaming
👅A red tip on the tongue
🥵Excessive sweating and thirst

Eating red summer foods helps clear this excess heat, replenishes the vital body fluids lost to sweating, and nourishes the Heart Blood.

The Top Red Summer Foods:

🍉Watermelon🍉
Known in TCM as the "natural White Tiger Decoction" (a famous classical formula used to clear extreme heat), watermelon is the ultimate summer remedy. It enters the Heart, Stomach, and Bladder channels. It is incredibly cooling, immediately clears summer heat, and promotes urination to flush out toxins.

🍅Tomatoes🍅
Slightly cool in nature, tomatoes are excellent for promoting body fluids, quenching thirst, and strengthening digestion. They help clear heat and resolve summer sluggishness.

🍓Strawberries & Raspberries🍓
These berries are wonderful for generating fluids and nourishing Blood. Strawberries carry a slightly cooling nature that can soothe a restless mind, while raspberries gently astringe, helping to prevent the excessive loss of fluids through sweating.

🍇Goji Berries (Gou Qi Zi)🍇
While naturally warming, adding a small handful of goji berries to a cooling summer tea helps nourish Liver and Heart Blood, providing a grounding, tonifying balance to the lighter, cooling foods of the season.

🫘Red Adzuki Beans🫘
Summer humidity can combine with heat to create "damp-heat," leaving you feeling heavy or bloated. Adzuki beans are a staple for strengthening the Spleen and draining dampness, while their red color specifically supports the Heart.

A Quick Summer Rule: While these foods are cooling, try not to consume them ice-cold straight from the fridge. Letting them come to room temperature protects your Yang Qi and Spleen digestion from getting shocked by the cold.

06/28/2026

Wisdom of the Tao 34: Satisfaction

Satisfaction alludes us because we are trying to fill an empty hole. Whose very nature is to be empty. We try and try and try, but the empty hole cannot be filled. We spend so much energy and trying that we completely forget that there’s nothing to do. Satisfaction eludes us because all effort is in vain.

Let go of attempting to change what is. At most all you will change is the appearance of things. You can make the crooked straight and heat the cold, but if you want to change the nature of things, you will never succeed.

Be content to do things well. Let the world take care of itself. Live your life in the peace of having conquered the fear of not knowing. Having come home to yourself you will experience great contentment and satisfaction. Having come home to yourself you will experience a greater joy than you ever expected.

Stop chasing after what is not. Become more comfortable with what is. This is the key to satisfaction.

06/21/2026

🌈 I was fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of a full rainbow across the sky from my deck during last night’s Summer Solstice! It was a perfect demonstration of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) philosophy in action.

When a full rainbow appears on the solstice, it is a visual manifestation of Yin and Yang in perfect, harmonious embrace.

The summer solstice represents peak Yang—absolute heat, fire, dryness, and maximum sunlight.

A rainbow, however, cannot exist on sunlight alone. It requires moisture: a sudden summer shower, mist, or dense water droplets hanging in the air.

In TCM, water is the ultimate expression of Yin (coolness, fluid, stillness).

The fierce, fiery sun (Yang) does not evaporate the rain; the cool rain (Yin) does not extinguish the sun.

Instead, they refract through one another, creating a bridge of pure, vibrant color. It is a reminder that even at the height of summer's heat, Yin is present, necessary, and beautiful.

If your body has been feeling a little too fiery lately—manifesting as summer anxiety, restlessness, insomnia, or irritability—the solstice rainbow is your medicine.

It is a cosmic nudge from nature reminding you to invite the water into your fire.

Let it remind you to find your own inner balance as we step into the deeper weeks of summer. ☀️

06/21/2026

My favorite find from the Homer Farmers Market this week has to be the “Good Jing” herbal tea blend from Twin Fish Gardens, Homer Alaska

I'm so excited to use this blend as an excuse to slow down, nourish my roots, and restore my deep energy reserves.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Jing (or Essence), refers to our deepest reserves of Qi or life force energy.

TCM divides our Jing into two distinct sources:

🌸 Pre-Heaven Jing: Your genetic blueprint. This is the baseline vitality passed down by your parents at conception. It is a fixed savings account—we use it up over our lifetime, and when it runs out, our physical journey ends.

🌸 Post-Heaven Jing: Your checking account. This is the essence you actively refine and create every day from the food you digest (via the Spleen) and the air you breathe (via the Lungs).

The goal of holistic wellness is simple: Cultivate your Post-Heaven Jing so you don’t have to drain your Pre-Heaven savings account.

Signs Your "Battery" is Running Low:
Because Jing is stored deeply within the Kidneys—the root of both Yin and Yang in the body—a deficiency shows up as signs of premature aging, burnout, infertility, or deep constitutional weakness.

Ways to Protect/Recharge Your Jing:
While you can't easily add to your genetic "savings account," you can strictly limit how fast you spend it.

Here is how to keep your foundational battery protected:

😴 Sleep with the Seasons: Burnout is the number one consumer of Jing. Prioritize deep, restorative rest—especially during the winter months, which is the season associated with the Water element and the Kidneys.

🫘 Eat "Essence-Rich" Foods: Support your Post-Heaven Jing by eating deeply nourishing, mineral-dense foods. Think black sesame seeds, walnuts, bone broths, dark leafy greens, and kidney beans.

🧘🏻Practice Mindful Movement: High-intensity workouts can sometimes over-exhaust an already depleted body. Swap a high-stress cardio session for mindful, breath-centric movements like Qigong or Tai Chi, which actively circulate Qi without burning up your structural core.

The Bottom Line: You can't change the baseline battery you were born with, but you control how fast you drain it. Protect your roots, rest deeply, and nourish your foundation. ☯️

⁠

06/15/2026

Open your heart and expand your energy with this Summer Qigong prac...

05/10/2026

Meet Spirit Gate: The Gateway to Inner Peace

In the practice of acupuncture, few points are as cherished for mental and emotional well-being as Heart 7, also known by its Chinese name, Shenmen (translated as "Spirit Gate").

In the Five Element tradition, "Spirit Gate" is often seen as a way to provide the Heart with the stability it needs to radiate its natural warmth and joy. When the gate is clear, the "Emperor" (the Heart) can lead with clarity and compassion rather than being clouded by agitation.

Benefits of Spirit Gate
🪷Calming the Mind: It is the "go-to" point for easing anxiety, racing thoughts, and that feeling of being "not quite in your body."

😴Improving Sleep: By quieting a restless spirit, HT 7 helps those struggling with insomnia, especially when caused by overthinking or vivid dreaming.

⚖️Emotional Balance: It helps stabilize the emotions during times of grief, mania, or excessive worry.

❤️‍🩹Physical Heart Support: It is often used to address heart palpitations or a "fluttering" sensation in the chest.

Finding the Point
You can find HT 7 at the wrist crease, on the "pinky side" of the wrist in the small depression just behind the pisiform bone.

How to Use It at Home
While a professional session is the most effective way to engage this point, you can utilize acupressure yourself:
1. Use your thumb to find the depression at the inner wrist crease.
2. Apply firm, steady pressure or move your thumb in small circular motions.
3. Take deep, slow breaths, focusing on letting go of tension with each exhale.
4. Continue for 1–2 minutes on both wrists.

Next time you feel the weight of a busy day, take a moment to breathe and connect with HT 7. It’s a simple, effective way to invite a little more peace into your world.

Point location image: A Manual of Acupuncture, Peter Deadman

05/08/2026

We’re officially in Fire season ♥️🔥💥🌺🪷

FIRE ELEMENT (Heart/Small Intestine)
Joy and Connection

🔥The Fire element reminds us that health isn’t just physical – it’s emotional and relational.

❤️Your nervous system and mineral balance directly affect how much joy and connection you feel. Low sodium/potassium ratios on HTMA often show up as burnout, anxiety, or emotional flatness.

Nourish your Fire this month:
• Share a meal with someone you love
• Eat colorful, cooked foods that are easy to digest
• Reduce overstimulation (less scrolling, more real conversations)
• Gentle cardio like dancing, rebounding, or brisk walks
• Laugh on purpose – it truly supports your heart

Joy is medicine. Don’t wait to “earn” it.

Energetix Support Spotlight:
Calm Five, Fields of Flowers, Relax Tone, Spagyric Greens, Core Hawthorne, ReHydration, Melatonin Spray
Gentle support for stress, sleep, and emotional balance

05/04/2026

Wu Wei (無為) is often translated as "non-action," but it is more accurately described as effortless action or paradoxical action. It is a central tenet of Taoism that suggests the most effective way to live is to align oneself with the Tao (the natural flow of the universe).

Rather than forceful striving, Wu Wei is about acting with such spontaneity and grace that there is no "friction" between you and your environment.

Core Principles of Wu Wei

🪷 Non-Forcing: It is the refusal to use "ego" or rigid willpower to hammer a situation into a specific shape. Instead of swimming against the current, you use the current’s energy to reach your destination.

🪷 The "State of Flow": Modern psychology calls this the "Flow State." It is the moment when an expert (like a craftsman, athlete, or clinician) becomes so absorbed in their work that the distinction between the "doer" and the "deed" vanishes.

🪷 Response, Not Reaction: A reaction is a pre-programmed, often tense move. A response in Wu Wei is a fluid, appropriate movement dictated by the specific needs of the present moment.

Wu Wei is not about being passive or lazy. It is the highest form of activity because it is perfectly timed and perfectly measured. It is the art of "doing without doing," where the results are achieved not through exhaustion, but through harmony.

04/27/2026

As the landscape shifts and the air begins to soften, our internal rhythms often seek a similar sense of renewal. This vibrant trio offers a perfect ritual for transitioning into the expansive energy of spring.

The Elements of the Blend

🌼 Chrysanthemum (Ju Hua): Known for its delicate, cooling nature, these golden blooms have been used for centuries to clear the mind and soothe the eyes after a long winter of indoor light.

🌸 Goji Berries (Gou Qi Zi): These bright red "rubies" add a subtle, earthy sweetness. They are celebrated for their ability to nourish and support a grounded sense of vitality.

🌺 Hibiscus: Bringing a bold, tart finish and a stunning crimson hue, hibiscus is rich in antioxidants and provides a refreshing lift to the palate.

How to Brew

Ingredients: 5-8 dried Chrysanthemum heads, 1 tablespoon Goji berries, and 1 teaspoon dried Hibiscus petals.

Steep: Use hot (not boiling) water—around 85°C—to preserve the delicate floral notes.

Time: Let it infuse for 5–7 minutes. The water will transform from a pale gold to a deep, brilliant jewel tone.

Tip: Don’t toss the goji berries! Once they’ve plumped up from the tea, they make a delicious, nutrient-dense snack at the bottom of your cup.