Chris and I love, love, LOVE summer but according to Chinese medicine, summertime isn’t easy living on the body. As temperatures rise so do our chances of dis-ease and heart trouble. Who knew! Let’s put down our iced teas and tune up our ears. Chris is going to share some quick tips about summer health and then I’m going to open up and hand you my heart. Yup, just like last month. (Spoiler alert: No, we’re not pregnant, but seeing a specialist and taking time off.)
Chinese medicine considers summer a “heart” time on our beautiful bodies because we’re more active, more frequently outdoors and more likely to overexert ourselves.
This summer remember to carve out time to sit in the shade and soak your feet in flowing water. Both your inner world and outer body will benefit from the relaxation and connection to nature.
When you’re making a salad, consider adding watermelon and cherries. The fruits are a powerful way to reduce excess heart chi and help increase your energy and stamina.
While fall and winter have a reputation for contemplation and hibernation, stay mindful of summer’s special spiritual powers. Listen to the inner voice inviting you to play often and expand your horizons.
Love summer, love yourself, love life – it’s easy!
Speaking of L-O-V-E, Chris and I are so touched and overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and sharing in response to our blog post last month. You can click here in case you missed it or if your memory isn’t great.
**Bonus tip: Add more cooling foods like mint, celery and cucumber to your diet to cool your summer heat.**
Honestly, writing that candidly about our lives scared the crap out of us! But we knew in our hearts that our to-be-continued-ongoing story about loss, disappointment, change and acceptance could encourage other people. The same whole-hearted principle applies to you: when you share from a place of courage and compassion, from an authentic intention to uplift others, we all benefit. We give birth to a new, kinder world.
Sometimes the worst thing that has ever happened to us (so far) leads us to our very best life. Detours, hurricanes and potholes included!
What I AM facing now – today – and what we will face tomorrow, and likely next month, is bearable and a trajectory for growth and joy because we’ve trained for this. I have strong shoulders, like you, because I’ve known suffering.
When I look back, and look ahead, I’m unafraid of the dark because I know I can turn on the Light.
Even better? I know I am that Light – as you are, beautiful seeker – because I know I am the darkness too. (Yang and Yin, there it is!)
When I met Chris six years ago I was on the path of an early mid-life crisis coupled with a break-up that had left me broken hearted, broken down and broken open. The pain in my heart inspired me to study Qigong, start meditating, start self-helping, etc., etc., etc. You know the drill. We seek and eventually we shall find.
What I thought was The End was actually The Beginning.
That broken-hearted dark time in my life allowed me to see the glow radiating from Chris’ inner light, which sparked my own inner illumination. (And you thought a first date was business-as-usual boring!)
Our love story isn’t unique; finding each other is the universal love story that connects us all. We are each other’s lighthouses as long as we remember the beacon that shines from within our mighty, open heart.
Thank you for listening, thank you for all those kind words and hugs, thank you for being one of our lighthouses.
From our heart to yours. Be cool. Peace.
-Chris & Parisa Shelton