As the intensity of Summer begins to soften, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) recognizes a fifth season: Late Summer.

Typically from mid-August to late-September, Late Summer is a transition period of lingering heat, abundant harvests, and a subtle shift toward autumn. In Chinese Medicine, transitions matter. They’re opportunities to slow down, regroup, and build a strong foundation before the next season arrives.

Late Summer is associated with the Earth Element, which governs our ability to nourish ourselves—physically, mentally, and emotionally.

The Earth Element

The Earth Element is associated with the Spleen and Stomach organ systems, the body’s digestive and metabolic center, which are responsible for transforming food into energy (Qi) and Blood.

But digestion isn’t just about food.

Earth element digestion also governs how we process information, experiences, and emotions. When the Earth element is balanced, we tend to feel grounded, focused, resilient, and well-nourished.

When the Earth Element Is Out of Balance

Late Summer often brings heat, humidity, busy schedules, travel, and irregular eating habits, which means the Earth Element can easily become overtaxed.

Common signs of Earth element imbalance include:

• Bloating or sluggish digestion
• Loose stools or digestive sensitivity
• Low energy, especially after meals
• Feeling physically “heavy” or “dragging”
• Brain fog or difficulty concentrating
• Sugar or carb cravings
• Excessive worry or overthinking
• Water retention or a sensation of dampness in the body

In TCM, many of these symptoms are viewed through the lens of Dampness, a pattern that can develop when digestion becomes less efficient. Humid weather, iced drinks, excessive sweets, alcohol, and highly processed foods can all contribute, especially in folks who are already prone to GI issues.

Simple Ways to Support your Earth Element

Continue reading “Late Summer in Traditional Chinese Medicine: Finding Stability in the Season Between Seasons”

When working with folks on long-term issues, one way to gain deeper insights and plan care is to connect health and fitness tracking devices to Practice Better. With most folks tracking at least some of the health and wellness data in an app or wearable, what better way to work with what’s already available than connecting it to Practice Better for realtime insights? This allows us to identify trends over time, track wins, and optimize our session time so you get the most out of our in-person or Telehealth appointments. Now that’s integrative care! 

• Instructions on connecting your Oura Ring
• Instructions on connecting your Garmin device
• Instructions on connecting your Apple Health app 
• Instructions on connecting your FitBit

Don’t have a wearable but still want to track food, activities, sleep, or other health items? 

Practice Better’s Journal feature is a great way to track things like hydration, nutrition, sleep, movement, and other health and wellness activities to help us dig deep and optimize your care.

Whether adding your favorite recipes, taking a picture of a meal on the go, or just hitting that 8 glasses of water a day button (you are getting at least 8, right?) Practice Better has made it easy to track what’s important and watch positive change over time. 

There are even freeform fields to track things like mindfulness activities (think meditation or journaling), reproductive health items, and more. 

You’re welcome to poke around in the Practice Better Portal or App and check out Journals for yourself, we can also spend a few minutes in session discussing what items may be best to track in the journal based on your health needs and goals. 

Want a more insight before you get started? Check out this FAQ for Practice Better Journals that was specifically created for patients. 

I’ve got quite a bit of traveling coming up soon and I thought this would be a great opportunity to share what I bring along on trips to stay healthy and comfortable.

Note: I only recommend items I personally own or have used. This post contains affiliate links which means I may receive a small commission, at no additional cost to you, for any items purchased through the links.

Self-Care Items

• Nausea Bands – I get carsick easily, especially during Uber and Lyft Rides. I always travel with a set of nausea bands applied to Pericardium 6 (a well researched acupoint that helps reduce nausea for any reason whether it be car sickness, morning sickness, or just a poor meal). 
• Gua Sha Tool – most of my work travel involves continuing education so I’m often sitting in the same position for long stretches at a time. I bring a gua sha tool with me to open up my neck and shoulders after a long day of class. It also comes in handy for nasal congestion and facial puffiness from travel and stuffy indoor air.
• Silicone Cups – If I know my travel is likely to lead to stiff muscles, or if I’m going to be doing activities I don’t normally do in my day-to-day life (such as a long hike) I also like to bring 1-2 silicone cups with me so that I can loosen up and nourish tight muscles as needed. Note: depending on how tight you apply cups, they can leave temporary marks so cupping may not be the best intervention if you don’t want visible marks. Plan and use cups accordingly.
• Cork Ball – For longer travel or other outdoor adventures, I love to have a cork ball on hand to help massage and stretch my feet, I also use it to work my piriformis muscle so that my back, hips and knees don’t stiffen up on long trips. 

Continue reading “Travel Essentials”

I’m thrilled to share that I was interviewed by my teacher, Dr. Krystal Couture, DPT, LAc (aka The Pelvic Acu) for the inaugural episode of her podcast The Pelvic Bowl.

As a Certified Advanced Pelvic Care practitioner, I believe that everyone can benefit from pelvic care – whether we’re treating an existing concern or preventing health issues from occurring.

Check out the video below and enjoy our convo about pelvic care, why training matters, and more!