Summer Foods
Summer is the season when we can feel most open and inspired to follow our passion and joy.
However it can also be a time when we can become a little manic or obsessive about things, and feel sad or not connected to other people.
Foods that are important for Summer are corn, polenta, bitter greens, salads, and tofu. These foods nourish and regulate the heart and small intestine helping absorption and circulation in the body.
By adding these foods to your diet, you’ll feel less tense and impatient, your thinking will be clearer and you’ll feel more connected to life and people.
Gomasio and miso condiments can be used in small amounts while barley and wheat are the grains most appropriate at this time.
Summer Cooking
With the seasonal change from Spring to Summer cooking methods become lighter and shorter.
Stir-frying, steaming, and light boiling are the main cooking methods for the season.
Vegetables are chopped finer or in matchsticks for quicker cooking. Salt and tamari are used in smaller amounts.
Corn is harvested at this time and is the most suitable grain for the season. Sea vegetables can also be used as condiments or in light-pickled salads. Small amounts of fresh summer fruit can also be used with meals as they provide a cooling effect.
Shiatsu Point for High Blood Pressure
Large Intestine Meridian Point 18 (LI 18) is located on the side of the neck level with the Adam’s apple.
It can be helpful in providing symptomatic relief from high blood pressure.
Shiatsu Point Therapy
Using the thumb or finger apply pressure until you feel the soreness in the point.
Taking deep breaths and maintaining the pressure breathe slowly in and out of the point until you feel the tension and pain disappear.
Please note:
The above technique is for symptomatic relief only. If symptoms persist please consult a qualified shiatsu therapist for a full treatment.
Chickpea Patties with Shiitake Sauce
- 3/4 cup chickpeas soaked overnight
- 2 cups brown rice leftover
- 1 cup grated carrot
- 1 large onion
- 1/2 packet tempeh or tofu (250 gm)
- 1 tablespoon grated ginger
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 tablespoon poppy seed (optional)
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 strip of kombu (about 5 cm.)
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil.
Sauce - 5 shiitake mushrooms soaked
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1 1/2 tablespoons kuzu
- 1 tablespoon tamari
Cook the chickpeas in a saucepan with water covering them, adding a strip of kombu.
Let them cook until soft for about 1 hour. Then add salt at the last 5-10 minutes of cooking.
Meanwhile, cut the onions and grate the carrot, quickly stir fry them until brown. Mix in 2 cups of cooked rice, chickpeas, grated ginger, turmeric, poppyseed and nutmeg, and shredded tofu or small cut pieces of tempeh. Mix well.
Mash the mixture, so that it becomes thick and sticky. Form patties and stir fry them in toasted sesame oil until brown.
For the sauce, cook the shiitake mushrooms in the soaking water for 10 minutes. Add tamari to taste then dissolve the kuzu in a small amount of cold water and add it to the mushrooms.
Stir the sauce until it thickens or becomes clear.
Serve on top of patties.
Yoga for Summer – Cat pose
This pose helps relieve stiffness in the back, sciatica, lumbago as well opening the chest and pelvic regions.
Lie face down on floor. Inhale extend legs keeping feet together. Rest palms beside chest.
Exhale press palms to floor and raise upper torso keeping hips on the floor
Maintain pose for 20 seconds breathing normally.
Exhale bend elbows and lower torso to floor.
Repeat 2-3 times.
Bach Flower Remedy
for Lack of Faith in One’s Judgement
bachcentre.com
Cerato is the remedy for people who lack faith in their judgment. Faced with the need to make a choice you often can come to a decision without too much trouble. However, once the decision is made, doubts creep in and you are no longer sure if what you’ve decided is right.
An example would be having bought some clothes only to find that when you get home, you’re not sure if they really suit you.
So you might then go around asking for the opinions and advice of others. This can often end in more confusion or even doing something that you sense isn’t right, like returning the bought item.
Cerato can help you have more faith in your judgment and to listen to your inner voice and trust your intuition
General dosage is 4 – 5drops under the tongue at least 3 times a day, or whenever feeling despondent, in shock, afraid, or cut-off from life.
Meridian Meditation for Summer
Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. Allow yourself time and space for the next few minutes to perhaps discover something new about yourself or perhaps something that you’ve had but forgotten along the way.
And as you continue to breath in and breath out slowly, I’d like you to picture the sun. See its brightness and feel the warmth and glow of its rays upon you face as you continue to breathe in and breathe out.
And as you do that, you might feel that warmth and glow start to move through your body…becoming stronger with each breath you breathe and breathe out.
You might notice it first in your face and then neck and shoulders as it moves down your chest, down your arms, down to your stomach.
Feel the heat start to gather in your lower abdomen just below the navel, and imagine the heat igniting inside you as if it is a furnace of raw energy.
Feel the intensity of that furnace and understand that it is the source of all your energy and power.
From that furnace, let that energy stream forth to all parts of your body your legs and arms, fingers and toes until you’re tingling with energy.
And now it’s time to let that energy stream out into the world and to those you care about. Let it become a spark that ignites the flames in their hearts so that they, too, become powerhouses filled with energy and light, joy and inspiration.
When you experience this, you may realise that we are all children of the Universe and everyone is connected to all things and beings.
Allow that realisation and connectedness to flow over you and smile to yourself.
Essential Oil for Arthritis
Nutmeg essential oil is extracted by the steam distillation of ground nutmeg and has an exotic spicy and woody aroma.
It’s anti-inflammatory properties can provide symptomatic relief from arthritis, muscle aches and well as improve poor circulation.
Essential Oils Application
Bath: Use 10-15 drops in a tub of water and soak in it for 15 minutes.
Massage: Blend between 1% and 3% of essential oil with a carrier oil of your choice such as jojoba, almond, peach, apricot, soyabean, sesame, or vegetable oils.
please note:
do not apply pure essential oils directly to skin (except for Lavender)
and never take any essential oils internally.
Inhalation: Place a few drops of essential oil in an oil burner or small bowl of boiling water to freshen the air and create a special atmosphere.
Compress: Add 5 drops of essential oil to 200 mls of warm water. Place cloth in the water then wring out and lay over affected area for a few minutes.
