Summer Solstice
Traditionally, the summer solstice has been celebrated as a day of great spiritual and physical importance. The extra hours of sunlight today metaphorically symbolize the triumph of life, or light over darkness. The pinnacle of summer is the turning point in balance between Yin and Yang energies. The solstice marks the longest day (Yang) and shortest night (Yin) of the year. During this most Yang time, midsummer is a period of ultimate light, a moment of consciousness, a peak in growth. The summer solstice invites us to take action to fulfill our deepest desires and connect with the abundance that surrounds us.
The Fire Element
In Chinese Medicine, summer is the season of the Fire element. Fire is dynamic and moving, full of vitality, and creates warmth and light. Summer is a time for emotional growth and development, healing old wounds, and harnessing self-love. It is also the season to enjoy the bounty of nature by going outdoors and celebrating the relationships in our lives through social activities.
Fire is associated with the emotions of joy and happiness. When the Fire element is in balance, there will be an enthusiasm for life. An excess of Fire can produce restlessness, while a deficiency of Fire can create apathy.
Symptoms associated with imbalances of the Fire element include:
- Anxiety and irrational fears or phobias
- Agitation or explosive energy
- Mental restlessness, insomnia, or dream-disturbed sleep
- Palpitations or irregular heartbeat
- Excessive sweating or lack of sweating
- Rashes, hives, or inflamed skin eruptions
- Red face and a feeling of heat
- Excess thirst and mouth ulcers
- Dark urine
- Uncontrolled laughter or crying
- Apathy or sadness
- Easily overstimulated, scattered, and ungrounded
- Nervousness or shyness
- Fears surrounding intimacy
- Inability to stay present
How to Maintain Health During the Summer
Get grounded
Spend time barefoot in the grass or on the beach to balance your internal circadian rhythm with Earth's frequency. This will regulate hormones and leave you feeling more emotionally stable.
Drink adequate amounts of pure spring water
Consume at least half your body weight in ounces of water per day. Add fresh lemon to enhance your body's natural detoxification process. In Chinese Medicine, lemon helps astringe bodily fluids to prevent abnormal discharge (e.g. spontaneous daytime sweating, night sweats, urinary incontinence, seminal leakage).
*On hot days, avoid excessively cold drinks as this will weaken the digestive system.
Eat foods that balance Fire
Vegetables: beets, lotus root, scallions, sprouts, cucumbers, bitter greens, celery, button mushrooms, cruciferous vegetables, spinach, endive, plantains, radishes, seaweed, summer squash, tomatoes, watercress
Fruit: watermelon, apples, cherries, persimmons, plums, blueberries, cranberries, bananas, grapefruit, kiwi, mandarin oranges, pears, rhubarb, tangerines, pomegranate, pineapple
Fish: clams, crab, octopus, abalone
Meat: pheasant
Beans: aduki, garbanzo, mung
Grains: millet, kamut
Balance activity with rest
Practice meditation or breathing techniques to settle yourself after the physical and social activities summer brings.
Trust your intuition
The Heart is the main organ associated with Fire. From a Chinese Medicine perspective, “the heart is the sovereign of all organs and represents the consciousness of one’s being. It is responsible for intelligence, wisdom, and spiritual transformation” (The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Internal Medicine). Quiet the mind and tune into your visceral responses to people and situations in your life. Develop your inner guide by becoming aware of instinctual emotions and then follow where they lead without allowing yourself to analyze or scrutinize the issue. Our bodies are often far more wise than a cluttered mind.