Suggested Practices
Body Journal:
This is an in depth observation of your bodily sensations and daily patterns. Record voice notes in the Whatsapp "body journal" chat. Each time you eat or put anything in your mouth (water, tea, medication, etc), leave a voice note in the moment. this will help with accuracy and the time of day for pattern tracking.
Tune in with your body hourly for a body scan as soon as you wake up. It helps to set an alarm at the top of each hour..
First you'll do an inward scan of your whole physical state of being. Take note of sensations such as:
- energy level
- appetite
- areas of pain/tension/discomfort or ease and relaxation
- temperature - areas of excess heat or cold
- areas of excess moisture or dryness
- visceral sense of emotions (ex: chest feels heavy or bubbly, fluttering in solar plexus, constriction in throat, etc)
- libido
- posture
- breathing
- digestion
- cravings
Then you'll do an outward scan of external stimuli such as:
- what time you fell asleep and woke up, how many hours you slept and how well you slept (did you wake up in the night and if so, what time was it and for how long? what were the tones of your dreams, etc)
- what you've ingested (includes supplements, water...literally anything you've put in your body)
- what environment you're in (weather, allergens, air quality, lighting, sounds, smells, people, travel, etc)
- social interactions
- exercise
- sexual activity
- meditation
- time spent online staring at a screen
- finances
- sunlight exposure
- the clothes and shoes you're wearing
- state of the world
Mirror Work - Once a day.
Meet yourself in the mirror. Allow whatever arises to be and make space for it. Approach this with a state of openness and curiosity. Be kind with yourself, inviting in all the parts of yourself no matter how much judgement or shame you feel around them. Use discomfort and shame as a gateway to meet yourself on a deeper level. Treat yourself with the same care you would treat little AJ.
Hand Exercises
The wave - starting from pinky to thumbs
One handed clap
5 finger open and close
3 finger open and close
100 of each per day (break it up as it feels right)
Qigong
Playing with the magnetic ball between palms daily
Journal Prompts (audio)
Start speaking your future self/dream version of Stacey out loud daily. Attune with your deepest desires outside of the boundaries of societal expectations and limitations (be it financial, physical, environmental, etc). Have fun with this and play big with your imagination.
Listen back while doing mirror work.
Circadian Rhythm Reset
Screens off at sunset, avoid artificial light at night. Use toxin-free candles in the house. Make time for creative and embodied activities. Art, music, qigong, slow stretches, socialize.
Go to bed as soon as you start to get tired.
Wake up without an alarm - ideally will synch with dawn
Go outside for sunrise and look at the sun when it is low on the horizon (sunrise and sunset)
Expose as much of your skin as possible to the sun when it's not at peak hours. Avoid sunglasses.
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Coffee Substitutes
- Dandelion Root
- Chicory Root
- Carob
Elimination
- Caffeine
- Sugar
- Alcohol
- Cold beverages (only room temp or warm)
- Dairy - butter and ghee is ok, good for high heat cooking
- Nut and rice milks
- Soy
- Raw vegetables unless mixed with a warm meal (i.e. greens like arugula, etc)
- Bananas
- Seed oils - stick to cold-pressed oils such as olive and avocado
- Extra spicy foods
- Processed salt (go with real sea salt - should look a little dirty)
- Synthetic ingredients/chemicals of any kind including chewing gum, skincare, toothpaste and cleaning products.
- Guar gum or Xanthan gum
- "Citric acid" or "natural flavoring" on ingredients labels. These are either gmo black mold or chemicals.
Food for Clearing Dampness in the Spleen
- Light, lean proteins (chicken, fish, turkey)
- Barley
- Millet
- Rice (wild, black, basmati, red, brown)
- Quinoa
- Steamed vegetables: pumpkin, carrots, parsnips, green beans, fennel, leaks, beets, daikon radish, etc
- Warming spices: Ginger (fresh, not powdered - powdered is too hot for the liver), cinnamon, cardamom, rosemary, thyme, oregano) *go easy on spices in general*.
- Legumes: lentils, aduki beans, sprouted mung beans, black beans
- Experiment with fermented foods after 2 weeks (miso and sauerkraut are good, avoid overly greasy or salty fermented foods)
Foods to Tonify Spleen Qi
- Sweet potatoes
- Buckwheat
- Chicken
- Bone Broth
- Eggs (better prepared without fats, soft boiled or poached)
Foods to Tonify Kidney Qi
- Black beans
- Black sesame seeds
- Miso
- Seafood
- Seaweed
- Trace minerals
- Blackstrap molasses (moderation)
- Figs
- Purple and black foods
- Nettles (as in stinging nettles, they are great in soups and tea)
Foods to Cool Tonify Liver Qi
- Leafy and bitter greens in combination with a warm meal: Dandelion greens, mustard greens, arugula, steamed greens such as swiss chard, beet greens, spinach, kale, etc
- Beets
- Citrus fruits in moderation
- Peppermint tea
- Cruciferous veggies: Broccoli, cauliflower, brussel sprouts, cabbage
- Chlorella
- Seaweed (only fresh - no additives, it's good in soup and full of minerals for the kidneys)
Foods to Tonify Heart Qi
- Quinoa
- Berries (all types)
- Apples
- Hawthorn Berry
- Chinese Dates and Goji Berries (great in broths, teas and stews - must be organic, gotta be selective with anything from China)
- Red foods in general
- Lean beef in moderation
- Chicken liver
- Dark leafy greens
- Beets
- Black beans
- Olive oil
- Walnuts
- Avocado (in moderation and paired with warming foods)
Overall think fresh, whole foods that are local and in season. Keep it simple. Eat seasonal fruits in whole form instead of juices for the most part. Fruit is best eaten on an empty stomach. Carbs are best eaten separate from protein. Also water/fluids are best consumed separate from food. Give yourself about 30 minutes after drinking to eat (unless it's something light and watery like fruit), then wait about 1-2 hours after eating a meal to drink again (depends on how heavy the meal was, the idea is not to dilute stomach acid while digesting - work with the body)
Meal Suggestions
Morning Rising
Liver Tonic
Bone broth with eggs and kelp or purslane
Breakfast
High protein and nutrient dense breakfast eaten while stomach qi is the highest between about 2-4 hours after dawn (ideally before 9am)
- Soft boiled eggs and steamed veggies seasoned with a little olive oil and sea salt.
- Meat stew (lamb, beef, chicken)
- Bone broth with poached eggs and steamed veggies
Lady's Tonic (pre-lunch)
Have lunch when the sun is at it's peak (high digestive fire). Ideally the biggest meal.
Dinner
Nerve tonic (late afternoon pre-dinner)
Keep dinner on the light side and eat around sunset. You'll have to feel it out so that you're not still digesting food when you sleep, and not feeling hungry either.
Note: It makes a big difference to be relaxed while eating. To sit down, eat slowly and chew well. Bless your food. Even better to have a table out in the sunshine when it is warm out. This is one of the most important aspects to nutrient absorption. Literally to simply enjoy the pleasure of the meal.
Bone Broth Recipe
Ingredients:
- Chicken bones, skin, cartilage
- Veggie scraps
- Herbs and spices of choice (garlic, onion, rosemary, oregano, thyme, pepper, etc)
- 2 handfuls of goji or wolf berries (the ones you ordered from Mountain Rose)
- 2 handfuls of jujube (Chinese red date)
- 2 handfuls of nettles
- 2 handfuls calendula
- A couple tablespoons of organic raw apple cider vinegar (soak the bones in cold water with vinegar for about 20 min before heating - this helps leech minerals from the bones)
- Sea salt (wait until the end)
Instructions:
- Put all the ingredients except salt in a big pot and fill with good water level to the bones
- Let sit for 20 min with the vinegar
- Put lid on, bring barely to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer for at least 12 hours
- Filter the broth and store in jars. Usually keeps for about a week in the fridge - the rest can go in the freezer
- Pour broth into a pot and heat up
- Once it's hot (almost boiling) crack 2-3 eggs right into the broth (egg drop soup style)
- Add a bit seaweed or purslane (if you can find it) to the broth
- Add a squeeze of lemon for flavor
Dandelion Root
Burdock Root
Calendula Flower
Chamomile
+ splash of Marshmallow Infusion
Lady's Tonic
Lady’s Mantel
Red Raspberry Leaf
Red Clover Flower
Yarrow
Nerve Tonic (cool tonic - let the herbs sit for 8 hours without heating)
Oat Straw
Lemon Balm
Nettles
Chamomile
+ splash of Marshmallow Infusion
Slippery Elm or Marshmallow Root Infusion
Do not heat like regular tea. Leave a tablespoon in about 8 oz of water overnight. It should have a slimy texture. Strain and mix it with recommended infusion (about 25% cold infusion of Slippery Elm or Marshmallow Root and 75% warm tea infusion)
These 2 are for coating the stomach lining and GI. Help with digestion. You can also drink it on it's own if you are feeling dryness in your system.
Daily Tinctures
Lion's Mane
Motherwort
Milky Oats
Castor Oil Pack
Soak a pure cotton or flannel piece of cloth in organic cold pressed castor oil. Lay it over your entire abdomen region (liver, spleen, guts, womb), place a water heating pad on top (can place a clean towel between). Leave on for 30-45 min to start, you can work it up to overnight. Use your intuition.
1/4 cup pure applesauce
1 teaspoon flax or chia seeds
1 teaspoon slippery elm or marshmallow root powder
Pinch of ginger root powder
Stir all ingredients together, seal in a jar and keep in the fridge. Should be ok for a few days.
Take immediately on the onset of nausea. Best to slightly heat it by mixing a little chamomile or lemon balm tea in there so it's at least room temp. If you don't have tea on hand or there's no time just use a little warm water.
If not needed (best case scenario), just eat it with steamed pears or more apple sauce to dilute the texture a bit or dilute with lemon balm tea. It's good for the stomach lining.
Internal Bleeding (Yarrow tea or tincture)
- Yarrow Tincture - 1-2 full droppers every 15 minutes in acute phase. Continue every hour until bleeding slows. Then taper to every few hours while monitoring symptoms.
- Strong Yarrow tea. Small cup every 15 minutes until the bleeding subsides. Then reduce to a slightly larger cup every hour for a few hours. Then every few hours while monitoring symptoms.
Shepard Purse - Stop Bleeding (can alternate or mix with yarrow)
Yarrow - Stop Bleeding
Wild Lettuce - Pain Relief
Chiron is the archetypal "wounded healer" - the greek myth of Achilles. This the area of your chart where your deepest wound and potential for transformation is held. Aries rules the head as well as the immune system/blood, which may make one prone to head injuries and inflammation/hyperactive immune system.
Mars is the ruler of Aries and fire is the element (the hottest planet next to the sun then Jupiter, which is warm gas). Think "headstrong" and "hot headed". Aries is the warrior archetype. Masculine, brave and powerful.
The 4th house is the house of early home and family, ancestral bloodlines and inner sanctuary. So imagine you are experiencing this wound (which is a subconscious pattern) in that particular domain. Your Achilles/transformational healing process is specifically connected to familial ties and your upbringing.
You also have your north node (think true north or north star) in libra. Which means that your deeper purpose in this life is to find balance, beauty and harmony in your life and especially in relationship with others. Libra is ruled by venus (she loves material things and beauty) and is all about relationships. This is the opposite from Mars. Feminine, soft power, good food, beautiful art, etc.
