🌻 Superbloom & Seeds | April newsletter

 

Have you seen the flowers? It’s a vibrant and special spring here in southern California.

“A superbloom is a rare botanical phenomenon in California in which an unusually high proportion of wildflowers whose seeds have lain dormant in desert soil germinate and blossom at roughly the same time… associated with an unusually wet rainy season.” — Wikipedia

Some great places to ogle wildflowers:

• Near Ventura: Los Padres NF, Point Mugu SP, Carrizo Plain NM, Antelope Valley Poppy Reserve
• In the desert: Death Valley NP, Joshua Tree NP, Anza Borrego SP

Be a responsible flower tourist:

• Consider heading to less-trafficked blooms. Learn about local trails with apps like AllTrails, or joining local organizations like your local chapter of the CA Native Plant Society or Los Padres Forest Association. (More cool orgs here!)
• Tread carefully. Stay on-trail, and don’t step in/ among the flowers. Watch for baby critters and critter-tracks!
• Learn before you go. Visit a ranger station, keep the southern CA wildflowers app handy, and cross-reference with other botanical resources. (Local fav plant books: “Medicinal Herbs of California” by Lanny Kaufer, “Wildflowers” by Mitt McCauley, the whole Michael Moore series)
• Plant your own wildflowers! Convert your front yard, balcony, or whatever space you have into a native wildflower haven. Or, grow delicious herbs (now is the time!) such as hardy mint-family plants like basil, mint, thyme, sage, rosemary, or oregano in full sun and well-drained soil. Add carrot-family herbs like cilantro, parsley, dill and versatile chives in partial shade. Get seeds here!

UPCOMING

Nourishing Life Retreat | Embody the Five Phases (五行) through yoga asana, intuitive movement, creative expression, and nature connection at the gorgeous Esalen retreat center along the Big Sur coast.

ESALEN | April 3-7

Free Herbalism Project | Celebrate botanical medicine with this annual free event in Eugene, OR with Mountain Rose Herbs. Enjoy free music, tea, talks, and botanical revelry.

HERBS | May 7

Seasonal Rhythms | Explore lifestyle medicine to support thriving health throughout the wheel of the year with the Five Phases (五行) of East Asian medicine and their correlating seasons, flavors, and body systems. (This class is online, through Wintergreen Botanicals’ advanced herbalism program. Sliding scale & BIPOC discounts available.)

RHYTHMS | May 18

RECOMMENDATIONS

• New Interview: Botany Everyday, Marc Williams
• Upcoming Event: Nourishing Life @Esalen
• Plant Your Garden: Local Native Plant Nurseries

 

❤️ May your garden grow with beauty, in peace

Jiling Lin, L.Ac. 林基玲

acupuncture . herbs . yoga

JILINGLIN.COM

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🌿Flourish | March newsletter

Happy Spring Equinox!

Spring Equinox is on March 20. Associated with the Wood Element in East Asian medicine, in the spring we wake our Liver and Gallbladder meridians, anger, compassion, dreams, vision, change, goals, decisions, and aligned forward momentum.

What does spring feel like in your body?

🌿 Eat fresh wild spring greens, such as baby dandelion, plantain, dock, chickweed, miner's lettuce, self-heal, chives, mallow, nettles, and mustards.

🌿 Move your body. Take long walks along the beach. Enjoy a regular movement practice, such as walking, and/or breath-integrated practices like yoga, qigong, and dance.

🌿 Nourish life (養生 yang shen) through healthy rest, movement, connection, nutrition, and creative expression. And of course, come in for acupuncture & herbs! 😍

UPCOMING

Embodying Elements workshop | Learn classical elemental associations with each of the Five Elements (五行), along with lifestyle medicine for supporting seasonal wellness. Get 10% off with discount-code JILING10

EMBODY | Mar. 4

Equinox Ecstatic Dance | Dance into spring at the Pharm! Sliding scale. All welcome; no one turned away for lack of funds.

DANCE | Mar. 17

Nourishing Life Retreat @Esalen | Embody the Five Phases (五行) through yoga asana, intuitive movement, creative expression, and nature connection.

ESALEN | April 3-7

POEM

春有百花秋有月，

夏有涼風冬有雪，

若無閒事掛心頭，

便是人間好時節。

— 無門慧開，《無門關》第十九則

Ten thousand flowers in spring, the moon in autumn,

a cool breeze in summer, snow in winter.

If your mind isn’t clouded by unnecessary things,

this is the best season of your life.

— Wumen Huikai (無門慧開). From “The Enlightened Heart: An Anthology of Sacred Poetry,” translated by Stephen Mitchell

RECOMMENDATIONS

• New Interview: Centering BIPOC Traditions, Khetnu Nefer
• Upcoming Ventura Event: Equinox Ecstatic Dance
• Fun Read: Spring Equinox Traditions
• Plant Your Garden: Strictly Medicinal Seeds

 

❤️ May your garden grow with beauty, in peace

Jiling Lin, L.Ac. 林基玲

acupuncture . herbs . yoga

JILINGLIN.COM

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🌿Flowering beauty | February newsletter

May you flow into the new year of the Yin Water Rabbit with ease and delight, and savor all the little flowers of spring. Enjoy e.e. cummings’ poetry as we dance into spring:

when faces called flowers float out of the ground

and breathing is wishing and wishing is having-

but keeping is downward and doubting and never

-it's april(yes,april;my darling)it's spring!

yes the pretty birds frolic as spry as can fly

yes the little fish gambol as glad as can be

(yes the mountains are dancing together)

when every leaf opens without any sound

and wishing is having and having is giving-

but keeping is doting and nothing and nonsense

-alive;we're alive,dear:it's(kiss me now)spring!

now the pretty birds hover so she and so he

now the little fish quiver so you and so i

now the mountains are dancing, the mountains)

when more than was lost has been found has been found

and having is giving and giving is living-

but keeping is darkness and winter and cringing

-it's spring(all our night becomes day)o,it's spring!

all the pretty birds dive to the heart of the sky

all the little fish climb through the mind of the sea

all the mountains are dancing;are dancing)

~~~

Our mountains are truly dancing right now. With all the rains and nutritious silt from the floodwaters, we can expect them to keep on dancing— even through the landslides, broken roads, and fallen trees. We’ve learned from the Thomas Fire and history of this landscape: it’s resilient. And we are resilient too.

Support local restoration efforts with your time, muscles, or money:

• Ventura Land Trust
• Ojai Valley Land Conservancy
• Los Padres Forest Association
• Surfrider Ventura

Get to know our local flora! It’s easiest to identify plants when they are blooming. Here’s some of my favorite apps to reference out in the field:

• South California Wildflowers
• Seek
• iNaturalist

After you get home, cross-check with field guides and botanical medicine materia medica:

• “Wildflowers,” by Mitt McAuley (identification)
• “Medicinal Herbs of California,” by Lanny Kaufer (botanical uses & lore)
• ”The New Wildcrafted Cuisine,” by Pascal Baudar (recipes)
• ”Medicinal Plants of the Pacific West,” by Michael Moore (materia medica)

BREAKFAST

If you’re an ongoing patient, then I’ve probably sent you my “Breakfast Blends” handout to help sustain and stabilize energy throughout the day with yummy nourishment. If not, then enjoy my new article/ recipes on the Mountain Rose Herbs blog. (With videos!)

YUM

MAKE CHOCOLATE

• 1/4 C cocoa butter
• 4 T cocoa powder
• 2 T sweetener
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• herbal spices/ powders/ fruits/ nuts as desired

… Because Valentine’s Day is coming. Basically, melt cocoa butter. Stir in cocoa powder. Add sweetener, vanilla, herbs, fruits, nuts, etc as desired. Pour into molds. Let cool— then enjoy when solidified! Easy, enjoyable, and luxurious.

YUM YUM

CLINIC

I am now offering self-care tools for sale, to better support your health and well-being with useful, affordable, and high quality items. This includes massage balls, guasha stones for self-massage (obsidian, rose quartz, and jade), and AcuAroma kits. Come visit to learn more about each of these items and offerings!

VISIT

CLASSES

Acupressure Aromatherapy | Love up on yourself with AcuAroma, the application of properly diluted organic essential oils to specific acupressure points. Join me at The Pharm on February 15 for an intro to AcuAroma class to learn about the basics of meridian flow, acupressure, and how to practice AcuAroma at home. Also available in clinic.

ACU AROMA

Elemental Creativity | Connect with the Five Elements of Chinese Medicine within and around you through embodied movement, meditation, and drawing. Deepen your understanding of the principles of mindfulness and apply them, through the lens of the Elements, to channel your creativity. (Quarterly online class, starts Feb. 21 with Art Monastery founder Suiko McCall! Sliding scale. BIPOC/ other scholarships available)

CREATE

• New Article: Breakfast Blends (with cute videos!)
• New Interview: Following the Golden Thread (with Mason Hutchinson)
• Upcoming Event: Acupressure Aromatherapy live @thePharm
• Ongoing Class: Embodying Elements online
• Get involved: Surfrider beach cleanups

 

❤️ Spring blessings,

Jiling Lin, L.Ac. 林基玲

acupuncture . herbs . yoga

JILINGLIN.COM

INSTAGRAM

FACEBOOK

Book your acupuncture appointment here

BOOK NOW

Subscribe to this monthly newsletter here!

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