Pandemic Ramblings

It’s okay to stop reading the news. Or limit yourself to just 30 minutes a day of news or social media intake. Then put a hard stop to it.

Spend time with friends online. Take a walk together, maintaining 6 feet distance. Get on the phone, and on live chat. Spend time together online not doing anything, simply being together.

Spend time with yourself. What gives you joy? Do that. What have you always wanted to do, but never had time to do? Do that.

Need direction? What are you passionate about? If you don’t know, then how can you explore that? Journal or draw. Spend time outdoors if you have easy outdoor access (sans too many people nearby), barefeet. Look at plants, then look them up in field guides. Draw plants. Find a nice rock, lie down, and simply stare up at the sky.

Still working? Working from home? How can you stay centered and grounded in this time of upheaval, and community anxiety? What grounds you?

Stay active. Free yoga classes are available now online, as well as paid ones. Don’t get mired in all the options. If you need steadiness, then just pick one, and stay the course. If you love all the options (as I do), then bop around and try everything out, so that once we’re back in person again, you know who to go to.

Allow this to be a time of experimentation and transformation.

What of health? Working from home can lend itself to too many snacks and distractions. Surround yourself with healthy snacks and distractions, then. Get up often and do lunges across the hallway, squats, push-ups… you get the idea. Use a foam roller or massage ball, and get the kinks out of your tight shoulders, low back, glutes, whole body. Stay hydrated. Drink warming teas, such as ginger or turmeric. Set up spaces for work, creative play (for example, I have a painting corner, and music corner), and movement (ie. yoga corner).

Create gentle resilience. Find sweetness, stillness, and simplicity in small basic moments. Embrace ease.

COVID19 , corona virus

Due to the "local health emergency" declaration from Ventura County Public Health regarding the COVID19 corona virus, we are postponing ALL March community- events, until further notice:

• Shoulder/ Arm Community Sports- Acupuncture (tomorrow, Saturday, 3/14)
• Way of Tea tea- tasting/ discussion (Monday, 3/16)
• Primavera art event collaboration with Va Por La Avenida (Sunday, March 21)

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Here's some COVID19 resources

• stay updated with California Department of Public Health's news releases
• stay healthy with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's tips
• consider an herbal approach, from my mentor, herbalist 7song
• other natural medicine considerations, from Aviva Romm, MD

◉◉◉

Here's some reminders about how to stay healthy, as the COVID19 coronavirus makes its way through the region:

As a reminder, our bodies are super good at fighting off colds and flus in general. 

The best things you can do for yourself is:

• Eat well/regularly
• Stay well hydrated
• Get plenty of rest
• Get some exercise/ movement
• Continue to stay engaged socially

Your body will do the rest. Our immune systems and our whole bodies are really good at what they do.

How do I take precautions while going about my day?

• Stay home if you're sick. This includes your appointments at our clinic.
• Wash hands frequently with soap and water, for 30 seconds.
• Sneeze and or cough into your elbow - not your hands.
• Avoid touching your face, hands, and eyes with your hands.

What should I do if I am well?

• Please do come to your appointments. Acupuncture, herbs, and yoga are excellent for boosting your immune system and maintaining health.
• Continue with your daily activities, go on errands, go to work, go have fun, and enjoy life!
• There are many herbs and supplements to help boost your immune system. Consider making an appointment for an herbal consultation. 

What do I do if I think I'm sick?

• Cancel your appointment. We're not equipped to test for COVID-19 or isolate patients.
• If you have any of the following symptoms: fever, cough, shortness of breath, have been in close contact with someone who has a confirmed COVID-19 infection or traveled in affected regions, then please contact the County Health Department.
• The County Health Department can administer tests and give you further advice and care without exposing others.
• In the meantime, please keep yourself home.

What we're doing in our clinic:

• Actively cleaning each treatment room and waiting area several times per day to ensure your safety.
• Helping folks boost their immune responses by offering holistic health care. Now, more than ever, you need this kind of care. Keep on scheduling your appointments with us.

Please follow me on Instagram or Facebook for my latest updates, or check my website.

We are here to support you. Please reach out with any questions. 

In health,

Jiling

Jiling Lin, L.Ac. 林基玲

acupuncture . herbs . yoga

JilingLin.com

  

ARM/ SHOULDER Community Sports- Acupuncture

Arabic Honey Electuary

An "electuary" is simply a honey paste. This Arabic Honey Electuary can help reduce chronic inflammation. Make a jar, and take a tablespoon each day.

Ingredients listed in parts (all dried powders):
Black pepper 1
Ginger 1
Tumeric 6-8
Honey

1. Place mixed powders into jar
2. Warm the honey, until liquefied
3. Add 4 ounces of Honey to every 3 T of herb powder
4. Stir, and enjoy 1 T, 1-2 times a day

A teacher with multiple sclerosis uses this formula daily. I recently recommended it to a patient with lupus. We frequently spooned it out to Water Protectors at Standing Rock, along with Fire Cider, Osha honey, and CBD oil. I have found this simple recipe effective + delicious, over the years. Please let me know how you like it! Please share with someone who might like Arabic Honey, too.

Way of Tea: February Puerh notes

Here's a few notes from last night's Way of Tea event: 

Tea/ 茶

• Read this article
  for more details on Pu'erh (普洱) tea
• Want to brew with a gaiwan (蓋碗)? 
  Watch this video
  . 

Dao De Jing/ 道德經

Here's the reflection questions that I posed from passage 9: 

• What's a tangible example of when you should have stepped back? How do you "step back"?
• How do you balance work, play, time, boundaries, and other elements with integrity? 

• Click here
  for a list of free online "Dao De Jing" resources

Stay Healthy

• Come see me in my clinic (Ventura and Oxnard locations) for personalized one-on-one acupuncture, herbs, and yoga consultations/ treatments! Find more classes/ clinic schedule on
   my website
• Follow me on 
  Instagram and Facebook for beautiful photos + yummy Chinese medicine morsels. 

Upcoming events

• Stay tuned for our next Way of Tea in March! 
• Please join us for Community Acupuncture on Friday February 21.
• Sign up for my mailing list to receive latest updates! 

Jiling Lin, L.Ac. 林基玲

Make Chocolate

Celebrate love:

Love yourself so fully, that from this place of fullness, you shine that love back outwards to illuminate the lives of all you encounter, in turn.

Share love with homemade chocolate. Why not go wild and make a big batch for the whole office? Your whole street? Town? Everyone needs some love.

Making chocolate is easy. By controlling the amount of sugar and other ingredients, you also control the health benefits received.

Here's 2 different recipes for making your own chocolate:
- make it from scratch with "Bare Chocolate"
- rebuild from another bar with "Chocolate Truffles"

Have fun, get creative, and share with everyone!
Love, Jiling

Bare Chocolate

Ingredients
1/4 C cocoa butter
4 T cocoa powder
2 T sweetener (adjust as desired)
1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1. melt cocoa butter in double boiler on low heat
2. stir in cocoa powder
3. add sweetener/ vanilla
4. add herbs/ nuts/ seeds/ fruits/ etc (optional)
5. pour into molds
6. let cool. Once solid, release from molds, and enjoy! 

Chocolate Truffles

Ingredients
8 oz dark chocolate
2/3 cup coconut milk
2 tsp vanilla
spices/ herbs (optional. ie cinnamon, nutmeg, etc)
powdered cacao/ roses/ coconut/ etc (optional, for coating)

1. break chocolate to small pieces.
2. add vanilla + spices/ herbs (optional) to chocolate.
3. warm coconut milk in double boiler until fully melted, then remove from heat
4. pour chocolate- mix into coconut- milk. Let stand until melted, then mix
5. place into fridge to let cool, until you can roll it into balls
6. roll into balls (you can scoop it out with a tablespoon)
7. roll in powder (optional)
8. yum!

Adding Herbs
You can add herbal powders into both recipes. For Truffles, you can infuse herbs into coconut milk, or add herbal powders into the coating- mix. Have fun and experiment! Here's some herbal ideas:



More Resources

• Turmeric Chocolate
• Sweet Medicine
• Herbal Aphrodisiacs
• Herbal Lube

Jiling Lin, L.Ac. 林基玲

acupuncture . herbs . yoga

www.JilingLin.com

What's cupping?

I place a flaming cotton ball into a glass cup, which creates a vacuum. I pull the flame out, and quickly place the cups at select locations around the body. The suction pulls up superficial tissue. The cups can be quickly moved, left in place, or "glided" across the body with oil.
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Cupping promotes circulation and the release of toxins, tension, and stagnant energy. It encourages relaxation, and often helps relieve pain, especially along the back.
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Cupping can be a stand-alone treatment, or used in conjunction with acupuncture, or other modalities. I usually practice traditional Fire-Cupping, although there are also other forms, such as pump-suction, or silicon-cupping.
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Learn more about cupping or other treatments in a free 15-minute consultation, or come in for a treatment! Thanks for supporting my new woman-owned small business.

Olives

I started noticing them in early autumn, hanging enticingly on the trees, cajoling me to "come back in a month. Bring a bag, and bring your BF."

So, I came back with both. We gathered three huge bags of ripe olives that stained my bags light purple, and made them smell like, well, olive oil.

I brined them that night, individually washing each precious little olive jewel, and cutting down its belly to welcome the brine. They sat on our kitchen counter, smiling fat and purple from their glass jars, oozing slightly with salt and scent, for two months (with 1 brine-change and overseas adventure, in the middle).

I removed the brine last week, and added salt, vinegar, local herbs, and oil. The flavors sit and infuse now, and will be ready to eat shortly. We have enough to last us until the next harvest, next autumn.

I am so grateful for our local bounty.

Creating relationships with our local landscape by gathering, preparing, and eating local food likewise creates an internal landscape of joyful resilience. Plus, the food tastes and feels better. It's FUN.

What are you eating from your home landscape?