Thoughts on "Wintering"
“Once we stop wishing it were summer, winter can be a glorious season in which the world takes on a sparse beauty and even the pavements sparkle. It’s a time for reflection and recuperation, for slow replenishment….doing those deeply unfashionable things – slowing down, letting your spare time expand, getting enough sleep…resting.”
–Katherine May
These words from author Katherine May invite us into considering a countercultural set of practices that call for a slowing down as well as an invitation to rest, reflect, and take good care. May offers up the concept of ‘wintering’ as an invitation to connect with the ever-changing natural cycles and ecological transitions. Winter, she posits, is a time where we may do well to reflect on how we are caring for ourselves, our families, our colleagues, and our communities.
December 21st marked the winter solstice, the time each year where we collectively experience the shortest day and the longest night. For those of us residing in the Chicagoland area, we swiftly experienced a winter shock of cold and snow shortly thereafter the solstice reminding us all of the current season we inhabit. For me, this wintry weather event meant a shortened clinical workday, a hot pot of my favorite carrot-fennel soup simmering on the stovetop, and many (many!) hot beverages. Somewhere between the cups of coffee and the multiple mugs of Rooibus-turmeric-ginger tea, I finally felt myself able to begin slowing down – even amidst the winter holiday hubbub.
The concept of wintering aligns with the nature-based origins of Traditional East Asian Medicine, whereby the system implicitly considers people as a part of the natural world, not separate from it. As such, we recognize that your body may have different needs as the weather chills and the sunlight hours shorten. To counteract a wintering of the body, which can in fact occur during any season, herbalists will often employ a warming strategy. For example, when working with patients on digestive issues, I will have the patient consider what happens to a stream as winter approaches.
As the temperatures drop, the stream’s current begins to slow and may eventually freeze. The same dynamics may be at play within the body. For example, if someone is experiencing a slowed digestion as evidenced by fewer healthy bowel movements or is experiencing digestive pain, this may in part be exacerbated by the ingestion of cold foods and beverages that can be compounded in winter by the external cold temperatures. With slower digestion, cold may contribute to a dynamic like the chilling and slowing stream on its way towards freezing, which would ultimately cause digestive pain.
Herbalists will work with patients to try to balance their systems by suggesting warm fluids like brothy soup and warming herbal medicine formulas. Essentially, we are trying to counterbalance the digestive wintering that has occurred. To reverse the pain, we gently warm your system – effectively melting the metaphorical ice and support a quickening of the digestive stream to support your system in moving back into a healthy digestive flow. While not all digestive issues are caused by cold alone as individuals embody dynamic systems, this nature-based example is one frame we may consider when determining how to help patients understand the dynamics of the body in relationship to nature. For tailored support specific to your body’s system, it is always recommended to meet with an herbalist who is formally trained in how to diagnose and treat specific health conditions.
That said, even for patients not experiencing pain or digestive pathology, we may suggest drinking warm herbal teas such as ginger or cinnamon to support digestive health and to simultaneously enhance well-being that often accompanies taking a ten-minute tea break at some point during your day. Other activities that may enhance well-being include bundling up and connecting with nature. As the daughter of a second-grade teacher, I have a clear memory of my mom stopping class during the first snow to bundle up and head outside. This momentary break in the day became a priority especially if there was a new student who had just moved from a warm weather state and had never experienced snow.
Once outside, she would equip the student with a black or dark blue pieces of construction paper and allow them to experience several snowflakes landing on the paper. Even today, this activity never ceases to amaze me – seeing the crystalline structures of each individual flake land in full integrity for a few minutes. While a great exercise to do with children, I have found that it can also slow down adults of all ages for a moment of joyful reflection, despite the cold temperatures.
In moving forward through the winter season, we hope you are able to take good care and please never hesitate to reach out to our practitioners and care teams for support! At Five Point Holistic Health, we recognize that our larger cultural systems often do their best to eclipse one’s ability to slow down and rest. We will certainly continue to be in conversation and support larger policy changes and systems transformations that safeguard rest such as universal sick leave, minimum paid vacation, and adequate parental leave. As we continue to cultivate a more caring culture, we also offer up some ideas for ‘wintering’ home practices to nourish your moments of solitude and to help sustain relationships as we move through this season on our Five Point Holistic Health Instagram Page.
Warm Wishes and Happy Lunar New Year!
Ashley
Acupuncturist, herbalist, and public health-informed nature enthusiast
Source:
May, K. (2020). Wintering: The power of rest and retreat in difficult times. Random House.
Welcome Derek Becker, L.Ac
We're thrilled to introduce the newest member of our team: Derek Becker, Licensed Acupuncturist. Appointments with Derek can be booked on Monday and Thursday evenings starting June 7.
Derek is a compassionate collaborator who partners with people to creatively overcome physical and emotional challenges. Derek’s patients often find themselves moving, breathing into and releasing pain. This practice, along with brief guided meditations, Qi Gong instruction, and prescribing herbal formulas, reinforces the collaborative nature of healing and allows a patient to experience the benefits and importance of actively participating in their own healing.
Christian Villacres, L.Ac joins Five Point Ownership Team
We are thrilled to announce that Christian made the big step of becoming an owner of Five Point. In early July, Christian joined Celeste, Ryan, and Nathan as the seventh owner of our worker co-op since our inception. Christian began working at Five Point as an acupuncturist in 2017, and he quickly demonstrated strong leadership skills and commitment to our business and community.
Christian grew up in Washington D.C. in a lively Latin household and was taught from an early age to value a natural and healthy lifestyle. Following a career in Art and Design, his interest in natural health and longevity lead him to Chinese Martial Arts, internal development, and ultimately into the study of Chinese Medicine. He graduated from PCOM Chicago in 2016. Informed by the richness of both Eastern and Western Science, embracing both Tradition and Modernity, he strives to help his patients achieve and maintain their highest quality of life.
As an owner, Christian brings his art and design skills to the Five Point marketing and outreach team. He is fluent in Spanish, and helps to broaden our accessibility and outreach to the Hispanic community. He is currently pursuing a doctorate at Bastyr University in order to hone his clinical skills.
Christian's ambition, work ethic, warmth, and sense of humor makes him a valued member of the ownership team, and we look forward to growing our business with him by our side.
Tiered Pricing for Community Acupuncture
We have some exciting developments in the new year that we'd like to share regarding our community acupuncture pricing. This past year we experimented with monthly discount community acupuncture nights as a means to make our services more accessible. These evenings were a huge success, often booking up weeks in advance. The popularity of these evenings demonstrated the need for reduced-cost services more than once per month and lead us to find a solution.
As of February 1, we will officially be moving to a tiered pricing model for community acupuncture. Pricing will be:
Reduced rate: $30
Standard rate: $40
Supportive rate: $45
Reduced Rate
Having difficulty affording $40 or coming for multiple visits in one week? Consider our reduced rate.
Standard Rate
Don’t like too many options or comfortable with what you've already been paying? No problem! The standard rate is still $40.
Supportive Rate
Have extra resources? Every supportive rate paid helps us give a community member a treatment at the reduced rate.
These scenarios are merely suggestions, as only you know what works best for your situation. You’re welcome to change which tier you pay at any time. We will continue to offer our package rate for all services at 10% off five or more treatments purchased. For community acupuncture, the package price will be based on the standard rate.
Surely you’ll have questions, so don't hesitate to talk to our front desk staff or your practitioner. We look forward to seeing you in the clinic soon, and happy new year!
New Acupuncturist
Five Point warmly welcomes the newest member of our team: Christian Villacres, L.Ac.
Christian grew up in Washington D.C. in a lively Latin household and was taught from an early age to value a natural and healthy lifestyle. Following a career in Art and Design, his interest in natural health and longevity lead him to Chinese Martial Arts and Internal Development. Here he discovered a genuine connection to both his physical body and deeper self. After practicing and teaching for nearly a decade he was drawn fully into the study of Chinese Medicine. He graduated from PCOM Chicago in 2016 with his MSTOM. Informed by the richness of both Eastern and Western Science, embracing both Tradition and Modernity, he strives to help his patients achieve and maintain their highest quality of life. Christian’s treatments focus on stress/anxiety, pain management, digestive disorders and overall wellness. Christian is also fluent in Spanish.
Christian is available for appointments on Tuesdays from 9am-2pm and Wednesdays from 2pm-8pm. He can be reached at christian@fivepointholistic.com.
New Herbalist and Acupuncturist Joins Five Point
Five Point would like to proudly introduce the newest member of our team: Collin Campbell, L.Ac. Collin is the husband of member-owner Leah Finch and a talented, experienced herbalist and acupuncturist.
Collin graduated from PCOM with an extra 2700 hours of clinical experience under the tutelage of two senior professors: Frank Scott, LAc., Academic Dean at Pacific College, and Marie-France Collin, LAc., Department Chair for Acupuncture at PCOM. He was a senior intern in the Chicago Veteran's clinic, and was a co-founder of the oncology clinic at KMF Acupuncture. He is the first diplomate of the Institute of Classical East Asian Medicine to be awarded clinical fellowship. Also, he is an assistant instructor of the Chicago branch of ICEAM under the direction of his teacher, Stephen Bonzak, LAc., and under the mentorship of ICEAM's founder Dr. Arnaud Versluys, LAc. Though Collin is a skilled acupuncturist, his real passion is the study of classical Chinese herbology. His areas of special interest are dermatology and men's health issues.
Outside of work, Collin enjoys riding his bike and hiking at the Indiana Dunes with his wife and dog. Collin is available at Five Point on Fridays from 10-3 and Sundays from 1-6 or by appointment.