Winter's Greetings
If you have been in clinic lately, you will find the seasonal programs committee adding light in the form of tiny fairy lights to little mushroom clad scenes. While many have seemed delighted by the mushroom décor as we prepare for the winter season, others might be asking: why mushrooms?
Winter Solstice
In the northern hemisphere, September 23rd marked the 2023 autumnal equinox, which a month later was followed by a first snow fall on Halloween. While it felt like the return of winter was a bit early, the rise and falls of temperatures over the next month allowed for a more gradual transition into the season. As we inch our way closer to the winter solstice on Thursday, December 21st , we have collectively been experiencing decreased hours of light with increased hours of dark. The winter solstice, also known as Midwinter, occurs when the earth’s poles are furthest from the sun, gifting us with the shortest day and the longest night or period of darkness for any given year. Over time and in various cultures, this day has often been marked with winter festivals of light and reflection to prepare for a gradual returning of the light.
The “Lucky Holiday” Mushroom
If you have been in clinic lately, you will find the seasonal programs committee adding light in the form of tiny fairy lights to little mushroom clad scenes. While many have seemed delighted by the mushroom décor as we prepare for the winter season, others might be asking: why mushrooms? Fair question. For the mycological enthusiasts among us, we are making models of the Amanita muscaria, the mushrooms who don red caps with white speckles. In Germany, this mushroom is often referred to as Gluckspilz, or the lucky holiday mushroom because these are the fungi that readily grow next to pine trees.
The Doctrine of Signatures
Admittedly, we do not readily use the Amanita muscaria in our everyday East Asian herbal medicine. That said, we do often use mushrooms in formulas to treat myriad conditions, from gynecological issues to hypertension. Moreover, understanding a bit more about our ‘fungi friends,’ if you will, has the potential to give us further insight and broader understanding of how we are connecting with herbs in a general sense. One guiding principle in East Asian herbal medicine practice is called Doctrine of Signatures. This principle, also referred to as Systematic Correspondence or Sympathetic Magic, simply means that the herbs themselves are giving us clues as to what their therapeutic effects might be by simply being who they are. In short, noticing where and how the herbs grow in the natural world, noticing the herb’s color, and distilling down what part of the plant substance we are using often gives us insight in what that herb might be doing when consumed medicinally.
Mushrooms as Medicine
Poria cocos (Fu Ling) is a mushroom that we readily use in East Asian herbal formulas. When thinking about where mushrooms grow from a Doctrine of Signatures perspective, we can all imagine the mushrooms coming into being in moist woodlands or the innards of a decaying tree that many of us have encountered on hikes in forested areas. Even within the city limits, I have encountered mushroom clusters seemingly popping up at the base of boulevard trees overnight after a rain. You can imagine by virtue of the damp environment in which mushrooms grow, that they may have a therapeutic action focused on managing dampness. Not surprisingly, Pori cocos (Fu Ling) is the representative herb of the herbal medicine category, Herbs that Drain Dampness.
Calming the Spirit
Four layers of the Poria fungus are used in East Asian herbal medicine, with slightly different actions dependent on the layer used. The innermost layer of the mushroom, which also includes part of the root of the pine it grows near, is called Fu Shen. From a clinical perspective, this fungus helps to drain dampness but also has a particular affinity for calming the spirit—calming the shen in East Asian medicine terms—and helping to regulate the nervous system. From a Doctrine of Signatures perspective, having the pine root integrated into the herb may represent the calming rootedness this herb is helping to provide our bodies when consumed. While mushrooms can be lovely to consume as food, should you be interested in learning more about whether a formula containing mushrooms may be the right fit for your clinical presentation, it is always recommended to meet with one of Five Point’s herbalists who is formally trained in how to diagnose and treat specific health conditions.
Connected Community
In the clinic, we have been reflecting on how to best connect with community while continuing to move through these often turbulent, heartbreaking, and all too often troubling times. We have been busy curating a Five Point Winter Open House and mini–Holistic Market to be held this upcoming Sunday, December 10th from 1:00 – 3:00 PM, trying to balance reflective practices with time to connect directly or indirectly in community. We will be sipping tea, practicing solitude together through an East Asian- and nature-inspired crafts for children and adults, and sharing our updated Five Point Apothecary with items to accompany you through the winter months ahead. Patty Sugrue, LCPC will help us respond to winter’s invitation to rest with a Cozy Story Time for Grown-Ups, giving your busy mind a gentle place to explore, with cozy details and no drama. In addition, Hope, one of our psychotherapists, has been beautifully holding space to connect through art and embodied practices to come together in community throughout their Hope and Grief series, the last one which will be held this upcoming Saturday from 1:30 – 3:30 PM.
Looking forward to connecting with you all when the time is right – be it at our Winter Open House or in clinic soon!
-Ashley
Acupuncturist, herbalist, and public health-informed nature enthusiast
Sources:
Bensky, D., Gamble, A., and Kaptchuk, T. Chinese Herbal Medicine Materia Medica Revised Edition, Eastland Press, Seattle, 1993.
Why Mushrooms are a popular Holiday Decoration Little Pine Learners. Accessed December 6th, 2023.
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.
Nathan's Experience with Root's Family Chiropractic
Our clinic was introduced to Dr. Tom Williams and Roots Family Chiropractic through another partner of ours, Third Coast Birth. I went to meet Dr. Tom to discuss a possible partnership, and I found a like minded individual with strong community values and a desire to move people into a greater sphere of personal health and well being.
Roots Family Chiropractic is not what most of us are familiar with when we think of a Chiropractic Adjustment. They use a more gentle approach aimed at balancing the nervous system, so the body can smoothly regulate between the "rest and repair" versus the "fight/flight" cycles of the nervous system. The adjustments received are relatively gentle, done using what is called a "Torque Release Technique," which is a brief but strong pressure around the muscles that run along your entire spine, including the hips and sacrum. You can read more about these techniques here.
The other aspect of Dr. Toms approach that I really enjoyed was the use of Thermal Scanning, Heart Rate Variability Diagnostics, and Surface EMG (which looks at how the muscles along the spine are functioning). These three tests are done with your initial visit and after 12 treatments. After the tests are processed, Dr. Tom gives you a clear picture of how your nervous system is functioning as a whole picture. I really enjoyed having this objecting measure that I could understand, and beyond feeling improvements externally, I could see the big changes in my body scans after 24 visits. You can read more about these scans here.
What I noticed during the course of my initial set of visits was improved more restful sleep. I was feeling more motivated (less procrastination) during the day, and I felt like my overall energy increased. With each set of 12 visits, Dr. Tom goes over your new set of scans and compares them to the initial assessment. He also provides a lot of information to help you recognize what are the major stress components in your life that are affecting your sense of well being.
Dr. Tom and his wife Lauren both run the clinic together. It is a friendly, warm and welcoming space. Scheduling is easy, efficient and typical appointments don't take much more than 15 or 20 minutes.
Roots Family Practice is our newest Community Partner Businesses. Five Point patients can receive an initial evaluation and consultation for just $40 (a $150 value!). This consult includes a Thermal Scan, Heart Rate Variability Test, and Postural Energy Assessment (how active muscles are along spine, where strain is happening). Please take a moment to check out their web page where they have a lot of information about what they treat and how they treat it. We hope you consider adding chiropractic adjustments to your healthcare routine.
Community Partnership: Logan Square Pilates
Five Point is thrilled to announce its newest community partnership with
Logan Square Pilates + Core. LSQP is an independent studio located at 2771 N Milwaukee Ave, offering private and group instruction in Pilates equipment, Pilates mat, barre and yoga. The studio was launched in mid-January by three Logan Square residents, including two of our very own clients!
What is Pilates?
Pilate s h ractic pecifi ontrolle ovemen n reath. Wit ocu or n pinal suppor, the exercises uilds trength, lexibilit n ea uscl one. h mphasi engthenin h od nd alignin h pine, athe ha ulkin n hortenin h uscles.
Why Logan Square Pilates + Core?
LSQP is ommitte akin ilate ccessibl l odie u oga quar ommunit n upbeat, on-intimidating, ffordabl tudi nvironment, her ndividual eceiv h tmos espect an upport. Their mission is to ignite confidence and vitality in our community through the core principles of Pilates: concentration, control, center, position, breath and fluidity.
What's the Deal?
LSQP is excited to offer the Five Point community the choice of two special new client deals:
2 for 1 Private Pilates Equipment Sessions (use code FIVEPOINTPRIVATES when booking online) or
Free First Pilates Mat Class (code FIVEPOINTFLOOR).
They will also be hosting an open house just for Five Point clients on Sunday, February 18th from 4:30-6pm. Contact Kristi at info@logansquarepilates.com to learn more and sign up!
March Forth! Support your friends, family, and community
Five Point Community,
With the current cultural and political climate in the world, we have noticed an overwhelming sense of turmoil and instability within our communities. In times like these, it’s easy to focus on this turmoil and lose sight of taking care of yourself and loved ones. As a response, we want to do our part to help support our community, remaining steadfast in our mission of democracy, equality, and inclusivity.
For the month of March we want to bring our community together by offering your “Friends and Family” free treatments. If you are already a patient or community partner, we want to extend our support to your friends and family with first time free treatments. This includes one 30 minute treatment of either Community Acupuncture, Bodywork with Nathan, Massage with Kate or an Herbal Consultation.
Also, on Wednesday, March 8th, International Women’s Day, our clinic will be donating 25% of all services to the wonderful Chicago Women’s Health Center, who offer a variety of health services in an accessible and affordable way.
So please, join us this month. Take care of yourself, take care of your friends and family, and help us take care of our community!