Five Elements
Dreamwork in the Acupuncture Clinic: Engaging with Your Dreams for Healing Insights and Guidance
Enjoy this recording of a public talk hosted by Revive Qi and Fertility Center, about why and how I engage with patients’ dreams and what it’s like to experience dreamwork in the acupuncture clinic, plus view a mini-dreamwork session with one participant’s dream. For more info on my work with dreams: https://leilaninavar.com/dreamwork/ To schedule a…
Read MoreGetting Better Can Feel Really Good
The things that are bringing us into better balance FEEL GOOD ✨ Trust your compass. Here’s what I say in the video: “Getting better can feel really good. The things that bring us into balance make us feel good. I’m sure that one reason I love to sing is that the Metal element in my…
Read MoreHealing Sunday / Healing Season
I had a dreamy Sunday morning a few days ago: I wrote down my dreams, practiced qigong and back rehab exercises, played guitar and sang myself some songs, breathed in gratitude with the green leaves around me – all before I emerged from my room. Then I had a yummy breakfast, followed by a little…
Read MoreWhat the Five Elements Really Are
The Five Elements are not like the atoms on the periodic table of the elements. They’re not the building blocks of matter. In Classical Chinese Medicine, in Daoist philosophy, the word xíng, which we usually translate as “elements,” could better be translated as “phases”. These five phases are processes. (Verbs, not nouns – hey! just…
Read MoreStress Causes Disease – So What Do we Do?
We’ve all heard that stress causes disease. Chinese Medicine teaches us that about half our diseases trace back to how we relate to our emotions. And, the world right now – there’s a lot of stress, and a lot of emotion. So what do we do? A new round of Healing Season: Practical Wisdom from…
Read MoreThe Wood Element in You: Vision, Anger, Passion for Justice, Flexibility and Compassion (a few minutes of Healing Season)
I love hosting Healing Season. One of my favorite parts is sharing the poetic science of the Five Elements, as applied to the body, mind, and emotions in Chinese Medicine. Here you can see a few minutes of the course video about the Wood Element. If you’re curious about Healing Season, a 12-week small group…
Read MoreDo I need emotional or physical healing? Which Element do I focus on? Clearing what I once stuffed down AND not stuffing anything new? (Healing Season Q&A Call)
Here are a few selections from a Healing Season Q&A in February 2022. This was about halfway through the group program, after exploring Fire, Earth, and Metal. Watch and listen to get a feel for the kinds of conversations we have in Healing Season, and to hear my replies to the questions below: 0:00 Question: How…
Read MoreChewing One Bite of Food, Thoughts, or News at a Time
Physical, mental, emotional – all are working with the same qi. The Earth network of organs and channels processes information AND food. Overthinking or worrying can be like chewing, and chewing, and chewing on the same bite, without swallowing it. (✋🏼 I’m familiar with this one…) I share a couple of suggestions in this video…
Read MoreTurning Season Episode 11: Herbal Medicine & Systems Thinking (with Judyth Shamosh)
“He that breaks a thing to find out what it is has left the path of wisdom.” – The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien That’s a favorite quote of my guest Judyth Shamosh, which she relates to seeing each person’s health as a whole system, and as part of even larger whole systems.…
Read MoreA Point for Shoulder Tension, Headaches and Feeling Pressured: Landscape of Your Body #13
“Storing stress” in your shoulders? Ever have tension headaches? Feeling pressured by too many responsibilities? For all those reasons, I love massaging this point with a massage cane until it softens up, sometimes giving a twitch or two on its way to release. I talked about Gall Bladder 21, called Jian Jing (Shoulder Well) in…
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