Wow, it’s been four entire years! When I started massage school, I could barely get in tune with my own body; it didn’t help that I was also working a full-time job and burnout was rapidly approaching. I learned how to develop my touch sense, how to treat tension and muscles and fascia, and how regular check-ins are essential for feeling changes and discomfort in my own body.
Lately, I can feel myself clenching against the cooler weather, as if I can hold summer here by tightening myself. No matter how hot it gets, as soon as it feels like the season is on its way out, I want to cry, “Not yet! I still haven’t done all the summer fun things I had planned!” But the world keeps turning even as I keep moving my body, and that brings inevitable change.
Summer is Fire, autumn is Metal, with Earth in between. In shiatsu, there are two placements for the element of earth; at the end of summer, following fire, or in the transitional period between seasons. The weather surely feels transitional to me right now; unpredictable, requiring me to check my weather app often. This can feel a little stressful and chaotic to me, and then I look to exercises that help me centre myself: slow movement, meditation, or freewriting to get the blah out of my brain.
While all five elements of shiatsu have related foods to help balance their energies within, earth feels the most related to eating. If I were to imagine the element personified, I would see a fat and smiling mother or grandmother insisting, “You need more meat on your bones!” and offering up meals that nourish not only the body, but the heart and soul.
Properties of Earth foods:
- Grown in the earth
- Yellow or orange colour
- Round shape
- Sweet taste
As we transition into autumn, I invite you to reflect on what nourishes you, and how. Is it a meal shared with friends or loved ones? Indulging in a particularly satisfying craving? Think beyond food as well: our bodies are nourished by rest and movement in their proper turns. As spooky season arrives, a spell or ritual can also satisfy the mind and body and honour the spirit of the moment. The cooler weather means I can finally unroll my blanket-in-progress onto my lap and get into the meditative repetition of crochet again.
I am going to take the next few posts to explore a few conditions that affect the daily lives of friends of mine and myself. If you would like to be interviewed for a future post about your condition, please let me know! So far, I will be writing about:
- ADHD
- Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hypermobile subtype)
- Perimenopause
I created a promo code to celebrate my fourth anniversary of massage therapy! Newsletter subscribers received a message in August, and I am now extending the promo to the end of September. Use promo code ANNIVERSARY26 for your next massage at Cavendish or Queen Mary (book by end of day September 30th).
Housekeeping
My schedule is changing as of this month. My hours will remain the same, but I will be available at Cavendish and Meta 1111 on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays and at Concordia on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.
I am unavailable next week from Sunday, September 6th to Friday, September 11th.
I have a whole slew of pet sitting dates coming up, but most will be here in NDG and I will be visiting regularly when I am overnighting out of neighbourhood, so my calendar will remain open and I will close out days as appointments come in. Reserve your spot early this month!
