Eating Grain with Chopsticks

Chopstick in your lunch box can turn a quick break into a zen moment when you try to eat your quinoa with them. I am a fast water, and fine it hard to slow down. According to my mentor, this can slow down the function of your kidneys and put out the "fire" in your center furnace that helps you to digest your food.

So, I eat my quinoa with chopsticks to remind myself to keep the fire burning.

Try it yourself- rice, quinoa, barley, even your oatmeal. Try eating your salad with chopsticks. How about your entire meal with chopsticks? Add some pepping or ginger tea and say thanks to your digestion system for its hard work.

Foot Baths for the Elderly

The holidays are a time to spend with family. I believe that they are also a time to go out of your way to give rather than receive. It's a time to try new things before the new year. It's time to show your love to those who are important to you and thank them for all they do.

My herbalist and acupuncture teacher suggested I give the gift of an herbal foot bath to my grandmother, and I thought that was a great idea, as it would be relaxing for her and give us time to talk together while also caring for her body.

Tonight I did a foot bath for her for the first time. She was excited that I was going to stick around to visit and was happy to chat about what she was thinking about, her hard work as a young farmer, and about what I was up to. Her feet splashed around in the old enameled basin that I found in my garage, which was most likely my grandmother's at one point

To do this, I found myself a large basin. I also found my set of massage stones, black round smooth stones, that I could place on the bottom of the basin for an extra sensory experience.

I then made a strong tea by steeping pine branches with a satchel full of lavender and eucalyptus. Mmmm. I placed that in a container to bring to grandma with the basin and stones.

I warmed up the water and took off Grandma's socks. She sat in her glider and splashed her feet in the warm water while we chatted about the news and life in general, past and present. When the water finally cooled, I took her feet and massage them with apricot oil. I think she liked is more than the foot bath because she said I could stay all night if I liked to rub her feet.

She loved it and I think she slept peacefully even if she said she couldn't smell the lavender and pine :) .

Happy Holidays to you all, and I hope you are all able to take time to give back with compassion. Peace!