Happy Winter Solstice- & Seasonal Healing

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Misty L. Trepke

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The Winter Solstice and Healing

 

Solstice means " standing still " . No one's really sure how long ago

humans recognized the winter solstice and began heralding it as a

turning point -- the day that marks the return of the sun. One

delightful little book written in 1948, 4,000 Years of Christmas,

puts its theory right up in the title. The Mesopotamians were first,

it claims, with a 12-day festival of renewal, designed to help the

god Marduk tame the monsters of chaos for one more year.

 

Many, many cultures the world over perform solstice ceremonies. At

their root: an ancient fear that the failing light would never return

unless humans intervened with anxious vigil or antic celebration.

 

There's much new scholarship about Neolithic peoples and their

amazing culture. For example, it now looks as though writing is much

more ancient than we earlier thought -- as much as 10,000 years old.

Neolithic peoples were the first farmers. Their lives were intimately

tied to the seasons and the cycle of harvest. They were attuned to

the turning skies. Scholars haven't yet found proof that these

peoples had the skill to pinpoint a celestial event like solstice.

Earliest markers of time that have been found from these ancient

peoples are notches carved into bone that appear to count the cycles

of the moon. But perhaps they watched the movement of the sun as well

as the moon, and perhaps they celebrated it -- with fertility rites,

with fire festivals, with offerings and prayers to their gods and

goddesses.

 

In the northern hemisphere, the Winter solstice is day of the year

(this year it is December 21) when the Sun is farthest south.

However, in the southern hemisphere, winter and summer solstices are

exchanged so that the winter solstice is the day on which the Sun is

farthest north. The winter solstice marks the first day of the season

of winter. The declination of the Sun on the (northern) winter

solstice is known as the tropic of capricorn (-23° 27').

 

The winter solstice is the shortest day of the year, respectively, in

the sense that the length of time elapsed between sunrise and sunset

on this day is a minimum for the year. Of course, daylight saving

time means that the first Sunday in April has 23 hours and the last

Sunday in October has 25 hours, but these human meddlings with the

calendar do not necessarily correspond to the actual number of

daylight hours.

 

Winter Solstice is the time to reflect on the power of our spiritual

beliefs and the belief in the power of ourselves!

 

As we look forward to the beginning of a New Year, we look at ways to

resolve issues and create resolutions that will manifest change for

the better, in ourselves.

 

Detoxification

Detoxing at the change of the seasons is a good rule to remember a

four times a year fast.

It is estimated that at least twenty-five percent of the U.S.

population suffers from heavy metal poisoning to some extent.

Exposure or toxicity to food additives, solvents, pesticides,

herbicides and other toxic chemicals can cause a number of

psychological and neurological symptoms. Toxins produced by bacteria

in the gut can be absorbed, causing significant disruption of body

functions. The body eliminates toxins either by directly neutralizing

them or excreting them in the urine or feces (and to a lesser degree

via the lungs and skin). Toxins that the body are unable to eliminate

build up in the tissues, typically in our fat stores. The liver,

intestines, and kidneys are the primary organs of detoxification.

Eating a diet that focuses on fresh vegetables and fruits, whole

grains, legumes, nuts and seeds are extremely important. Adopt a

healthy lifestyle including regular exercise and avoiding drugs and

alcohol. Taking a high potency multiple vitamin and mineral

supplement. Nutritional and herbal supplements to protect and enhance

liver function. Go on a three day fast, four times per year (fasting

at the change of the seasons is a good rule to remember).

 

MANAGING YOUR DETOX

 

The most easiest, inexpensive and effective methods of detoxification

are fasting and specific dietary regimens. Keep in mind that the goal

is to achieve a healthier way of eating, not weight loss, or to rid

the body of all bacteria. In fact, " the good bacteria, " known as

Probiotics, is necessary in order to remain in good health.

 

Water and Juice Fast:

Most experts recommend beginners to do one or the other over every

weekend for a few months. A water only fast starting Friday evening

and ending Sunday morning (or just all day Saturday, as an

alternative) should be broken with a day of raw foods (fruit/salad

only, plus water), not with a heavy meal. Make sure that not less

than four, and not more than eight, pints of water are consumed

during the fast.

 

Juice Therapy

During juice therapy, the eliminative and cleansing capacity of the

organs of elimination, specifically lungs, liver, kidneys and the

skin, is greatly increased and accumulated metabolic waste and toxins

are quickly eliminated. It affords a physiological rest to the

digestive and assimilative organs. After the juice fasting or juice

therapy, the digestion of food and the utilization of nutrients is

improved.

 

As juices are extracted from plants and fruits, they process definite

medicinal properties. Specific juices are beneficial in specific

conditions. Besides specific medicinal virtues, raw fruit and

vegetable juices have an extraordinary revitalizing and rejuvenating

effect on all the organs, glands and functions of the body.

 

Raw juices of fruits and vegetables are extremely rich in vitamins,

minerals, trace elements, enzymes and natural sugars. The juices

extracted from raw fruits and vegetables require no digestion and

almost all their vital nutrients are assimilated directly in the

bloodstream. Raw juices are extremely rich in alkaline elements. This

is highly beneficial in normalizing acid-alkaline balance in the

blood and tissues as there is over-acidity in most conditions of

ill-health. Organic minerals in raw juices especially calcium,

potassium and silicon help in restoring biochemical and mineral

balance in the tissues and cells, thereby preventing premature ageing

of cells and disease.

 

Weekend Monodiet:

This consists of a full weekend of relying on a single food such as

grapes, apples, pears (best choice if you have a history of allergy

problems), brown rice, millet, or even potatoes (boiled only).

 

Alkaline-Detoxification Diet:

Developed by Dr. Haas, this three to four-week plan helps to detoxify

the body tissues of protein and acid wastes and can also help to

reduce weight, increase vitality, and promote healing. This plan

involves the elimination of acid-forming foods from your diet and

eating only fruits and vegetables (mostly vegetables), plus fresh

sprouts and millet. The diet also focuses on particular eating

principles, including exceptional chewing (thirty to fifty times each

mouthful), drinking quality water plus the steamed vegetable water,

and eating all food prior to nightfall.

 

Vitamin C Therapy:

Exposure to various toxins, like lead or benzene, will deplete your

vitamin C stores. Evidence also suggests that vitamin C deficiency

hampers the body's own detoxification process. Take 1,000 mg three

times a day.

 

Chelation Therapy:

A synthetic amino acid known as EDTA (ethylenediaminetetraacetic

acid) is administered intravenously and binds to various toxic metals

in the blood. The toxins are then flushed from the body through the

kidneys. Used primarily to treat cases of lead poisoning, many

doctors have found that EDTA can remove the calcium and plaque

present in the walls of arteries in atheroscelerosis. This therapy

has yet to have FDA approval as a treatment for heart disease.

 

Learn more at:

http://www.peacefulmind.com/detox_frame.htm

 

 

Traditional

TCM uses different perspectives to analyze health problems - the 8

Principal Patterns (Exterior/Interior, Excess/Deficiency, Hot/Cold,

Yang/Yin), Pernicious Evils (Wind, Heat, Dampness, Dryness, Cold, and

Fire), etc. The 5 Elements is another of those approaches. Central to

understanding the 5 Elements is to realize that Chinese medical

therminology often is at the same time very poetic and very literal.

 

For example Wind Cold imbalances are those in which wind and cold do

play a role. The Chinese worldview is far more integrated than the

typical Western viewpoint. The Western perspective tends to be

linear; the Chinese perspective tends to be holistic or weblike. The

title of a very famous book on TCM is The Web That Has No Weaver.

Pull on any strand in a web, and it will affect all parts of the web.

 

Whereas Western thought tends to look at just what is happening along

one strand (linear), holistic thought considers all parts of the web.

 

 

The 5 Elements can sound very esoteric to Westerners, and there are

some esoteric aspects to it. One way to look at the 5 Elements are

they are descriptions of different aspects of energy. But these

descriptions of aspects of energy go beyond the Western idea of

kinetic-potential energy. And these descriptions are at once both

symbolic and literal, and the symbolism grew out of a culture very

close to nature.

 

The fall is the time of waning Yang and increasing Yin. People start

to slow down, gather inward for the approaching winter. Winter is the

most Yin time of year, but after several weeks of being restricted

indoors, people begin to long for increased activity and letting

loose and getting out. Cabin fever as it's called in the West. Get me

out of this house!!!!! I want to go somewhere, do something.

 

-Excerpt from " The Five Elements of " -by Victoria

Dragon

 

Learn more at:

http://www.acupuncture.com

 

 

Ayurvedic Tradition

 

Triphala

is a traditional Ayurvedic Indian herbal compound used for

constipation and poor bowel tone and is designed to support the

body's natural cleansing process. It is one of Ayurveda's most

important herbal formulas for thousands of years. Triphala is a

balanced blend of three Indian Herbal Fruits: Harada, Amla, Behada.

This combination of fruits is unique because the astringent qualities

of the fruits serve to tonify the colon therefore promoting internal

cleansing naturally. This is highly recommended for anyone doing a

detox program. Triphala is available in capsules now in health food

stores. There is No known interactions between herb and allopathic

drugs. When buying Triphala, buy only in capsules. Avoid any powder

form. No Safety Warnings. Adults can take two tablets 2-3 times a day

between meals. Children under 10 can take the same dosage. Best used

regularly to improve bowel health.

 

Autumn to winter : During the juncture of season from Autumn to

winter (december ) KAPHA, the bioforce of growth and mucus begins to

accumulate and vata , should naturally be pacified. None of the

bioforces are inherently aggravated. None of the bioforces are

inherently aggravated. often, however when an individual's Agni is

not balanced it will increase erratically during this time to meet

the demands of the cold and diminishing light of winter. This will

cause dryness (A vata derangement as well as some pitta disturbance

due to the erratically inflaming agni. When dryness become a

prominent symptom then Snehan (oiling) in the form of oil massages,

oil enemas, nasal medication and increasing essential fatty acids in

ones diet can be very helpful.

 

Learn more at:

http://www.ayurvedaindia.org

 

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