summer dreams of rest

It is beautiful summer. So much light, so much warmth. It has been a moment since I’ve written; my life has transformed so much in the past year. I’m tired and wonderful. Abalone is full of inspiring people who truly believe in themselves, and the power of natural medicine, to heal.

how are you doing?

I’ve been pulsing between Mount Shasta & Point Reyes Station… aromatic waterfalls of clary sage, lavender, yarrow, mullein, hypericum, cedar & sagebrush…. I left my son at the mountain with good people and ancient headwaters. I miss him. As this article arrives in your mailbox, I’ll be picking him up from a wild adventure and one month sans tech, praise be.

While he has been gone, clinic has been full, and in between, I’ve been resting and moving slow, singing Slavic songs, tending my little garden, seeing friends, conspiring to stop this diabolical glyphosate thing, swimming a bit, sharing a beautiful solstice gathering with my friends at InPlace, and falling in love…

I also finally got a handle on a stubborn back injury - my first ever.

I look for words about being aligned with the seasons and soon I’m laughing at the futility of finding tidy answers, plus I’m too tired to think. So I surrender into the unexplainable of feeling, and live by what is real and true and flowering, throwing stagnant quotable wisdom in the bin. Summer is fire, and yang, the time of the Empress heart, for celebration and creativity, and yet this summer I need to retreat. The ultimate law of being aligned with nature, is to follow the wisdom of the living body and heart. To step outside the current and listen.

It took me a while to figure out what the invitation was, with this sharp stabbing back pain that showed up after I moved into my new home in April. At first, I ignored it, trusting it would go away… it got louder. It is just as they say in Chinese medicine, low back stuff is of the kidneys, has to do with rest, with flow, with not holding so much. I always appreciate an injury because it shows me how to help other people. Back injuries are scary; you really need your back! To heal, I had to rest so, so much more than seemed reasonable to my mind. I had to really clack that “why are you sitting still and not doing anything” voice. I had to settle down my compulsion for projects. Take space between tasks, sit down. Say no. Don’t lift heavy shit - ask for help. Move more slowly, which, by the way, is sooo pleasurable.

Lay in the sunshine until I want shade. Sleep more, work through some spirit residue in my dreams. Hydrate. Gather flowers, breathe them in. Lay heart bare and open to offerings of desire and ancestors and the blood red stone at the top of a holy mountain and the white bellies of the owls flashing between the cypress limbs as the fog seeps in.

I was helped along by some healers… a few chiropractic sessions peeled away some frozen layers, and acupuncture released the tension and juiced my kidneys back up. I did castor oil packs on my belly which helped immensely. I used salves. I ate a cleansing diet to reduce inflammation, and hydrated extra, with solé, organ powder and plenty of fat to nourish my fascia and sinews. I got back to my yoga practice, more gently, more slowly, accepting the pain rather than being frustrated by how much it was limiting me. And the other day something started to release, and heal. (Synchronistically, my favorite medical author just published an article on back pain. I highly recommend you follow him and search his Substack for any diagnostic spell you’ve been put under. He’ll pull back the veil.)

When I look at tongues in clinic, I see a lot of scorched earth right now. Bright red, purplish, dry, with cracks, all our good work and activity and do-ing, burning through the yin and blood, causing pain, muscle cramping, fatigue. I’m not the only one who needs rest and a cleansing nourishing diet this summer. To replenish yin and fluids, while keeping things light… my mantra is hydration. I created a guide… I’d like you to have it too.

Also, lots of vegetables, especially green ones. Raw and cooked. Green is chlorophyll, cleansing, protective, healing, nourishing. Other colors give other benefits to the body. Eat what veggies look good at your local farm stand. Blackberries and huckleberries are popping off right now where I live… evidence that we are loved by nature. Dark berries are cooling and nourishing for the blood. Other seasonal fruit is also delicious, but too much can dampen the digestive fire, so go easy on stone fruit, grapes and melons. Keep refined sugar, alcohol, and starch to a minimum.

If you need to replenish deeper stores of blood and yin… try bone broth and sustainably wild-caught seafood… raw kefir (let me know if you want some grains)… and my friend Christian’s “Ancestral Feast” powdered blend of high quality beef blood, bone broth and organs. I will have it back in stock starting next week! for all of you that are hooked, like me, and waiting.

Meanwhile, up near Mt Shasta, my teenage son recently did his first solo sit for 24 hours in a shelter he built, with no food. He told me it was surprisingly easy, and he could have gone for longer. He said he spent three hours watching a bumblebee pollinate a flower. Said that it was the first time he’s ever had a chance to catch up with his thoughts. He turned around and went right back for another session. I am so grateful that at such a young age, he has a chance to experience a rite of passage, a sane contrast to the roadkill pace of our screen-glazed world.

The solstice is a paradox. Summer light & firey fast-moving yang is maxed, yet there is a stillness as we hover at the apex of the season. If we choose, we can stop time for a moment and have a brightly sunlit look at ourselves. Back injury or no, slowing down when things are most dynamic is a radical act of self-love, a good habit and a sweet delight.

I hope you get a few hours to watch a bumblebee today.

Love,
Alison

Embodied Chinese Medicine class series

I teach a class on experiential Chinese medicine where we cultivate ways of listening to our bodies messages, along with learning herbal medicines and Chinese elemental ways of caring for ourselves. It is a small, close group and we always go deep and have fun. I took a break from teaching this spring, but almost certain I’m going to fire it up again this fall. If you are interested let’s talk. More details here.

Abalone website renovation

A new website is under construction, so my current site will be down for a week at the end of July into early August. My booking link will still work fine. I collaborated with a magical local artist, Liv Stout, to commission a gorgeous pen & ink symbol of my medicine offerings. A talented graphic designer, Megan Schiller, is creating a website and labels based on Liv’s visual spell. I might even have a sign hanging outside the Apothecary soon.

CHARMS Tattoo Pop up at Abalone!

Speaking of Liv… she is also a tattoo artist, and she will be offering her medicine of indelible visual beauty on Sundays at Abalone apothecary and clinic space. CHARMS is her by-appointment private tattoo studio, check her out and inquire on IG.

Emily Livingston Stout (she/her) “Liv” is tattoo and interdisciplinary fine artist. She grew up along the upper portion of the Mississippi River in Rock Island, Illinois and received her BFA in Printmaking from The Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design in 2006. She received her MFA in Interdisciplinary Studio Art from The Memphis College of Art in 2011.  

Her drawing work has been published in New American Paintings and has been funded by Artist Trust’s Grants for Artist Projects.  She has been tattooing professionally since 2022 and has tattooed in many major tattoo shops as a visiting artist in Seattle, Chicago, San Francisco, and Oakland. 

Reach out to her via the QR code below or Instagram link above, for inquiries.