Feel Better This Fall

Posted on by Gigi Vincentine R. TCM. P., R. Ac.
As we embrace the arrival of Fall, it is a season characterized by release and transformation. This time of year is associated with the Metal Element, represented by the Lung and Large Intestine. 

Deepening your breath can facilitate the release of tension and allow you to let go of what no longer serves you. The Metal Element often carries emotions such as sadness and grief; therefore, inhale deeply to embrace the expansive blue sky. Integrity, self-worth, and structure are its guiding virtues. Fall frequently signifies a return to routine and a chance to realign ourselves after the carefree days of summer.

If you have a health concern you wish to address or emotional grief you aim to release, I invite you to seek support. I am available in the clinic on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. 

I look forward to seeing you.  
Gigi Vincentine ☯️
250.882.0659

Fall 🍂Newsletter

Posted on by Gigi Vincentine R. TCM. P., R. Ac.
Fall 🍂 The Metal Element
When I think metal, I think of a sword. Strong enough to fulfill it’s purpose, but not so rigid it snaps. The Metal Element and time of year naturally prescribes structure and routine. Getting back to basics (or business). Some of us may describe Fall as a reset. Kind of like the New Year. Fall also calls upon us a certain flexibility and ease to be able to let go of our metaphorical leaves.
Metal, Fall Season relates to our Lungs and Large Intestine. A very fundamental Yin and Yang, In and Out, with our breath and with our food. A process of receiving and eliminating. Breathing in…breathing out.
Have you ever tried explaining Taoism ☯️ to your 16 yr old teenager? Living in harmony with the seasons? I think I lost him somewhere around asking him to go ” with” nature. His inertia (lazyness) was getting the best of him this morning. Getting up in the morning can feel a little heavy in the Fall compared to warm and bright Summer mornings 🌄 I think I was resisting Fall myself, as I love the warm summers and lake swims.
Here are some sweet Fall affirmations that may help you get out of bed in the morning 😉

Breathing In, I Soften
Breathing Out, I Soften

I Breath In Clarity
I Breath Out Resistance

As I Let Go
I Find Peace

I Embrace The Beauty of Fall
As I Am Reminded of My Own Beauty

I Am Grounded On This Earth
As I Watch Nature’s Transformation

Here’s to flowing with the seasons and feeling good! I’m in clinic Monday, Wednesday, Friday, if any of you want to feel a bit more ease and harmony. Acupuncture and body work can be a great way to let go! I’ll see you soon.
Happy Fall 🍁🌾🍂Gigi

Welcome to Fall…Stay Healthy, Stay Balanced!

Posted on by Gigi Vincentine R. TCM. P., R. Ac.

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Hello everyone, welcome to Fall, bye bye crazy summer fun months. It’s back to school for my family and back to routine…with a little more self-care. What about you? What does your self-care look like? What do you do in your life to spark joy? Who do you surround yourself with? Fall is Lungs & Large Intestine season- the Metal Element (Metal is more linear and routinized). So it makes sense that we are adding more routine and more discipline into our lives. The sun makes it easier to be happy, so with less sun we could insert some more joyful activities to keep balanced. The emotion of the Fall is sadness and/or loneliness. I sometimes feel homesick this time of year. Keeping my lungs open and my digestion smooth will be one of my goals for the next few months. I go for more walks and stretch out my arms while breathing and doing circles; movement with breath. This slows me down and brings me in the moment. I have started taking some probiotics and some immune teas and formulas, getting some acupuncture and massage, and going to bed earlier. I am sure all of you have some tricks that you do this time of year too.
This Fall I have some exciting events and courses lined up. I just finished taking an acupuncture course on Luo-Collateral channels in the body. These are channels in the body that connect the yin and yang paired organs. When we get overwhelmed these Luo-Collaterals have the potential to hold things at bay for later, creating a latency in the body until we are more capable to deal with certain stresses. Our bodies and channels have a super wisdom to deal with life. At some point we want to be able to slow down and take stock of how we are doing and make sense of things in our lives. If this doesn’t happen, our bodies are constantly overwhelmed, and life feels stressful. Acupuncture can help the body offload some of this stored emotion/tension. In the course I was taking, we even saw how the body creates extra blood vessels to store this stress or latency. Wow!
Over the summer, I was co-teaching Yoga at the Salt Spring Centre. This sparked a fire in me to start teaching here in Victoria. I’m going to start teaching a group of Montessori teachers weekly classes, and then we’ll see ( I know some of you have been wondering… I’ll keep you posted when I start to branch out). I’ve also been asked to be the key note speaker at a Montessori Conference on The Tao of Montessori. Two things very close to my heart. There are so many opportunities in life, we just need to grab them, even though we are terrified!
I’m flying to Portland next month for a two day workshop with Kiiko Matsumoto. Her specialities lie in teaching the Classics, and combining their wisdom with Modern Medicine. She will be focusing on systemic detoxification of our most common pharmaceuticals, and how they affect our kidney function. We’ll be discussing other topics such as bone strength and long term health goals (longevity). Chinese Medicine is all about longevity and happy life!
Looking forward to hearing what you have been up to. Some of you I haven’t seen in a while. Drop me a note via email or make an appointment. I’m in the clinic Mon, Wed, Fri, Thursday is my overflow day. Please remember you can text/email me to make a booking, especially if you don’t find a spot that’s convenient for you. I can put you on a waitlist for that day.
Here’s my email gigivincentine@hotmail.com
cell# 250.882.0659
Blessings
Gigi Vincentine Dr. TCM

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Welcome to Fall…Stay Healthy, Stay Balanced

Posted on by Gigi Vincentine R. TCM. P., R. Ac.

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Wow! A lot has been happening for me since the last time I wrote you a newsletter. It seems like a lifetime ago but it has only been 3 months.

Gratitude is what comes up often for me. I live a very special life with my family, my patients, my teachers, my friends and colleagues and now my Yoga Family! My time spent at Yoga Teacher Training really unraveled my whole being. I was so well taken care of on all levels, that it has propelled me to take care of others (and myself) in the same way. This is my practice.

Thank you to all of you for revealing yourselves to me and allowing yourselves to be vulnerable. Wow! That’s hard!

I have been diving into my clinical practice with new enthusiasm, I so love it. I’ve also been trying new things and wanted to share some of them with you. My personal meditation practice has really expanded and I’ve also joined a Yin Yoga Taoist QiGong class with Carly Forest. Here are the 5 Taoist practices for you to explore. Taoist Qigong Video ( Pulling down the Heavens at the very beginning is very accessible.) www.carlyforest.com is where you can find more information and classes like this one.

Oprah and Deepak have their free meditation coming up at the end of October. Here’s that link https://chopracentermeditation.com/?sso_code=eyJpd… Being able to focus your mind on where you want it to be, is a real gift. It’s a lifetime practice.

Love and Gratitude

Gigi Vincentine Dr. TCM…Yoga and Meditation Teacher Too!

Remember to keep warm, eat easy to digest foods, take care of yourselves and breath…and add ginger to everything! Ha!

One more thing…Heart Bed Yoga Pose. Excellent for opening the chest, heart, lungs (autumn is lung and large intestine time) shoulders, breath and calming the nervous system.

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