In his book, Resilient, Rick Hanson (2018) defines compassion as “the recognition of pain with the desire to relieve it”. For many of us, compassion is something that we easily give others but are challenged to give ourselves. Imagine if you treated yourself like you would a best friend – encouraging, understanding, warm and sympathetic. Imagine how it would feel to be less self-critical and more loving to yourself.

In Chinese Medicine, compassion is related closely to the Earth element or Spleen organ. It is our center, our core and our grounding. A balanced Earth element is evidenced by a healthy nurturing compassion to us and others. Signs of imbalance include an inability to give or receive compassion, someone who craves it constantly for themselves, or someone who is overly compassionate without clear boundaries towards others. Compassion also holds within it both elements of yin (stillness) and yang (active). Studies of the brain show that when we feel compassion, motor planning areas in the brain become active and start preparing for action.

Developing more self-compassion is possible, and you can get your brain to help you out. Allow yourself to remember a time you felt cared for by someone – Read More

Working from home on a laptop and noticing your eyes feel a bit dry, tired, or sore? There’s herbs for that. Specifically Chinese herbs.

The American Optometric Association notes that screen time over 2 hours a day can lead to computer vision syndrome or also known as digital eye strain.

These days it’s uncommon to have screen time less than 2 hours.

A common Chinese herbal drink for eye strain is a tea made of goji berries and chrysanthemum flowers in warm water.

Goji berries are a Chinese herb which helps to nourish the eyes and ensure moisture and Yin of the eyes. In fact, these berries contain the antioxidant zeaxanthin which helps protect eyes from age related disease.

Chrysanthemum flowers are another Chinese herb. In traditional Chinese herbal medicine this herb helps to reduce heat, wind, and nourish yin of the eyes which is perfect for dry itchy eyes. Read More