Wholly Macro's Secret Weapon For Coping With Cold Weather
Wholly Macro's Secret Weapon For Coping With Cold Weather
Winter In South Florida. The winter of 2010 in south Florida, coldest on record!
We have spent a lot of time and energy lately discussing the extreme cold weather that we experienced a few weeks ago with many friends and clients. You have to admit, it was the main and only topic of conversation these past weeks! It has been such fun, and so humorous listening to everyone's various coping strategies, from hats and gloves, to 4 or more layers of clothing, to going to bed fully clothed! I found myself explaining Wholly Macro's oh so healthy secret weapon against the cold over and over again. And it suddenly occurred to me to share it with all of you.
We use a hot water bottle. The old fashioned hot water bottle that you can purchase at CVS or Walgreen's. Here is how you use it and why it is so healthy, as compiled from years of Wholly Macro experience:
You fill it with hot water per the instructions on the package. If it starts out too hot for comfort you can wrap it in a towel or light cloth. Keeping it covered keeps it warmer longer. I fill it with fresh hot water before I get in bed at night and it lasts / stays warm all night long because it is under the covers. It is best to go ahead and use the hottest water recommended and just wrap it in a towel so that you don't have to refill it as often.
Placement is key. The kidney and bladder meridians run up and down the front and back of the body. And the kidney and bladder are the organs most vulnerable to the cold. Our ancestors knew to keep the middle part of the back and the abdomen covered with warm clothing to protect the kidneys from the cold. So, it is best to put the hot water bottle on your abdominal area AKA the Hara, or on your middle back over the kidneys. You will feel the warmth travel along these two meridians and warm your entire body very effectively, keeping the kidneys strong, healthy, and vital throughout the winter months. When we sit we place the hot water bottle either against our abdomen or behind our back. I love putting it behind my back while at the computer to ease back discomfort. And when in bed at night it works well in both places. We alternate. One night against our kidneys, the next night against our abdomen.
For added health benefits, you can create a simplified version of the oriental medicine healing home remedy known as the ginger compress by saturating a towel in water that has been steeped with fresh ginger, wringing it out well, placing it over your abdomen or mid back region, and then putting the hot water bottle over the top of it. The ginger will assist the heat in penetrating deep within your body. If it is placed over your kidneys (on your back), it relaxes kidneys that have become tight from factors such as cold, too much or bad quality salt, strained back muscles, or excessive standing, and the ginger itself contains properties that promote circulation of the blood and break up stagnations of all types, bringing a tremendous exchange of fresh blood and energy to the kidneys and adrenal glands.
And if placed over the abdomen, or hara region, the seat of our energy flow, and coincidently corresponding to the large intestine which is probably the single most critical organ related to true and deep healing of the body, the hot water bottle and / or makeshift ginger compress, will hasten the removal of chronic intestinal stagnation which is the build-up of impacted mucus material locked into the intestinal walls for as long as you have been alive and eating an unhealthy "modern" diet. Enemas, colonics, herbal colon cleanses and various fasts do not effectively remove this chronic stagnation that is lodged in the walls of the intestine. But the heat and ginger is a very effective treatment in sloughing off the mucus build-up in the cavity of the intestines.
So also is eating a diet based on whole grains, beans, and vegetables due to the high fiber content of these naturally healing foods, and the various energetic and healing qualities that the foods contain and impart to the various organs of our bodies.
The action of ginger is dispersive. It disperses toxins. And the activity of the heat stimulates the circulation of the blood and tissue fluids, which facilitates in ushering the toxins out of the body.
I ask you: What better way is there to take advantage of the winter season, than eating a healthy diet, and using a hot water bottle and / or ginger compress? At Wholly Macro, we do this warming / healing / cleansing ritual every winter, and look forward to it as part of our seasonal cycle of being one with the planet. Of course this last cold snap was a little too cold for comfort, even with our hot water bottle ritual!!
Have fun. There is still plenty of winter left to give this a try.
As always,
Gayle and Jaime
Winter In South Florida. The winter of 2010 in south Florida, coldest on record!
We have spent a lot of time and energy lately discussing the extreme cold weather that we experienced a few weeks ago with many friends and clients. You have to admit, it was the main and only topic of conversation these past weeks! It has been such fun, and so humorous listening to everyone's various coping strategies, from hats and gloves, to 4 or more layers of clothing, to going to bed fully clothed! I found myself explaining Wholly Macro's oh so healthy secret weapon against the cold over and over again. And it suddenly occurred to me to share it with all of you.
We use a hot water bottle. The old fashioned hot water bottle that you can purchase at CVS or Walgreen's. Here is how you use it and why it is so healthy, as compiled from years of Wholly Macro experience:
You fill it with hot water per the instructions on the package. If it starts out too hot for comfort you can wrap it in a towel or light cloth. Keeping it covered keeps it warmer longer. I fill it with fresh hot water before I get in bed at night and it lasts / stays warm all night long because it is under the covers. It is best to go ahead and use the hottest water recommended and just wrap it in a towel so that you don't have to refill it as often.
Placement is key. The kidney and bladder meridians run up and down the front and back of the body. And the kidney and bladder are the organs most vulnerable to the cold. Our ancestors knew to keep the middle part of the back and the abdomen covered with warm clothing to protect the kidneys from the cold. So, it is best to put the hot water bottle on your abdominal area AKA the Hara, or on your middle back over the kidneys. You will feel the warmth travel along these two meridians and warm your entire body very effectively, keeping the kidneys strong, healthy, and vital throughout the winter months. When we sit we place the hot water bottle either against our abdomen or behind our back. I love putting it behind my back while at the computer to ease back discomfort. And when in bed at night it works well in both places. We alternate. One night against our kidneys, the next night against our abdomen.
For added health benefits, you can create a simplified version of the oriental medicine healing home remedy known as the ginger compress by saturating a towel in water that has been steeped with fresh ginger, wringing it out well, placing it over your abdomen or mid back region, and then putting the hot water bottle over the top of it. The ginger will assist the heat in penetrating deep within your body. If it is placed over your kidneys (on your back), it relaxes kidneys that have become tight from factors such as cold, too much or bad quality salt, strained back muscles, or excessive standing, and the ginger itself contains properties that promote circulation of the blood and break up stagnations of all types, bringing a tremendous exchange of fresh blood and energy to the kidneys and adrenal glands.
And if placed over the abdomen, or hara region, the seat of our energy flow, and coincidently corresponding to the large intestine which is probably the single most critical organ related to true and deep healing of the body, the hot water bottle and / or makeshift ginger compress, will hasten the removal of chronic intestinal stagnation which is the build-up of impacted mucus material locked into the intestinal walls for as long as you have been alive and eating an unhealthy "modern" diet. Enemas, colonics, herbal colon cleanses and various fasts do not effectively remove this chronic stagnation that is lodged in the walls of the intestine. But the heat and ginger is a very effective treatment in sloughing off the mucus build-up in the cavity of the intestines.
So also is eating a diet based on whole grains, beans, and vegetables due to the high fiber content of these naturally healing foods, and the various energetic and healing qualities that the foods contain and impart to the various organs of our bodies.
The action of ginger is dispersive. It disperses toxins. And the activity of the heat stimulates the circulation of the blood and tissue fluids, which facilitates in ushering the toxins out of the body.
I ask you: What better way is there to take advantage of the winter season, than eating a healthy diet, and using a hot water bottle and / or ginger compress? At Wholly Macro, we do this warming / healing / cleansing ritual every winter, and look forward to it as part of our seasonal cycle of being one with the planet. Of course this last cold snap was a little too cold for comfort, even with our hot water bottle ritual!!
Have fun. There is still plenty of winter left to give this a try.
As always,
Gayle and Jaime