Clear Mountain Acupuncture

Knowing what to expect can make each stage of pregnancy feel a little less overwhelming, that's why education is always an important part of care at Clear Mountain.

In Chinese Medicine, summer is ruled by the Heart ❤️, which houses the Shen. The "Shen" is your mind, spirit, and emotional well-being. While summer is a season of joy, connection, and activity, all of that outward energy can sometimes leave us feeling... unexpectedly anxious.

Here's why:

❤️ Summer is a Yang season

Yang energy is expansive, social, and always moving.
It's easy to overbook yourself, say yes to everything, and spread your energy too thin.

🔥 Heat agitates the Heart

When there's too much internal or external heat, it can disturb the Shen, leading to:
😰 Anxiety
🌙 Difficulty sleeping
💭 Racing thoughts
😵 Feeling restless or overstimulated

💦 Sweating depletes fluids

In Chinese Medicine, excessive sweating doesn't just mean losing water, it also uses up the fluids that help cool and nourish your body. When fluids become depleted, the Heart can become less grounded, making feelings of anxiety, irritability, or insomnia more likely.

🫶 Support your Heart this summer

💧 Stay well hydrated
🥒 Eat cooling, hydrating foods
😴 Prioritize rest (even when your calendar is full)
🧘 Slow down and create quiet moments each day
🪡 Acupuncture can help calm the Shen, regulate your nervous system, and restore balance during the most active season of the year.

✨ Summer is meant to be enjoyed, not endured. Sometimes the best thing you can do for your Heart is give yourself permission to do a little less.

Two women serving up healing in Montclair, NJ ✨

🛁✨ A warm bath isn't just relaxing... it's medicine from a Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective.

In TCM, warmth helps your body heal, restore, and keep your Qi (energy) flowing. Here's why an evening soak will improve your healthy:

🤍 Moves Qi & Blood
• Helps improve circulation
• Relieves muscle tension, cramps, and aches
• Reduces the "stuck" feeling that can show up as pain or stress

🌿 Calms Your Nervous System
• Helps quiet a racing mind
• Eases stress and anxiety
• Supports deeper, more restorative sleep 💤

🔥 Warms Your Yang Energy
• Perfect if you always have cold hands and feet 🧤
• Supports digestion and overall energy

💆‍♀️ Relaxes Liver Qi
• Helps release built-up stress and tension
• Can ease PMS, headaches, tight shoulders, and irritability

💪 Soothes Sore Muscles
• Great after a workout or a long day at your desk
• Helps your body recover faster

🌙 Creates the Perfect Bedtime Routine
• A 15–20 minute soak before bed tells your body it's time to unwind.

✨ Want to level it up?
🧂 Add Epsom salts for sore muscles
🫚 Add fresh ginger if you're feeling chilled
🌸 Add lavender for the ultimate calming ritual

Sometimes the best medicine is giving your body permission to slow down. 🤍

One of the recommendations that often surprises my patients is that, from a Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective, tampons aren't ideal.

In Chinese medicine, we want your Qi (energy) and Blood to move freely. During your period, your uterus is working hard to shed its endometrial lining. Menstruation is meant to be a smooth, downward flow.

A tampon can act like a physical barrier, absorbing blood before it leaves the body and creating resistance to that natural movement. In TCM, anything that impedes the free flow of Blood and Qi can contribute to stagnation—and stagnation is often associated with:

• More cramping
• Increased pelvic pain
• Clotting
• A feeling of "stuckness" during your cycle

Instead, consider letting your body do what it was designed to do by using:

✨ Organic cotton pads
✨ Cotton period underwear

For so long, we've been taught that our periods are something to hide or suppress. We've filled our vaginas with heavily processed products, synthetic fragrances, plastics, and bleached materials, all in the name of convenience.

What if, instead, we honored what our body is naturally trying to do?

Your period isn't your body failing you; it's your body flowing exactly as it was designed to. Sometimes supporting your health isn't about forcing or controlling your body, but about getting out of its way.

Have you ever noticed a difference in your cramps when you use tampons versus pads? I'd love to hear your experience below. 👇

In a world that celebrates being busy, choosing to slow down is one of the healthiest things you can do. 🌿

Your body can’t fully heal when it’s stuck in “go mode.” Giving your mind permission to rest isn’t a luxury, it’s essential.

✨ Benefits of acupuncture for calming the mind:

• Activates your body’s relaxation response
• Helps lower stress and anxiety
• Improves sleep quality
• Reduces muscle tension
• Supports emotional regulation
• Creates space for your body to heal and recharge

Sometimes the most productive thing you can do is… nothing at all. Rest is part of the healing process. 🤍

Not even a 95 degree heat wave can stop an acupuncturist from sipping bone broth when they're sick. When you're under the weather, your body isn't just fighting off an illness, it's working overtime to heal. 🫖

From a Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective, this is a time to choose foods that are warm, easy to digest, and nourishing so your body can spend its energy recovering rather than digesting.

✨ Here are some recommendation when you're sick:

🥣 Bone broth – Rich in nutrients and easy on digestion. It helps replenish fluids and supports recovery.
🥣 Oatmeal – A warm, comforting breakfast that gently supports your digestive system while providing steady energy.
🌾 Rice – Plain rice or a simple rice porridge (congee) is one of the easiest foods for your body to digest when your appetite is low.
🫚 Fresh ginger – Add it to tea, soups, or broths. Ginger helps warm the body, supports circulation, and can ease chills, nausea, and congestion.
🍎🍊 Fresh fruits – Choose easy-to-digest fruits like pears, oranges, berries, or apples to provide hydration and vitamin C.
🌴 Dates – Chinese red dates (jujubes) or regular dates are wonderfully nourishing and can be added to teas, soups, or oatmeal for extra energy and warmth.
🌶️ A little spicy food – If you're in the early stages of a cold with chills and congestion, warming spices like ginger, garlic, scallions, or a bit of chili can help promote sweating and "release the exterior."
🍵 Tea – Sip warm ginger tea, lemon tea with honey, or herbal teas throughout the day to stay hydrated and soothe your throat.
💛 The biggest takeaway? Choose warmth over cold. Soups, broths, cooked grains, and warm beverages are generally easier on your digestive system and help support your body's natural healing process.

What’s your go-to comfort food when you’re sick? Let me know in the comments! 👇

No such thing as overhearing in Chinese Medicine. All the little details that are often overlooked mean something when working toward a meaningful diagnosis that addresses the root cause.

And my patient know, I'm a total kook. Let's let our weird flags fly together.

Clear Mountain is thrilled to be a healing space six days a week. Olivia's Saturday shift allows more opportunities to support the Montclair community and gives patients who can't come on weekdays the ability to receive acupuncture.

I didn't open Clear Mountain because I love working alone. I've genuinely missed coworkers and that was my least favorite part of private practice. Being able to collaborate with Olivia on treatment plans and expand Clear Mountain's hours brings me so much joy.

This is only the beginning of expansion ✨