As a parent, some of these strategies may sound difficult. But in fact, you can incorporate many of them into your childcare.

At least half of my patients have been dealing with parent burnout since the start of this pandemic. It’s the most pressing and prevalent issue that I’m seeing in my practice.

Over the last 15 years in my practice, I have seen a significant increase in younger professionals developing health issues that don’t usually appear until the body has experienced the wear and tear of natural aging.

Autumn is my favourite season. I absolutely love the coolness in the air, the colourful leaves, and the traditional foods that are often associated with this season, such as pumpkin, butternut squash and apples.

Summer is a time to wake up early, enjoy the sun in moderation, and flourish as nature does. Get outside!

The summer season represents the element of fire along with the heart and small intestine organs. The prevalent taste is bitter. This is the time for growth and expansion, movement and activity. Qi is at its peak! This is a time to cultivate yang fire while making sure it does not become excessive.

In TCM, spring is associated with the element of wood and with the liver and gallbladder organs. Spring’s natural energy is to lighten up and move forward, shaking off the deep slumber of winter. Just like bare, dormant trees begin to grow buds and blossom, we can use the strength of spring to slough off the old and usher in a fresh, beautiful new experience of health, mental clarity and emotional well-being. Spring is the quintessential time of creating, cleansing, movement, growth and renewal. No more procrastination! This is also the time to focus on releasing emotions that no longer serve us, such as anger, resentment, frustration and irritability.

Western civilization encourages people to turn away from listening to the natural changes that take place in our environment with the change of seasons. The convenience of technology has got us thinking we can work and live in the same mode all year round. But what’s actually happening is that we’ve stopped paying attention to our natural rhythms and stopped allowing the environment to direct how we should eat, work and live.

‘Tis the season of overwork (to finish all those projects before the holidays), over-stress (because of all those family obligations) and over-partying (because it’s celebration time!). With all this overtaxing of our system, what do we need most? Sleep! And what do we tend to skimp on? You guessed it... sleep!

If a woman tries to get pregnant and is not successful within the normal expected amount of time according Western medical standards, this often kicks off a vicious cycle of stress that can be nightmarish—and also counterproductive to the end goal of baby-making. Let’s take a look at how that story often goes, and how we can change it!