Karas Smith Registered Acupuncture & Traditional Chinese Medicine

Summer in TCM 💐🔥❤️

From a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) perspective the Summer is a season associated with the element of Fire & Heat 🔥, the organ and channels of the Heart & Small Intestine ❤️, the emotion of Joy and the colours of Red & Pink 🌸 🌺.

While summer can seem like such a fleeting season, especially where I live in Ontario, TCM philosophy reminds us to literally stop and smell the flowers. In all the action of the Yang season of summer, while going from activity to activity try to take a moment to pause, enjoy the present and create a lasting memory of that Joy. The goal is to imprint some of the joy and warmth and creativity of summer on your Heart to carry with you into the Yin-Hibernation seasons (aka. The cold ones we don’t talk about right now).

Here’s some snaps of things that have brought me Joy so far this summer
1. Summer Farm Markets - this bounty brought to you by
2. BBQing - especially BBQ vegetables. I’ve been eating this meal on repeat - BBQ veg & protein with cold soba noodles, topped with sesame oil, soy sauce & chili oil. 🍜
3 & 4. Flowers inside & out.
5. Nature & Getting outside wherever you are, backyards and front porches count too.

Go find some Summer Joy.
Sincerely,
Your Acupuncturist

Starting January 3rd, 2023 there will be a price increase for all services offered by Karas Smith - Registered Traditional Chinese Medicine Practitioner.

$150 for Initial Acupuncture- 90 min appointments
$100 for Follow Up Acupuncture - 60 min appointments
$130 for Facial Acupuncture- 75 min appointments
$60 for all 30 min appointments, including Fire Cupping, Moxibustion, Gua Sha or Reiki sessions.
$60 for 30 min Chinese Herbal Medicine consultations + the cost of herbs.

Thank you for your continued interest and support of Acupuncture & Traditional Chinese Medicine. It’s an honour to practice here in Waterloo region and be a member of this community.

Sincerely, Your Acupuncturist in

Giving Back this Holiday Season to one of my favourite local charities - The Foodbank of Waterloo Region. Last year 40,530 unique individuals and 1 in 14 households required access to the Foodbank of Waterloo Region.

Want to help? The Foodbank of Waterloo Region is in need of …
1) Food - physical food donations are always welcome. Want a fun family activity to inspire the spirit of giving back this holiday season, try the Foodbank’s Reverse Advent Calendar. It’s 15 days of giving mapped out for you and utilizes the Foodbank’s most needed items. (Individually packaged snacks, dry beans, juice boxes, canned fruit, meat or fish and rice).

2) Funds $ - I prefer to give a cash donation instead of donating physical food because the resources of the Food Bank and their Community Food Assistance Network can stretch a dollar a lot father than I can. (I mean have you seen grocery store prices lately). The Foodbank can make $1 = 3 meals thanks to their Community Food Assistance Network. Amazing! Plus they can buy exactly what they need fresh or frozen to maximize food hampers.

3) Volunteers - There are many volunteer opportunities available at the Foodbank including Brand Ambassadors, General Warehouse, Food Sorting and Volunteer Drivers. Some volunteers roles are available for those as young as 15 years old and those young at heart.

Visit www.thefoodbank.ca to learn more and help feed Waterloo Region this holiday season.

🍐 Baked Pear Oatmeal & Warm Breakfast Season 🍐

Got a lingering cough or phlegm rattling in the sinuses? According to Traditional Chinese Medicine principles Pears & Apples are the fruit to nourish the Metal elements in the body - the Lungs & Large Intestines. They are great at scouring phlegm and clearing heat while guiding phlegm out of the body. Pears also help to moisturize the lungs, intestines and mucosal membranes.

I was gifted a beautiful bunch of Ontario Bosc Pears from a friend (Thanks ). I turned them into this baked oatmeal dish, inspired by recipe for Baked Steel Cut Oats.

This recipe is very adaptable and easy to modified based on what you have available to you. I used a Hazelnut flavoured almond milk instead of dairy milk , because that’s what I had. Also I wasn’t really a fan of the hazelnut flavored milk on its own, so it felt great to repurpose it into something new. I also omitted the maple syrup from the recipe because of this, the hazelnut almond milk was already very sweet.

Steel cut oats, an egg, milk of choice, vanilla, cinnamon, chia seeds, flax seeds & local Pears become the star of the show.

Pears in any form are great this time of year, but my preference will always be baked pears or apples. I think the four legged sous chef approved this dish as well. 🐈 👩‍🍳

Stay cozy!

Sincerely,
Your Acupuncturist

🍃Autumn in TCM 🍂

Welcome to Autumn the Metal Element’s Season in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). It’s the inbetween season, a transition between the ultimate Yang of summer the the ultimate Yin of winter. It’s a bit of both and unique in its own right.

I was reminded this year that autumn is a unique pause … a moment of suspended animation between Summer and Winter. A time to stop, reflect and then react as we prepare for what is next, letting go of what we don’t need for winter along the way.

The vivid , long lasting , colourful autumn leaves solidify this reminder - the leaves are about to let go and be free to decompose (as Yin), but before they do they are suspended in this final colourful display left over from the bounty of summer (as Yang).

If like me you were in awe of the beautiful vibrant leaves this year more than in years past, scientists agree with you - this year was a remarkable year due to ideal cool but not too cold temperatures and adequate rainfall in Ontario. Check out this article by CTV To learn more about the science behind autumn leaves. 🍁

https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/here-s-why-ontario-s-fall-leaves-are-extra-colourful-this-year-1.6114040

Take some time to pause and enjoy this colourful Autumn, wherever you may be.

Sincerely, Your Metal Acupuncturist

Late Summer in TCM - The Bounty of Summer Produce…

With the peak of summer produce amongst I hope you are enjoying the best tasting vegetables of the Summer season. 🍅 🍆 🌽

According to the cycle of the 5-elements in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the Fire of early Summer ☀️ nourishes the next element in line the Earth element of late summer 🌏. Fire also controls the rigidity of the Metal element of Autumn 🔗, keeping it from being too rigid. This cycle of nature can be seen in the bounty of summer produce starting to appear this time of year.

Thanks to a Summer Produce Share from , I am flush with bright and delicious locally grown vegetables weekly.

This week I put the multiple eggplant and zucchini to use in a lasagna inspired by ‘s Lentil & Eggplant Lasagna recipe. Boosted with some lentils for protein & fiber and smooth cottage cheese in place of tofu. I then added some beautiful gems of basil from my window sill garden 🪴. Assisted by the feline sous chef as always 🐈. Overall a delicious dinner with ample leftovers for lunches during the week.

Make some space to embrace the Joy in the Fire element of Summer this time of year. It will help to nourish your Earth energies (aka. your digestive system) and prep your Metal energies (aka. your respiratory & immune system) for the next season ahead - Autumn. Because in nature the only constant is change ☯️.

Happy Late Summer!

Sincerely,
Your Acupuncturist

✋I’m 5!

This week marks 5 years of self-employment as Karas Smith Registered Acupuncture & Traditional Chinese Medicine.

I’m in awe of how fast and how slow the time has gone (thanks COVID).

When I graduated from Acupuncture School I always knew I’d want to work for myself , but with others at the same time. Working independently within a multidisciplinary practice has been a great fit for me.

Keeping this business going for 5 years was always a milestone I had in my mind that I was determined to accomplish. A global pandemic might have made that a little harder over the last few years, but creativity and resiliency are skill sets I’m happy to continue to nourish.

Thank you so much to the community of Kitchener- Waterloo & the surrounding region for welcoming me in. I moved here 5 years ago to set up shop and didn’t know many of you. But now I’m honoured to be apart of this community.

I’m happy to offer up a comfy treatment table for you to have an acupuncture nap, a musical meditation, an audio book listen and to hear your stories and share in your highs and lows. It’s a genuine honour you let me into your lives to help anyway I can.

I can’t wait to see what the next milestone holds. In the mean time you know where to find me.

💻 Online booking available at www.karasrtcmp.com
☎️ 519-745-3231
📧 [email protected]

Thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

Sincerely, Your Acupuncturist

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

- Cinco De Mayo Edition …

*hint it’s still soup. 🍜

As we enter spring and the days start to get longer , we might yearn for summer and it’s bounty of summer foods. According to Traditional Chinese Medicine , Spring is a Shao Yang season of change and shift, with one foot in summer and one foot still in winter (minus the snow hopefully). Spring is a season focusing in on the colour Green, the organs of the Liver & Gallbladder, the muscle tendons and eyes. 💚🌱💪👀

So while It may look sunny & warm outside , don’t let the Canadian Spring fool you - that sun may change to clouds , wind or rain quickly. Best to dress in layers, protect your neck from the wind and eat with the season - ie: still warm cooked foods and more green vegetables.

Enter my favourite green Soup - Mexican Pazole Verde

I adapted this recipe from Sylvia Fountaine of to become Vegetarian Pazole for some and Chicken Pazole for others by swapping out the chicken broth with vegetable broth , adding mushrooms and black beans to the mix and keeping the chicken on the side for the meat eaters to add in afterwards.

Both vegetarian and chicken pazole verde are delicious though. Use what you have and experiment. I used canned tomatillos and canned hominy without issue.

This soup is traditionally served for holidays in Mexico or large family gatherings. It’s really all about the garnishes and it reheats really well for leftovers.

https://www.feastingathome.com/mexican-posole-verde-soup/

💚Green foods for the Liver
- spring onions, cilantro, tomatillos, cabbage, jalapeños , avocado and limes!
🧅🧄🌱🫑🍋🥑

Cheers to Spring!

Sincerely,
Your Acupuncturist

🙏❤️☯️ Thank you! ☯️❤️🙏

Thank you all for your letter writing, petition signatures and messages of support - We did it!

The Ford Government has decided to officially remove Section 5 from Bill 88, which means Acupuncture & Traditional Chinese Medicine in Ontario gets to remain regulated healthcare. The Ontario regulatory college of TCM (the CTCMPAO) gets to remain in place to protect the public. And the government and the college have stated they will work together to allow Chinese language entrance examinations for new practitioners.

I’m so grateful for the support of this community both near and abroad. It’s incredibly humbling to see how fast this Bill was put in action, and how fast the community stood up against it.

Thank you to all the MPP’s for your support and communication.


Thank you to those TCM practitioners who stepped up to lead the charge, both the social media savvy practitioners, elders & students alike.

And so many more!

I’m so happy to remain a dedicated healthcare practitioner , serving the community with Acupuncture & Traditional Chinese Medicine for another day.

From the bottom of my heart, Thank you.

Sincerely, Your Acupuncturist

☯️❤️‍🩹Please Read ❤️‍🩹☯️

The Ontario Government is trying to De-Regulate the practice of Acupuncture & Traditional Chinese Medicine in Ontario.

De-regulation means there would no longer be a Regulatory College to oversee the practitioners and protect the public from unskilled, unprofessional practitioners. Meaning anyone can ‘practice’ this medicine…

For reference I spent 4 years, 3500 hours and wrote two different sets of board examinations to prove my skill and knowledge at this craft.

This may also mean your insurance no longer covers the medicine.

This deregulation is hidden within Bill 88 ‘Working for Workers Act’ under a guise of helping more people enter the profession, most of whom are immigrants.

So instead of offering the regulatory examination in languages other than English & French, the government wants to get rid of examinations and public protection altogether?

This piece of legislation is not in the best interest of the public nor the practitioners that work hard to legitimize and make this medicine safe , effective and approachable.

Our healthcare system is under enough pressure already. Why add more strain by deregulating 2500+ TCM practitioners who are helping take some of that strain off the front line?

Please sign the Petition and consider writing your MPP. Links are in the bio for these action items.

Thank you.

Sincerely, Your Acupuncturist & Advocate for Safe, Regulated Healthcare.

Warm Breakfast on a -16C morning.

Savoury Oatmeal inspo from !

🥣Steelcut oatmeal (leftovers)
🍳Sunnyside up Egg
🌭Pork Sausage (leftovers)
🌶 Green Onion, Garlic-Chili Oil,Soy Sauce topping
🥬with a few spinach greens hiding underneath
🍵 and a side of Bone Broth to sip on.

Nourishing that digestive fire 🔥 ready to take on that winter weather ❄️ or hibernate inside, also allowed. 📖

Stay cozy friends. ❤️

Sincerely, Your Acupuncturist

Happy New Year - Here’s my face!

In honour of the New Year , my Birthday and well the fact many of you haven’t seen my unmasked face in the better part of … two years? Here’s a reminder of what is going on behind the mask. 😷

I like to take a photo on my birthday every year to mark the occasion and spy any changes and growth in my Shen from year to year.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine the face and eyes tell all the tales of your Shen - your light, your soul, your mind, your humanity and the capacity to extend and project our humanness outward.

This particular photo was taken on a very cold -20 C day in January but the sunlight was right , the air was crisp and the snow was fresh. (Hence the snow angel). I may be a January baby , but I most definitely like to be warm during the adventure. Maybe that’s the TCM Practitioner in me though.

Be kind & gentle to yourself this winter. Take time to honour the growth you’ve earned this past year. It’s time for new energy to enter as we approach the Lunar New Year and the upcoming Year of the Tiger on February 1st, 2022 🐅 ❄️🧧

Much love ❤️

Sincerely,
Your Acupuncturist

🎄Holiday Hours 🎄

I will be out of the office on Holidays from Dec. 24th - Jan. 3rd, 2022. Regular office hours resume on Tuesday Jan. 4th , 2022.

My online booking system remains open to book ahead for your 2022 appointments.

Have a safe and Happy Holidays and best wishes for the New Year 2022 🎆 🎉

Sincerely, Your Acupuncturist

The Season of Giving Back

This year in lieu of a food based donation I’ve opted to donate funds to the Foodbank of Waterloo Region and here’s why.

Food insecurity is a real problem in the region with 1 in 20 households needing food assistance in the last year, 35% of those helped were under 18.

The Community Food Assistance Network created by the Foodbank has 100+ partners such as farmers, commercial producers & wholesalers giving them greater access to fresh and frozen food at a discount, meaning they can stretch $1 farther than I can at my local grocery store. For every $1 the Foodbank can create 3 meals!

Using funds the Foodbank can buy what is needed most, usually the most under donated essentials like milk, oil and meat - to help round out the popular donations like Breakfast Cereal, Kraft Dinner and Hamburger Helper that are pretty useless without milk, butter & meat. They also buy fresh and frozen food creating nutritionally balanced meals.

On Giving Tuesday thanks to corporate partnerships my dollar donation was matched my , doubling the impact of my donation. You can still donate easily online or by mail

Still want to help the Foodbank this year but don’t have the cash yourself? Consider volunteering your time, they are actively seeking out volunteers for their ‘Sorting Blitz’ - to help sort non-perishable food donations.

Give when you can, however you can and Help .

Sincerely, Your Acupuncturist

🎃 Pumpkin Season 🥧

As we transition to the colder months here in North America I always like to remind patients to transition your food choices with the seasons too. Colder mornings? Slow and sluggish with the seasonal change & time change? Change up your mornings by adding some warmth via movement ❤️ and warm cooked foods 🍜 first thing to get you started for the day.

From a Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective warmer cooked foods like soups, congee, porridge, stews and curries, are easier to digest, making it easier to absorb those nutrients into our body. In the colder months eating more cold foods and fluids can lead to more bloating and discomfort because our body is already working harder to keep our body warm. Try warm foods & fluids like bone broth, porridge , soup or reheated dinner leftovers for breakfast.

I’ve been really into these Pumpkin Pie Overnights Oats by

🎃 Pumpkin / Nān Guā is warm & sweet & helps strengthen the digestive organs and Lungs. It is a mild diuretic that can help with lack of appetite, water retention or bloating from cold.

🥧 Pumpkin Pie Spice - aka. Cinnamon/ Guì Pì, Allspice/ Duō Xiāng Guo, Ginger Powder / Jiāng Fen & Nutmeg/ Ròu Kòu - are all warming herbs that help to promote digestion by moving Qi & moving Blood in the digestive organs.

- I’ve been making a double batch on Sunday night to have as an easy breakfast to bring to work on these cooler mornings. I heat them up in the microwave for a minute or two then add the yogurt and candied pecans afterwards.

Turns out the four legged sous chef likes pumpkin too. 🐈 👩‍🍳 🎃

Check out the full recipe . Thanks for the inspiration Dana!

Happy Warm Breakfasting!

Sincerely, Your Acupuncturist

☯️🤍🙏 Thank you !

It’s an honour to announce I’ve been awarded Platinum in the Best Acupuncturist category for the 2021 Waterloo Regional Record Reader’s Choice Awards.

I’m honoured to serve the community of Kitchener-Waterloo with Registered Acupuncture & Traditional Chinese Medicine. It is by tradition a medicine for the people and for community. So winning awards like these chosen by the people makes it all the more special.

Congratulations to all of the winners and nominees! It’s been a year of uncertainty for a lot of small business and community partners, connection through events like this shines light on us all.

Thank you for your continued support. Keep putting community first KW.

Sincerely,
Your Platinum Acupuncturist

☯️🍁📍Autumn in TCM - The Season of the Metal elements, the Lungs & Large Intestines.

From a Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective the season of Autumn is a representation of the Metal elements in the body. Metal is the element of organization, structure, healthy boundaries and inspired routines. In nature the colours and bounty of the Summer are fading in Autumn, the leaves are letting go from their branches, to nourish the earth and make space for new growth.

The idea of loss and grief come into play this time of year as the emotion associated with Metal. Letting go and accepting change can be hard on the human condition, we’re stubborn. But in nature change is inevitable and constant - from season to season- change is abundant and everything gets done in its own time.

If you find yourself struggling with the seasonal shift this time of year, focus on your Large Intestines for ‘Letting Go’ - physical & mental waste create clutter making our ability to adapt more rigid and straining. The beauty of Metal is that it can be remolded, reshaped ,recycled endless times if kept flexible.

Focus on your Lungs for ‘Inspiration’ - both in breathwork, like taking walks in the crisp Autumn air, and planning future endeavors that will inspire your joy & curiosity through the winter, making room for new within the old.

Tips for Autumn: - Rid yourself of clutter, donate or repurpose items, reorganize commitments & unhealthy boundaries that no longer serve you. It’s about the balance of structure & routine that makes us feel supported, social & creative.
- Focus on your Lungs through exercise, breathwork, chest opening stretches and movement practices.
- Keeping your neck aka. Your ‘Windgate’ warm and cozy through layers & scarves 🧣
- Eat Foods to aid Metal elements like pears, fennel, kohlrabi, cilantro, cinnamon, star anise and garlic. This includes more warm & cooked foods in your day, especially breakfast.
- Acupuncture! I mean it does involve precision, structure, routine and a metal tool after all - very Metal 🤘 📍

Take care & support each other this season.

Sincerely, Your Metal Loving Acupuncturist 📍

🗳 Also … while we’re talking about voting have you made a plan to vote for the Canadian Federal Election yet?

The 44th Canadian Federal Election is on Monday Sept 20th with polling stations open from 9am-9pm.

I chose to use the Advance Polling station this year and it was a breeze. Many people in my life chose to use the mail - in voting option this year, also a breeze.

If you haven’t registered to vote you can do so at your polling station on Monday Sept 20th using 2 pieces of ID. Don’t know your polling station? You can look it up online at www.elections.ca using your postal code.

Make a plan. Use your vote. Your voice matters.

Sincerely,
Your Acupuncturist

🗳 ❤️ ✅ Last Chance to Vote! (In more ways than one)

The deadline for this year’s Waterloo Region Record Reader’s Choice Awards for 2021 is approaching.

People’s Choice awards like these are very meaningful for small business owners and service providers . Especially after the last year and a half in the unknown.

I’m honoured to be in the running for Best Acupuncturist along side the team at Gregg Chiropractic Life Centre who are all nominated in their respective categories:

Best Chiropractor
- Dr. James Gregg &
- Dr. Kristin Grubb

Best Registered Massage Therapist & Best Massage Therapy
- Rebekah Morin
(Brittany Martino, RMT is also apart of our team now too)

If you haven’t gotten the chance to vote for your favorite small businesses that have helped you through the last year, follow the link in the bio and cast your vote until Sunday Sept. 19th.

(Think of it as a reminder to vote again on Sept 20th for the Canadian Federal Election 🗳)

Thank you again for your continued support. It’s an honour to be Your Acupuncturist

Sincerely,


https://www.therecord.com/readerschoice/business/gregg-chiropractic-life-centre

Late Summer in TCM - the Season of Earth 🌍

🔥 Summer, the Season of the element of Fire & organs of the Heart/ Small Intestine in TCM has come and gone❤️. This year it felt really hot and moved really fast, more intensely than I can ever remember. Blame it on the Pandemic or just stronger self awareness and reflection on my part …who knows. From a clinically perspective everyone was running warmer & burning out quicker and faster than summers of years past.

A TCM mentor told me this was due to the lack of a restful winter Yin season. We didn’t get the chance to fully rest, restore and recharge during the Yin of Winter so we were unable to generate abundant Yang energy to carry us through all the activities of summer.

When we burn up that yang Fire 🔥 we leave our Earth 🌍 energy lacking and feeling off balance, like our feet can’t touch the ground. Grounded, centered earth energy is essential for making nutrients for your body & mind.

We’ve now transitioned into the shortest season in TCM - Late Summer. It is the 5th season , short and sweet but still a little bitter and fiery - it sits in transition between the last few hot weeks of August until the cooler Yin of Fall Equinox starts on Sept. 22nd, 2021.

The element of late summer is the Earth and the organs of the Spleen & Stomach. The colour Yellow 💛is prevalent and the emotions of worry & overthinking can abound.
If you are feeling languish, fatigue and low motivation try harnessing some of the Earth season’s grounding power.

The Earth elements love routine, rhythm and a balance of work and play - good timing for back to school season. Embrace getting back into a routine of sleeping, eating, exercise, regular work hours and scheduled time for play & joy. Your Spleen & Stomach and digestive juices will thank you later.

Get ready to harvest the bounty of Summer as we transition into Autumn. This can be the physical bounty of your garden (🪴 🍅 even if it’s one perfect tomato). Or this can be the inner bounty of working on yourself, reflecting and embracing your personal growth.

Seasonal Acupuncture & TCM Tune-ups never hurt either. 📍

Sincerely, Your Acupuncturist

❤️ 🗳 🙌Thank you!

I’ve made it to the final round of voting for Best Acupuncturist in the Waterloo Region Record Reader’s Choice Awards for 2021 along with the team at Gregg Chiropractic.

It’s been an honour to serve and provide Acupuncture & Traditional Chinese Medicine to the community for the last 4 years. While we may not see each other face to face these days, I hope you can all tell I’m still smiling and happy to treat from underneath the mask 😷.

The final round of voting is on now until Sept. 19th. You can vote for your favourites to create the final Top 3 in each category. It means a lot to small businesses and service providers like me and the whole team at Gregg Chiropractic.

Show your community some support and vote, the link is in the bio and below.

https://www.therecord.com/readerschoice/business/gregg-chiropractic-life-centre

Sincerely, Your Acupuncturist

Cupping Therapy … not just for Olympians.
⚽️🏀🏈⚾️🥎🏓🏸🏑🥋🛹🏄🏊🏻‍♀️🤽🏾 Many athletes in a variety of sports were ‘spotted’ rocking some cupping marks at the recent 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics. I saw some swimmers, gymnastics, track athletes and volleyballers with the classic circles. How many did you see?

Important to note you don’t have to be an Olympian to benefit from cupping therapy. It can be a benefit to athletes and non athletes alike.

From a Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective cupping helps to move blood and reduce the stagnation of Qi. Inadequate blood & Qi flow can be a source of pain or an impediment to full range of motion in the joints. Improving the flow of qi & blood through cupping may also help respiration and digestion.

Most people find cupping therapy relaxing and beneficial for stress reduction and comparable in sensation to a deep tissue massage.

At my office cupping can be done on it’s own in 30 minute sessions or apart of any 60 minute Acupuncture session.

So glad to see cupping as a part of the Olympics yet again. Now to wait for the 2022 Winter Olympics!

Happy Summer Weekend Warriors.

Sincerely, Your Acupuncturist

📸: repost from and - Check out their blog to learn more about Cupping.

Starting August 1st, 2021 a price increase will be included to all services.
- $55 for all 30 minutes appointments (cupping, moxibustion, Gua sha or reiki)
- $95 for 60 minute appointments (follow-up acupuncture)
-$125 for 75 minute appointments (facial acupuncture)
-$145 for 90 minute appointments (first time acupuncture patients)

Thank you for your continued support and campaigning for small business.

Sincerely, Your Acupuncturist

Summer Heatwave Edition.

As an acupuncturist I’m usually a no go for iced drinks 🧊, room temp or chilled from the fridge is enough cooling energy for me and my delicate Middle Burner aka. My digestion.

Unless it’s 29 C with 80% humidity and I’m parched from yard work and find myself craving a ‘lightly iced’ Stem Ginger Limeade from
- 🔥Ginger / Shēng Jiāng - a warming , pungent herb that supports the metal and earth energy by moving qi, detoxifying and warming the middle to aid digestion.
- 🍋Lime / Qīng Níng - a cooling, sour herb that supports the wood and earth energy by cooling heat and holding fluids.

Behold a Balance of ice 🧊 and fire🔥- a cooling , digestion supporting iced drink that quenches a thirst , cools the body and keeps my digestive juices happy.

Get your own on a Visit to in Kitchener and in St. Jacobs starting July 1st!

Thanks for supporting small businesses! Remember Record Reader’s Choice award nominations are up until July 11th.

Stay cool friends,

Sincerely, Your Acupuncturist