Inside HBC

Tap, tap, tap

Those little words are often on my “to do” list each day to remind me to “use my tools’ for whatever might be bothering me.  Recently my neck had been very painful, like the nerves and muscles all got together and decided to transform themselves into pretzels.  I guess they were bored with normal neck duty.  Of course, I went straight to the clinic and pleaded with Dr. Ana to jab some needles into them to make them behave.  She didn’t jab, but she very gently helped them rearrange themselves with needles and cupping and my favorite, guasha.  The next week, I was back with the same issue in the same spot.  We did the treatment again, and again, it subsided.  The third time, I wasn’t able to get to the clinic as soon as I needed, but I remembered to tap.  I tapped through the whole routine once in the morning, then throughout the day I tapped here and there as I thought of it (mostly whenever I moved).  Sure enough, it resolved and I haven’t had any more pain.  Its been two weeks.  TODAY I am tapping on weight loss and metabolism!  Can’t wait to see what happens with that.

Chinese Medicine Detox Soup Recipe

A healthy way to blend fall into winter

As the weather changes, its a good idea to give your body a day or so to adjust by feeding it something that will not only clear some toxins, but also nourish it.  You can do this by fasting for a day (or four), “eating” only clear liquids that include chicken broth.  Or you can try the Heavenly Bodies Clinic’s legendary Chinese Medicine Detox Soup Recipe. It will fill you up, nourish you, satisfy the five flavors, and get your ready for the next season.

Chinese Medicine Detox Soup Recipe

• ½ C dried barley (sweet, salty)
• ½ C fox nuts* (bitter)
• 6 large green onions  (use white and green part although cleansing property is in white only) (pungent)
• 1-2 cans of tomatoes (or fresh tomatoes if preferred, or omit if you hate tomatoes) (sweet, sour)
• 1 head of bok choy (pungent)
• 1 green pepper (pungeant)
• 1 celery bunch (salty)
• ½ C fresh parsley (pungent)

1. Combine barley and fox nuts in a pan, bring to a boil in 3C water, then simmer, covered, until soft (about 30 minutes).
2. Chop vegetables (make the pieces quite small) and put in a large pot.
3. When barley and fox nuts are soft, add them, and their cooking water, to the vegetables.  Add more water to cover the vegetables.  Bring to a boil.  Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

*If you can’t find fox nuts in your local eastern food store, let us know so we can get some in the mail to you.