How do you keep cool in summer? Ideas?

[三江源]

A friend has asked me to write a tiny piece on this topic from a taoist / energy work point of view, or to create a 'visualisation'.

 

I thought I'd put it out to you people first, as you all know so much and are such a valuable resouce.

 

For which I congratulate and thank you all.

[thaddeus]

A friend has asked me to write a tiny piece on this topic from a taoist / energy work point of view, or to create a 'visualisation'.

 

I thought I'd put it out to you people first, as you all know so much and are such a valuable resouce.

 

For which I congratulate and thank you all.

People in hot climates eat spicy foods to keep cool ironically, so a visualization that mimics eating chile peppers or something to that effect would be an interesting approach.

Let us know what you come up with.

T

[karen]

Cat, look at Ayurvedic "Pitta pacifying" diet and herbs.

[三江源]

karen, yes. that's what I am aware of - ayurveda is lovely on this topic as well as the herbs/dietary su ggestions, it has suggestions about wearing white clothes and silver jewellery and walking in the moonlight, which I love.

 

I have to pacify my own pitta most augusts, so I'm very grateful to ayurvedic wisdom.

 

I know that the triple warmer excercise excercise in m. chia system 'cools' the system. But I'd be unsure of putting an excercise like that in a short piece for wide consumption.

 

Thaddeus, that is about facilitating sweating, I believe? And I feel very sceptical about it!

[Lozen]

Fruit, water, air conditioning.... eek, it's SO hot here right now!!!!!!!! I don't know HOW I'm dealing!!!

[三江源]

Lozen - I am informed that :

There are three points which you can self massage for cooling.

 

 

 

1.renzhong, (philtrum)

2. neiguan (inner gate - wrist)

3.zusanli.( On the leg, 3 body-inches below the lower

edge of the kneecap and 1 body-inch to the outside of

the shinbone.)

 

otherwise, eat coriander and mint in your cucumber salads and drink aloe vera juice and room temperature chamomile tea and avoid iced drinks /ice cream as it generates internal heat in a compensation mode.

 

and absorb some moonlight whilst dressed in flowing white cotton with silver jewellery, having taken a cool bath with sandalwood oil in it. rub the soles of your feet with coconut oil and go walk in the forest!

 

 

just writing that makes me feel cooler...

[Lozen]

Ooh, t hat sounds fun. Do cool showers work? I don't have a bathtub.

[karen]

Cat, yes, I would feel more comfortable recommending Ayurvedic regimen for general consumption.

 

Hot spices promote sweating which ultimately cools you down, but that's a more extreme approach than "pacifying" the doshas by using substances that have the opposite quality as the dosha.

 

loved that visualization of coconut oil and walk in the forest.. mmm. I would just be careful not to put oil on the soles of your feet if you're using a virtual forest (hardwood floor

 

Karen

[thelerner]

These are pretty mundane suggestions, but .. I'm being opening and closing windows and shades in conjunction w/ sun rise and set. In the morning opening up all the windows, closing the eastern shades. Making sure the Western shades are shut come late afternoon. That kind of thing, buys me some fresh air and more morning coolness.

 

Michael

[mYTHmAKER]

wearing white clothes and silver jewellery and walking in the moonlight, which I love.

 

Some tribes wear black in the desert heat. You might want to check out why they do.

Drinking celery juice is helpful.

[Trunk]

Drink aloe vera juice.

[minimoke]

Some tribes wear black in the desert heat. You might want to check out why they do.

 

I think the arab oil producing states wear white for a reason though.

[voice]

1. Roll the tongue, poke the tip of it out beyond the lips, breath in through it and out through the nose.

 

2. For inner cooling -- remember the feeling of eating very cold ice cream.

 

3. For outer cooling -- remember the feeling of stepping in very cold water (e.g. ocean, stream, bath).

[mYTHmAKER]

I think the arab oil producing states wear white for a reason though.

 

Check out this site re black or white and heat.

http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mblackcool.html

[el_tortugo]

I have heard reversing the microcosmic orbit is cooling.... though I don't remember where from so check it out first.

[Lozen]

My yoga teacher taught us two breathing excercises from India that help one stay cool (which was perfect for our 104 degree weather today.) One is you grit your teeth and breath in, then out through the teeth, tongue on the roof of the mouth (I think just during the outbreath, but it might be both.) The second is you stick your tongue out, curl it, and breath in, then breath out through the nose. You can feel the cool air right away, it is awesome.

[Trunk]

A friend has asked me to write a tiny piece on this topic from a taoist / energy work point of view, or to create a 'visualisation'.

 

Well, I live in L.A., and we've been having a heat wave the last several weeks, so I've done something I've never done before:

Get a pitcher (or two) and fill it with ice, dump the ice in a sink, fill the sink with water, let it chill for a while.

Then I stick my head in the sink, and just keep it there for a while. So much heat in the body rises to the head, and there's so much blood circulation through the head. At first this is bracing, then I feel the ice-water cool my blood, and the blood pump from-the-outter-to-the-inner; it really helps cool me down.

 

Its been just brutally hot, here, non-stop; soak-head-in-ice-water 's been a good emergency cool down.

Edited July 26, 2006 by Trunk

[freeform]

Well, I live in L.A., and we've been having a heat wave the last several weeks, so I've done something I've never done before:

Get a pitcher (or two) and fill it with ice, dump the ice in a sink, fill the sink with water, let it chill for a while.

Then I stick my head in the sink, and just keep it there for a while. So much heat in the body rises to the head, and there's so much blood circulation through the head. At first this is bracing, then I feel the ice-water cool my blood, and the blood pump from-the-outter-to-the-inner; it really helps cool me down.

 

Its been just brutally hot, here, non-stop; soak-head-in-ice-water 's been a good emergency cool down.

 

I find similar relief by putting ice on my wrists - or just having my hands in cold water or wrists under a cold running tap. Seems to cool the blood quickly. I find cold showers/baths actually tend to heat me up after - this works better. Also when it's cold, heating your wrists quickly warms you up. Sticking ice under your armpits might also help (a lot of bloodflow near the skin - plus it might cool the lymph fluid which may be good (or bad )) - I haven't tried this myself.

 

Another trick is to cool your tripple-warmer. Look up a meridian chart - find the tripple-warmer meridian from the shoulder running down the arm and trace it many times backwards (just 'connect' to the energy by holding your palm above the starting point and move your palm along the meridian - in a slight scooping motion) or you can find the specific tripple warmer sedation points and tap them for a little while. Also the tripple heater sound really helps (making sure to move the heat down to the LTT and the perineum, allowing the coolness to rise to the head).

[Peregrino]

Strangely enough, I've found that drinking hot tea--esp. red tea with honey--on hot days keeps me cool, and is especially restorative after a boxing workout. Somehow I sweat less and my system is more satisfied when I drink it hot rather than cool.

 

I can remember enjoying regular mint tea breaks during an August trip to Morocco. Hot tea seems to be popular in North African and Middle Eastern countries no matter what the season. Don't know the science behind tea-drinking in general, but I have read that liang-cha tea in particular is supposed to be effective for dispelling inner heat.

[tumoessence]

I have been been in the Sacramento heat where we're having 108 - 110 degrees. My house has no cooling for now. Luckily my kids are away and don't have to go through this. I have been doing the spinal breathing from ayp with the enhancement of cool up and heat down. I have also been eating raw fruits and veggies 95% with lots of green smoothies. It has been really good, and haven't had such a bad time of it.

[Uncle Fester]

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Edited September 20, 2021 by darebak

[sean]

Damn dude, you are making me crave a watermelon so bad. It's like 4am and hot as hell. Shit. I wonder if that Albertson's is 24 hours.

 

[BigJonMud]

A good friend who studied a little TCM and tuina massage suggested that green tea is great for cooling the bodies chi, while 'chai' or spiced black tea was much better for warming the chi.

 

In summer, I drink about 1 litre of green tea per day. Placebo or not, it keeps my overall body temp down.

[Apech]

I keep cool in summer by living in England.

[.broken.]

I keep cool in summer by living in England.

 

Genius

 

It was an awful summer indeed... I wonder if we're gonna get one of those mild winters like last year. No winter, no summer - horrible way to live. Here's to hoping it's a cold one!!

 

Yours humbly,

James