Now, that we have finally had a few nice days, it’s time to enjoy one of the best things about summer – the Farmers’ Market.
- FRESH – Remember when your food had a scent and was flavorful and colorful? Food from the farmers’ market will remind you of the food from your childhood. Most food at the farmers’ market was ripened in the field and brought directly to you. As a result, it tastes better and is more nutritious. It also looks and smells more appealing.
- EAT WITH THE SEASONS – In Chinese medicine, we believe it is important to live in synch with the seasons which includes eating for the seasons. If you eat food that grows locally in season, you are eating foods that keep you in harmony with your environment and supports your health. Selecting food at the farmers’ market will also give you access to a greater variety of colors and flavors than at the grocery store – today at the farmers’ market, I saw purple cauliflower and three different types of cherries grown locally.
- ENVIRONMENT – Purchasing your food at the farmers’ market is better for the environment. Our food travels an average of over 1,000 miles to get to us. Have you noticed that even cucumbers and peppers are wrapped in plastic at the grocery store? Purchasing locally cuts down on fuel usage and packaging.
- SMALL FARMERS – Support local farmers by purchasing food directly from them. It is difficult for small farmers to compete with the factory farms. Selling their produce locally helps them get a better return on their produce.
In addition to the 12 main acupuncture meridians that flow along the surface of the body, there are also deeper channels of energy in the body called the Extraordinary Vessels. You can understand the relationship between the primary acupuncture channels and the Extraordinary Vessels by thinking about what happens when it rains: first, small ditches become full – these are the collateral vessels that break off of the 12 main channels. Next, the reservoirs become full, which are the 12 primary channels. When they are full, they overflow into the Extraordinary Vessels, which are deep and vast lakes of energy within the body. 
Most acupuncture points are located on the 12 primary channels that flow along the surface of the body. However, there are eight Extraordinary Vessels that flow more deeply in the body, and are perhaps even more powerful that the 12 primary channels. The Extraordinary Vessels regulate the 12 channels, and are deep lakes of energy, which can feed the 12 primary channels when they are depleted. 
“I get so busy sometimes chasing the extraordinary moments that I don’t pay attention to the ordinary moments – the moments that if taken away I would miss more than anything.” Brené Brown in her Netflix special “The Call to Courage”.
Farah Hussain Baig, LCSW
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