August 8, 2025 • 21 mins
In this welcoming, grounding episode, Kathleen Kenneally returns from a summer pause to explore the gentle transition from Fire to Earth—the second half of summer known as Late Summer or Indian Summer. With warmth and clarity, she invites listeners to notice the energetic shift from the bright, busy expansion of early summer into a more centered, ripening, and nourishing space. Kathleen unpacks what it means to embody the Earth element in daily life, including how this energy supports stability, digestion (on every level), and our sense of feeling nurtured and at home in ourselves.
She explains how the spleen and stomach work as the central “brothers” of the Earth element, nourishing the rest of the body and supporting strong muscles, clarity, and grounded emotions. Kathleen explores the signs of Earth out of balance—overthinking, worry, digestive troubles, and craving sweetness—as well as what healthy, balanced Earth energy looks like: calm, empathy, good boundaries, and healthy attachment. Through practical wisdom, she invites listeners to reflect on what grounds and supports them, not just with food, but also in spirit, relationships, and the information we “digest” from the world.
Practical tips include favoring warm foods and hydration, making time for rest, and connecting with the rhythms of the season. Kathleen closes by inviting everyone to upcoming events on seasonal eating and community acupuncture for stress and anxiety, and reminds listeners to tune in for part two—where she’ll dive deeper into Earth element foods, crystals, and lifestyle support.
To learn more or book a session, visit kenneallyacupuncture.com or call (661) 252-4100.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
In Your Element Intro (00:00):
Hello and welcome to In Your Element with
Kathleen Kenneally, where we explorethe wisdom of natural healing and
the deeper rhythms of life fromthe five elements to live out loud.
Spirituality.
This is a space to reconnect withyour most authentic self, whether
you're seeking balance through Chinesemedicine, tuning into your energetic
(00:21):
blueprint, or fully embracing themost vibrant, alive version of you.
This is your space toexplore, expand, and realign.
Let's dive into today's conversation.
Kathleen Kenneally (00:36):
alright, here we go.
Hey everybody.
Welcome back to In YourElement with Kathleen Cane.
And I've been taking alittle bit of a summer break.
You know, it's been summertime, it'sbeen the fire elements, the first part of
summer, and I've been having fun hangingout with friends, doing activities.
And so we've taken just a littlebit of a break, but we're back and
(00:59):
it's August and we are here today.
To talk about the second half of summer,it's called, late summer, Indian summer.
You may be more familiar with that.
And it starts right around August16th to around September 22nd
when we're shifting into the fall.
And the interesting thing about thesummer season is that it's the only season
(01:24):
that actually encompasses two elements.
So you've heard me talk about, I'vehad a couple of episodes where I've
been talking about the fire elementand what that means and parties on and
everything's expanding and expansion.
And so that's the first sixweeks where everything's hot and
expanded and bright and shiny.
Active.
And so now the second halfof summer is the beginning.
(01:46):
It's still, we're still festive.
We're still celebrating, we'restill connecting, we're still
having family gatherings and so on.
But the energy's beginningto shift just a little bit.
In some places it's actuallygetting much, much hotter
through August and in September.
With that, it's more heat,but the energy is beginning
(02:06):
to slow down ever so slightly.
And so late summer, the Indian summerenergy is connected to the earth
element and where the fire elementis about expansion, the earth.
Element is about ripening andreadying and what does that mean?
If you think about how plants areexpanding and growing and so on, and as
(02:28):
the summer progresses, fruit trees andthings are ripening and it's, a ripening
and a readying so that the crops can be.
Collected, and thenpeople are getting ready.
So we go into the fall, and so this isthe period before we go into the fall.
So there is still an abundance offruits and vegetables and so on.
(02:49):
but the focus begins to be more aboutincorporating maybe root vegetables,
different types of vegetables alongwith the fresher, greener ones.
So again, think of the earth element.
So what do you think ofcomparing earth to fire, right?
They're very different.
Earth energy is moreabout, hmm, grounding.
We think of the earth, we thinkof our hands in the earth.
(03:10):
We think of digging in the dirt, plantingour plants, our feet in the earth.
What does that feel like?
It feels solid.
It feels strong.
It feels steady.
It feels consistent.
it feels grounded, right?
And so.
This is a very different energythan what we're moving out of.
(03:31):
we're still at the tail end ofthe, you know, happy, happy,
joy, joy, party party energy.
But by like right around themiddle of August, we're gonna start
feeling this kind of shift and so.
Gosh, I love the earth element.
You know, I love all theelements if I'm really honest.
And, I'm gonna spend some timetoday talking about in Chinese
medicine there are five elements,wood, fire, earth, metal, and water.
(03:53):
And it's a cycle of life.
And so now we're movinginto the earth element.
And I'd like to give you theassociations in Chinese medicine, so
I'm gonna talk a little bit about that.
So the first thing we've got, there'sorgans that are connected to each
element, and the organs that areconnected to the element of earth
are the spleen and the stomach.
(04:13):
Now.
The spleen is responsible forproducing blood and the stomach is
about, you know, digesting our food.
And they're brothers, they work together.
And so the spleen is also connected to ourmuscles and our muscle strength and so on.
And again, digestion.
In Chinese medicine, the center, theearth is seen in the, five elements.
It's seen as the center part of the,like, it's a star kind of situation.
(04:38):
And earth can be seen as a centerand the earth in our stomach.
If you think about how ourbody is designed, the earth?
is our middle right?
And so it's from the stomach, it'sfrom our nourishment, it's from the
food we put into our body and how weprocess it, that then it sends it out
to the rest of the organs in the body.
So, okay, the spleen needs this, thestomach needs sending this over to the
(05:01):
heart, to the kidneys, to the bladder.
And so on.
And so it's pretty important.
And so again, if the center isfunctioning well, then there's a
likelihood that everything elsewill do better, on top of it.
So it's, very much, a very beautifulsystem that works well together.
So spleen and stomach.
And so why is that important?
(05:23):
Well, it's kind ofimportant to think about.
What are you choosingto put into your body?
What kind of foods are younourishing yourself with?
Where are you getting your nutrients?
So we can look at that at avery physical level, but let's
spread it out a little bit.
Let's stretch it out to kind ofencompass the whole idea of spiritually,
how are you nurturing yourself?
(05:44):
Where are you getting the support?
What grounds you?
and so this is how the earth playsout On this emotional level because
it's about, hmm, how do we nurture?
It's about being nurtured and supported.
So there's other associations.
So when our earth energy is outof balance, we are overthinking,
we are worrying, we have unhealthyattachments like codependency.
(06:08):
That's kind of an outof balance earth energy.
always looking for constantreassurance, approval.
So on, being overwhelmed,stressed out, who can relate
to any of that feeling stuck.
also digestive problems.
All these things are reallytied in with the earth energy.
So think about that for a minute.
check in.
Do you have any of that goingon in your world right now?
(06:29):
And then if we're balanced in our earthenergy, then our digestion is good.
We're clearheaded, we are grounded,we are calm, a healthy perspective.
And attachments.
We easily express empathy andunderstanding and sympathy.
And so what this means is that whenour Earth energy is balanced, when we
(06:51):
are full, if we are nurtured withinourselves, then we have the capacity
to have healthier relationships,healthier ways of supporting others
if we are deficient, if we don't have.
our own fullness, if you will.
Then all these otherimbalances will show up.
It's kind of interesting if youthink about it and, you know, again,
(07:12):
take a moment, think about, whereare you feeling imbalanced in your
earth element and just, you know,you might have one or two things.
It's okay, you know, you don't haveto have all check off all the boxes
that all the things that are right.
Having a balanced earth, or allthe things that are, you know, in
wrong about, you know, like, oh mygosh, I'm totally outta balance.
and it's a pendulum, right?
It's a spectrum.
(07:33):
It's like sometimes we are morebalanced than other times, right?
That's just kind of life.
Let's just, that's how it goes.
So I want in, in thinking aboutthese various things, just take note.
Okay.
So maybe today my earth energyis a little bit out of balance.
I am not digesting my food, or I havea little acid reflux, or I'm kind of
(07:54):
overthinking and worrying about stuff andgetting kind of stuck in my head again.
That could be a very common thing thathappens to a lot of us, and there's a
lot of things going on in our world thatwe're all trying to process and we have
so much information coming at us allthe time and think about it, sometimes.
It's hard to digest allof that information.
(08:16):
It's coming at us.
It's such a frequency and so muchof it that, I mean, my goodness,
you go on the internet and it'slike, you know, you're looking up
one thing and you're gonna have.
20 different things pop up that,that are gonna give you slightly
different perspectives and maybecompletely opposite perspectives.
And so what do you dowith all the information?
(08:36):
Well, we have to assimilate it.
We have to digest it, we haveto assimilate it, and then we
sift through it and go, okay,alright, this makes sense to me.
This doesn't make sense.
But that does take some energy andeffort to be able to manage all of that.
So.
Yeah, that's another kind ofway of looking at how this
earth energy comes into play.
(08:58):
Where the more balanced we are,the better able we are to access
the information and use it.
and the, more out of balance we arethe more overwhelmed we might become.
So again, some more associations.
Again, the color with theearth element is yellow.
the sound is the sound of singing.
And what does that mean?
(09:18):
Singing.
So to back up in Chinesemedicine when I'm.
evaluating somebody, we're listening.
where it's color, sound,odor, and emotion.
And you may have heard me say thisbefore, but I'm gonna tell you it's
color, sound, odor, and motion.
So that's what I'm listening.
That's what I'm looking at.
So I'm looking at the color on someone'sface or anywhere on their body.
I'm listening to the sound of their voice.
(09:40):
I'm smelling if there's anyodor that I know, I know.
People are rolling their eyes.
Oh my gosh, I'm smelling my patients.
It's just, we all have our natural odor.
So, okay, so odor, if there'sanything that stands out.
And then the sound, sound,color, sound, odor and emotion.
An emotion that I'm feeling like how isthat person or that person's emoting,
what am I feeling when they're emoting?
(10:02):
What are they expressingto me in their feelings?
Okay, so then going back to the color.
So for example, if I'm looking atsomebody and I'm talking to them
and you know, they're sharingtheir story and I'm looking at the.
Color of their skin or their eyes, Imight notice a slight yellow tinge.
Now, it's not to the point of jaundice,which is very extreme, but we're
trained when we're studying Chinesemedicine to notice the subtleties.
(10:25):
And so let's say I see a tinge ofyellow in someone's eye or below
their eyes, let's say around their,underneath their eye, and then I'm
listening to them talk and their voicekind of has a sing song sound to it.
So imagine like your most.
Favorite preschool teacher and shecomes in and she's like, hello,
class, and how are we today?
(10:46):
Doesn't everybody lookwonderful at their desk?
Sitting so patiently and so quietly?
What are we gonna do today?
You know, think about like Snow Whiteor you get the, get the idea, right?
It's this very sing song where the tonegoes up and down and so that is a clue.
Someone's talking and I hear this in theirvoice and I'm like, okay, there's another
(11:08):
clue that their constitution or their mainelement that we're working with is Earth.
Okay?
Or might be outta balance.
So I'm hearing sing song.
I'm seeing a little bit yellow.
and the emotion that I'm, feelingfrom them is this emotion of
their energy is very sympathetic.
Sympathy is the emotion that'sconnected to, this earth element.
(11:30):
and the other part of theother emotion is worry.
So again, if someone's hyper worryingand they, I'm feeling the stress and
they're worrying and worrying andthey're expressing all these fears
and worrying and worrying or, I'm alsofeeling this energy of this kind of,
they're very sympathetic and they're verytuned in and, oh, how can I help you?
And I mean, I'm sure we can, you canthink of people that you know in your
(11:50):
life that no matter what's going onin their life, they are right there.
They're like, how can I help you?
They have the capacity for thistremendous amount of connection
and sympathy and supporting others.
Again, very much a strong partof being an earth element.
Another interesting thing that, is thetaste, the taste that goes along with,
(12:12):
the earth element is a taste of sweet.
Sweet.
Yes.
And so how does thatshow up with somebody?
So again, if we're talking about,what favorite foods people like to
eat, what kind of things they crave.
Again, they might say.
Oh man, I've got such a sweet tooth.
I just, I have to have sweets.
(12:33):
and then there are people that say, ohno, I really, salty foods, crunchy foods.
That's a whole nother category.
But, you know, earth element,there's a, there's sweet and
actually that is the taste and the.
smell, if you will, is kind of fragrantand if you think of fragrant, like a
very fragrant flower, that's kind ofwhat someone's natural odor, can be.
(12:55):
Now I often tell my patients not to comein and have any fragrance or lotions
or whatever, so that I might be able toget a sense of their natural scent, but.
More often than not, you know, hairproducts, you know, shampoo, all of
that kind of can get into the way.
So I don't do a lot with thesmell part, just so you know.
Um, what else did I want to talk about?
(13:16):
About the associations?
We talked about the sweet, thesinging of sound, the emotion.
and, and I did touch on thewhole idea of the, the focus is
the digestion, the sys digestionsystem, nourishment and stability.
these are kind of the key wordsassociated with the earth element.
And did you know that in Chinesemedicine, each organ actually has a
(13:40):
time of day that it's most active?
So for example.
The spleen, its most active time isbetween 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM and the most
active time for the stomach is 7:00 AM.
To 9:00 AM and so guess what time is thebest time for you to eat your breakfast?
(14:02):
If you're going to eat breakfast,you're gonna wanna eat your breakfast
between 7:00 AM and 9:00 AM becausethat's when the, stomach is at its peak.
That's when it has the most energy.
That's when it's gonnabest digest your food.
And so that's the bestway to start your day.
So I just find it so fascinating, and thisis across the board with all the elements,
(14:23):
but just to touch on this a little bit.
So what else do you wannaknow about this earth element?
We So something else that's reallyinteresting is like the whole
idea of, and I thought, gosh, Ishould be chewing on something.
Because the idea of like, what doesthe earth element sound like yes,
we talked about the sound of the,singing and so on, but it's kind of
(14:44):
like, the masticate, it's chewing.
Sorry if you don't mastication, it's likechewing food, chewing, chewing, chewing.
Because what's happeningwhen we're overthinking.
Grinding.
We're going over it.
We're chewing it over again.
We're going over it again.
We're trying to assimilate it.
We're trying to break it down.
We're trying to understand it.
And finally, hopefully, eventually we do.
(15:04):
And, and then we're able toswallow and then all the enzymes
and everything else break it down.
But it's such a great analogy for whenwe are overthinking and stuck in our
head that we can't stop ruminatingand thinking about something.
It's the chewing and the chewingand the chewing and the grinding and
the, uh, so the goal is, is how dowe balance our earth energy, right?
(15:28):
This is the next question, right?
what can we do tobalance our earth energy?
Well, some of the things to to knowand people are not gonna be happy
with, I can, I can hear it now, is thatfirst thing I tell my patients, one of
the things, do not drink iced water.
I know.
Screams I can hear 'em.
(15:48):
the stomach does not like cold.
It prefers warm.
It's really hard for the stomach tobreak down cold, ice cold and raw food.
Especially if you do that raw foodthing in the winter when it's cold,
and that's a whole nother thing.
So in the summer, theguidance is it's hot.
So you wanna do with cooler foods, youwanna do with wet foods, things that
(16:11):
are bringing more hydration and water.
And so again, to support your earthenergy, you're gonna want to Not
do a lot of cold, ice cold water.
For sure, for sure.
I mean I think it's my brother my youngestsister, they both like chew on ice or
they did at least, I dunno if they do itnow, but they did when they were kids.
And it was just, then I wentto acupuncture school and it
(16:31):
was like, no, don't do it.
It's just really hard on the digestion.
It's really, really cold and thespleen doesn't really like cold either.
and in reality, if you reallythink about our whole body system.
the whole body is like not a fan ofcold, cold, but if it's hot outside,
yes, have the watermelon, havethe salads, have the juicy foods.
That still kind of applies again,as we're moving into the earth.
(16:54):
Another way to support our earthenergy is to make sure that
you are getting enough rest.
So again, the fire just.
Pushed us, pushed us, pushed us,expanded us, and now the Earth energy
is saying, Hey, let's bring it in.
Let's come back to home.
Let's bring things into center.
Let's, slow down a little, just alittle bit and ground ourselves.
Let's make sure that we're gettingenough rest, that we are sleeping,
(17:17):
that we are still hydrating.
This is really, really important tosupport our earth, which is again, our
digestion is really, really important.
one of the other things todo is to partake in things
that help you relieve stress.
Because stress is thatoverthinking, is that worrying.
So take a look at, think about inwhat ways are you self nurturing?
(17:40):
Are you giving yourself enoughtime in the day to take care of the
things that you need to take care of?
Are you giving yourself enoughtime for the rest, for the,
downtime where you're not?
Having to think about anything whereyou, maybe you're having a beautiful
massage or you're just taking anap, or you're going for a swim, or
you're going for a walk in nature.
Again, all of these are really groundingactivities, connecting to nature.
(18:04):
Breathing, check in.
Are you breathing?
I know that sounds reallysilly, but do you know how
many people hold their breath?
So many people are holding their breathand they're not deep breathing deeply
into their belly, and so most people arebreathing from a shallow place in their
chest, and so it's like short breathsand what that does when we're breathing
(18:26):
from a shallow place in our chest.
That makes us feel more anxious and,then that sets up a whole cascade
of different reactions in our bodyand how that shows up in our life.
So take the time to breathe deeply.
so what happens?
People are up in their head,people are overthinking.
(18:47):
And another thing I like to tellpeople or remind people, I'll say, Hey.
Ask yourself, where are your feet?
Where are your feet?
And you try that, and I'm tellingyou ask like, where are my feet?
Immediately your attentiongoes down to your feet.
Well, you're not up in your headanymore worrying about stuff.
You're focusing on your feet and you feet.
(19:09):
Then you're able to thenground and breathe and bring
you fully back into your body.
And so this is kind of a goodpractice to do every now and then.
You're gonna want to check in duringyour day and say, okay, when was
the last time I took a deep breath?
Take a few deep breaths.
Where are my feet?
Ah, yes, there are my feet.
(19:30):
Take some more deep breathsand ground yourself into
this amazing energy of earth.
'cause that is what Earth is there for.
It's for us to ground, to feel nurtured,to be able to nurture and support others.
So, these are some funthoughts to think about.
I've got a couple ofcool events coming up.
(19:51):
one is, um, doing a class on how toharmonize and, eat with the seasons.
And that's gonna be a lot offun where we're gonna go over
some of this information today.
I'm gonna make some recipes.
You're gonna get some recipes.
We're gonna do some activitiesthat really activate and
energize the energy of the earth.
And, And I'm doing a mid-season.
(20:13):
energy rebalancing to ground for stressand anxiety, and that's happening
at the end of August the 24th.
I believe.
It's a Sunday.
It's gonna be community acupuncture whereyou come in and we're going to ground and
activate the energy of the earth element,which will help with stress and anxiety.
Who doesn't need some of that?
Right?
So with all of these coolthings that are happening.
(20:36):
Stay tuned for my next episode, whereI'm gonna go part two, where I'm
gonna talk a little bit more about thefoods and different things, different
associations, how to identify, whatdoes an earth person look like and
what does an earth person look like?
How about that?
And, and we're gonna talk aboutfood and, and we're gonna just
talk about crystals and essentialoils and some other things that are
(20:56):
associated with the earth elements.
So thanks for joining me today.
If you want more information.
Call me at (661) 252-4100, KathleenKenneally from Kenneally Acupuncture,
and this is In Your Element.
Until next time, my hearts are yours.
Bye for now.
In Your Element Outro (21:16):
Thank you for joining me today on In Your Element.
I hope this conversation has sparkeda new awareness of how you can
align with the natural rhythms ofyour body and the world around you.
If you enjoyed today's episode, be sureto subscribe so you don't miss what's
next and if something resonated with you.
I'd really love to hear from you.
Connect with me atkenneallyacupuncture.com
(21:38):
or on social media.
Until next time, stay balanced,stay inspired, and keep tuning into
the wisdom within and around you.
See you next time on In Your Element.
Hello and welcome to In Your Element with
Kathleen Kenneally, where we explorethe wisdom of natural healing and
the deeper rhythms of life fromthe five elements to live out loud.
Spirituality.
This is a space to reconnect withyour most authentic self, whether
you're seeking balance through Chinesemedicine, tuning into your energetic
(00:21):
blueprint, or fully embracing themost vibrant, alive version of you.
This is your space toexplore, expand, and realign.
Let's dive into today's conversation.
Kathleen Kenneally (00:36):
alright, here we go.
Hey everybody.
Welcome back to In YourElement with Kathleen Cane.
And I've been taking alittle bit of a summer break.
You know, it's been summertime, it'sbeen the fire elements, the first part of
summer, and I've been having fun hangingout with friends, doing activities.
And so we've taken just a littlebit of a break, but we're back and
(00:59):
it's August and we are here today.
To talk about the second half of summer,it's called, late summer, Indian summer.
You may be more familiar with that.
And it starts right around August16th to around September 22nd
when we're shifting into the fall.
And the interesting thing about thesummer season is that it's the only season
(01:24):
that actually encompasses two elements.
So you've heard me talk about, I'vehad a couple of episodes where I've
been talking about the fire elementand what that means and parties on and
everything's expanding and expansion.
And so that's the first sixweeks where everything's hot and
expanded and bright and shiny.
Active.
And so now the second halfof summer is the beginning.
(01:46):
It's still, we're still festive.
We're still celebrating, we'restill connecting, we're still
having family gatherings and so on.
But the energy's beginningto shift just a little bit.
In some places it's actuallygetting much, much hotter
through August and in September.
With that, it's more heat,but the energy is beginning
(02:06):
to slow down ever so slightly.
And so late summer, the Indian summerenergy is connected to the earth
element and where the fire elementis about expansion, the earth.
Element is about ripening andreadying and what does that mean?
If you think about how plants areexpanding and growing and so on, and as
(02:28):
the summer progresses, fruit trees andthings are ripening and it's, a ripening
and a readying so that the crops can be.
Collected, and thenpeople are getting ready.
So we go into the fall, and so this isthe period before we go into the fall.
So there is still an abundance offruits and vegetables and so on.
(02:49):
but the focus begins to be more aboutincorporating maybe root vegetables,
different types of vegetables alongwith the fresher, greener ones.
So again, think of the earth element.
So what do you think ofcomparing earth to fire, right?
They're very different.
Earth energy is moreabout, hmm, grounding.
We think of the earth, we thinkof our hands in the earth.
(03:10):
We think of digging in the dirt, plantingour plants, our feet in the earth.
What does that feel like?
It feels solid.
It feels strong.
It feels steady.
It feels consistent.
it feels grounded, right?
And so.
This is a very different energythan what we're moving out of.
(03:31):
we're still at the tail end ofthe, you know, happy, happy,
joy, joy, party party energy.
But by like right around themiddle of August, we're gonna start
feeling this kind of shift and so.
Gosh, I love the earth element.
You know, I love all theelements if I'm really honest.
And, I'm gonna spend some timetoday talking about in Chinese
medicine there are five elements,wood, fire, earth, metal, and water.
(03:53):
And it's a cycle of life.
And so now we're movinginto the earth element.
And I'd like to give you theassociations in Chinese medicine, so
I'm gonna talk a little bit about that.
So the first thing we've got, there'sorgans that are connected to each
element, and the organs that areconnected to the element of earth
are the spleen and the stomach.
(04:13):
Now.
The spleen is responsible forproducing blood and the stomach is
about, you know, digesting our food.
And they're brothers, they work together.
And so the spleen is also connected to ourmuscles and our muscle strength and so on.
And again, digestion.
In Chinese medicine, the center, theearth is seen in the, five elements.
It's seen as the center part of the,like, it's a star kind of situation.
(04:38):
And earth can be seen as a centerand the earth in our stomach.
If you think about how ourbody is designed, the earth?
is our middle right?
And so it's from the stomach, it'sfrom our nourishment, it's from the
food we put into our body and how weprocess it, that then it sends it out
to the rest of the organs in the body.
So, okay, the spleen needs this, thestomach needs sending this over to the
(05:01):
heart, to the kidneys, to the bladder.
And so on.
And so it's pretty important.
And so again, if the center isfunctioning well, then there's a
likelihood that everything elsewill do better, on top of it.
So it's, very much, a very beautifulsystem that works well together.
So spleen and stomach.
And so why is that important?
(05:23):
Well, it's kind ofimportant to think about.
What are you choosingto put into your body?
What kind of foods are younourishing yourself with?
Where are you getting your nutrients?
So we can look at that at avery physical level, but let's
spread it out a little bit.
Let's stretch it out to kind ofencompass the whole idea of spiritually,
how are you nurturing yourself?
(05:44):
Where are you getting the support?
What grounds you?
and so this is how the earth playsout On this emotional level because
it's about, hmm, how do we nurture?
It's about being nurtured and supported.
So there's other associations.
So when our earth energy is outof balance, we are overthinking,
we are worrying, we have unhealthyattachments like codependency.
(06:08):
That's kind of an outof balance earth energy.
always looking for constantreassurance, approval.
So on, being overwhelmed,stressed out, who can relate
to any of that feeling stuck.
also digestive problems.
All these things are reallytied in with the earth energy.
So think about that for a minute.
check in.
Do you have any of that goingon in your world right now?
(06:29):
And then if we're balanced in our earthenergy, then our digestion is good.
We're clearheaded, we are grounded,we are calm, a healthy perspective.
And attachments.
We easily express empathy andunderstanding and sympathy.
And so what this means is that whenour Earth energy is balanced, when we
(06:51):
are full, if we are nurtured withinourselves, then we have the capacity
to have healthier relationships,healthier ways of supporting others
if we are deficient, if we don't have.
our own fullness, if you will.
Then all these otherimbalances will show up.
It's kind of interesting if youthink about it and, you know, again,
(07:12):
take a moment, think about, whereare you feeling imbalanced in your
earth element and just, you know,you might have one or two things.
It's okay, you know, you don't haveto have all check off all the boxes
that all the things that are right.
Having a balanced earth, or allthe things that are, you know, in
wrong about, you know, like, oh mygosh, I'm totally outta balance.
and it's a pendulum, right?
It's a spectrum.
(07:33):
It's like sometimes we are morebalanced than other times, right?
That's just kind of life.
Let's just, that's how it goes.
So I want in, in thinking aboutthese various things, just take note.
Okay.
So maybe today my earth energyis a little bit out of balance.
I am not digesting my food, or I havea little acid reflux, or I'm kind of
(07:54):
overthinking and worrying about stuff andgetting kind of stuck in my head again.
That could be a very common thing thathappens to a lot of us, and there's a
lot of things going on in our world thatwe're all trying to process and we have
so much information coming at us allthe time and think about it, sometimes.
It's hard to digest allof that information.
(08:16):
It's coming at us.
It's such a frequency and so muchof it that, I mean, my goodness,
you go on the internet and it'slike, you know, you're looking up
one thing and you're gonna have.
20 different things pop up that,that are gonna give you slightly
different perspectives and maybecompletely opposite perspectives.
And so what do you dowith all the information?
(08:36):
Well, we have to assimilate it.
We have to digest it, we haveto assimilate it, and then we
sift through it and go, okay,alright, this makes sense to me.
This doesn't make sense.
But that does take some energy andeffort to be able to manage all of that.
So.
Yeah, that's another kind ofway of looking at how this
earth energy comes into play.
(08:58):
Where the more balanced we are,the better able we are to access
the information and use it.
and the, more out of balance we arethe more overwhelmed we might become.
So again, some more associations.
Again, the color with theearth element is yellow.
the sound is the sound of singing.
And what does that mean?
(09:18):
Singing.
So to back up in Chinesemedicine when I'm.
evaluating somebody, we're listening.
where it's color, sound,odor, and emotion.
And you may have heard me say thisbefore, but I'm gonna tell you it's
color, sound, odor, and motion.
So that's what I'm listening.
That's what I'm looking at.
So I'm looking at the color on someone'sface or anywhere on their body.
I'm listening to the sound of their voice.
(09:40):
I'm smelling if there's anyodor that I know, I know.
People are rolling their eyes.
Oh my gosh, I'm smelling my patients.
It's just, we all have our natural odor.
So, okay, so odor, if there'sanything that stands out.
And then the sound, sound,color, sound, odor and emotion.
An emotion that I'm feeling like how isthat person or that person's emoting,
what am I feeling when they're emoting?
(10:02):
What are they expressingto me in their feelings?
Okay, so then going back to the color.
So for example, if I'm looking atsomebody and I'm talking to them
and you know, they're sharingtheir story and I'm looking at the.
Color of their skin or their eyes, Imight notice a slight yellow tinge.
Now, it's not to the point of jaundice,which is very extreme, but we're
trained when we're studying Chinesemedicine to notice the subtleties.
(10:25):
And so let's say I see a tinge ofyellow in someone's eye or below
their eyes, let's say around their,underneath their eye, and then I'm
listening to them talk and their voicekind of has a sing song sound to it.
So imagine like your most.
Favorite preschool teacher and shecomes in and she's like, hello,
class, and how are we today?
(10:46):
Doesn't everybody lookwonderful at their desk?
Sitting so patiently and so quietly?
What are we gonna do today?
You know, think about like Snow Whiteor you get the, get the idea, right?
It's this very sing song where the tonegoes up and down and so that is a clue.
Someone's talking and I hear this in theirvoice and I'm like, okay, there's another
(11:08):
clue that their constitution or their mainelement that we're working with is Earth.
Okay?
Or might be outta balance.
So I'm hearing sing song.
I'm seeing a little bit yellow.
and the emotion that I'm, feelingfrom them is this emotion of
their energy is very sympathetic.
Sympathy is the emotion that'sconnected to, this earth element.
(11:30):
and the other part of theother emotion is worry.
So again, if someone's hyper worryingand they, I'm feeling the stress and
they're worrying and worrying andthey're expressing all these fears
and worrying and worrying or, I'm alsofeeling this energy of this kind of,
they're very sympathetic and they're verytuned in and, oh, how can I help you?
And I mean, I'm sure we can, you canthink of people that you know in your
(11:50):
life that no matter what's going onin their life, they are right there.
They're like, how can I help you?
They have the capacity for thistremendous amount of connection
and sympathy and supporting others.
Again, very much a strong partof being an earth element.
Another interesting thing that, is thetaste, the taste that goes along with,
(12:12):
the earth element is a taste of sweet.
Sweet.
Yes.
And so how does thatshow up with somebody?
So again, if we're talking about,what favorite foods people like to
eat, what kind of things they crave.
Again, they might say.
Oh man, I've got such a sweet tooth.
I just, I have to have sweets.
(12:33):
and then there are people that say, ohno, I really, salty foods, crunchy foods.
That's a whole nother category.
But, you know, earth element,there's a, there's sweet and
actually that is the taste and the.
smell, if you will, is kind of fragrantand if you think of fragrant, like a
very fragrant flower, that's kind ofwhat someone's natural odor, can be.
(12:55):
Now I often tell my patients not to comein and have any fragrance or lotions
or whatever, so that I might be able toget a sense of their natural scent, but.
More often than not, you know, hairproducts, you know, shampoo, all of
that kind of can get into the way.
So I don't do a lot with thesmell part, just so you know.
Um, what else did I want to talk about?
(13:16):
About the associations?
We talked about the sweet, thesinging of sound, the emotion.
and, and I did touch on thewhole idea of the, the focus is
the digestion, the sys digestionsystem, nourishment and stability.
these are kind of the key wordsassociated with the earth element.
And did you know that in Chinesemedicine, each organ actually has a
(13:40):
time of day that it's most active?
So for example.
The spleen, its most active time isbetween 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM and the most
active time for the stomach is 7:00 AM.
To 9:00 AM and so guess what time is thebest time for you to eat your breakfast?
(14:02):
If you're going to eat breakfast,you're gonna wanna eat your breakfast
between 7:00 AM and 9:00 AM becausethat's when the, stomach is at its peak.
That's when it has the most energy.
That's when it's gonnabest digest your food.
And so that's the bestway to start your day.
So I just find it so fascinating, and thisis across the board with all the elements,
(14:23):
but just to touch on this a little bit.
So what else do you wannaknow about this earth element?
We So something else that's reallyinteresting is like the whole
idea of, and I thought, gosh, Ishould be chewing on something.
Because the idea of like, what doesthe earth element sound like yes,
we talked about the sound of the,singing and so on, but it's kind of
(14:44):
like, the masticate, it's chewing.
Sorry if you don't mastication, it's likechewing food, chewing, chewing, chewing.
Because what's happeningwhen we're overthinking.
Grinding.
We're going over it.
We're chewing it over again.
We're going over it again.
We're trying to assimilate it.
We're trying to break it down.
We're trying to understand it.
And finally, hopefully, eventually we do.
(15:04):
And, and then we're able toswallow and then all the enzymes
and everything else break it down.
But it's such a great analogy for whenwe are overthinking and stuck in our
head that we can't stop ruminatingand thinking about something.
It's the chewing and the chewingand the chewing and the grinding and
the, uh, so the goal is, is how dowe balance our earth energy, right?
(15:28):
This is the next question, right?
what can we do tobalance our earth energy?
Well, some of the things to to knowand people are not gonna be happy
with, I can, I can hear it now, is thatfirst thing I tell my patients, one of
the things, do not drink iced water.
I know.
Screams I can hear 'em.
(15:48):
the stomach does not like cold.
It prefers warm.
It's really hard for the stomach tobreak down cold, ice cold and raw food.
Especially if you do that raw foodthing in the winter when it's cold,
and that's a whole nother thing.
So in the summer, theguidance is it's hot.
So you wanna do with cooler foods, youwanna do with wet foods, things that
(16:11):
are bringing more hydration and water.
And so again, to support your earthenergy, you're gonna want to Not
do a lot of cold, ice cold water.
For sure, for sure.
I mean I think it's my brother my youngestsister, they both like chew on ice or
they did at least, I dunno if they do itnow, but they did when they were kids.
And it was just, then I wentto acupuncture school and it
(16:31):
was like, no, don't do it.
It's just really hard on the digestion.
It's really, really cold and thespleen doesn't really like cold either.
and in reality, if you reallythink about our whole body system.
the whole body is like not a fan ofcold, cold, but if it's hot outside,
yes, have the watermelon, havethe salads, have the juicy foods.
That still kind of applies again,as we're moving into the earth.
(16:54):
Another way to support our earthenergy is to make sure that
you are getting enough rest.
So again, the fire just.
Pushed us, pushed us, pushed us,expanded us, and now the Earth energy
is saying, Hey, let's bring it in.
Let's come back to home.
Let's bring things into center.
Let's, slow down a little, just alittle bit and ground ourselves.
Let's make sure that we're gettingenough rest, that we are sleeping,
(17:17):
that we are still hydrating.
This is really, really important tosupport our earth, which is again, our
digestion is really, really important.
one of the other things todo is to partake in things
that help you relieve stress.
Because stress is thatoverthinking, is that worrying.
So take a look at, think about inwhat ways are you self nurturing?
(17:40):
Are you giving yourself enoughtime in the day to take care of the
things that you need to take care of?
Are you giving yourself enoughtime for the rest, for the,
downtime where you're not?
Having to think about anything whereyou, maybe you're having a beautiful
massage or you're just taking anap, or you're going for a swim, or
you're going for a walk in nature.
Again, all of these are really groundingactivities, connecting to nature.
(18:04):
Breathing, check in.
Are you breathing?
I know that sounds reallysilly, but do you know how
many people hold their breath?
So many people are holding their breathand they're not deep breathing deeply
into their belly, and so most people arebreathing from a shallow place in their
chest, and so it's like short breathsand what that does when we're breathing
(18:26):
from a shallow place in our chest.
That makes us feel more anxious and,then that sets up a whole cascade
of different reactions in our bodyand how that shows up in our life.
So take the time to breathe deeply.
so what happens?
People are up in their head,people are overthinking.
(18:47):
And another thing I like to tellpeople or remind people, I'll say, Hey.
Ask yourself, where are your feet?
Where are your feet?
And you try that, and I'm tellingyou ask like, where are my feet?
Immediately your attentiongoes down to your feet.
Well, you're not up in your headanymore worrying about stuff.
You're focusing on your feet and you feet.
(19:09):
Then you're able to thenground and breathe and bring
you fully back into your body.
And so this is kind of a goodpractice to do every now and then.
You're gonna want to check in duringyour day and say, okay, when was
the last time I took a deep breath?
Take a few deep breaths.
Where are my feet?
Ah, yes, there are my feet.
(19:30):
Take some more deep breathsand ground yourself into
this amazing energy of earth.
'cause that is what Earth is there for.
It's for us to ground, to feel nurtured,to be able to nurture and support others.
So, these are some funthoughts to think about.
I've got a couple ofcool events coming up.
(19:51):
one is, um, doing a class on how toharmonize and, eat with the seasons.
And that's gonna be a lot offun where we're gonna go over
some of this information today.
I'm gonna make some recipes.
You're gonna get some recipes.
We're gonna do some activitiesthat really activate and
energize the energy of the earth.
And, And I'm doing a mid-season.
(20:13):
energy rebalancing to ground for stressand anxiety, and that's happening
at the end of August the 24th.
I believe.
It's a Sunday.
It's gonna be community acupuncture whereyou come in and we're going to ground and
activate the energy of the earth element,which will help with stress and anxiety.
Who doesn't need some of that?
Right?
So with all of these coolthings that are happening.
(20:36):
Stay tuned for my next episode, whereI'm gonna go part two, where I'm
gonna talk a little bit more about thefoods and different things, different
associations, how to identify, whatdoes an earth person look like and
what does an earth person look like?
How about that?
And, and we're gonna talk aboutfood and, and we're gonna just
talk about crystals and essentialoils and some other things that are
(20:56):
associated with the earth elements.
So thanks for joining me today.
If you want more information.
Call me at (661) 252-4100, KathleenKenneally from Kenneally Acupuncture,
and this is In Your Element.
Until next time, my hearts are yours.
Bye for now.
In Your Element Outro (21:16):
Thank you for joining me today on In Your Element.
I hope this conversation has sparkeda new awareness of how you can
align with the natural rhythms ofyour body and the world around you.
If you enjoyed today's episode, be sureto subscribe so you don't miss what's
next and if something resonated with you.
I'd really love to hear from you.
Connect with me atkenneallyacupuncture.com
(21:38):
or on social media.
Until next time, stay balanced,stay inspired, and keep tuning into
the wisdom within and around you.
See you next time on In Your Element.
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