Late Summer Blues? Support Your Earth Element

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Traditional Chinese Medicine recognizes this time of year (late August - late September) as the 5th season, the Late Summer season. While the shortest in length of the five seasons, Late Summer is significant in terms of the profound shifts we feel. As we move away from the hot, long days of summer and yang energy, we start to feel the subtle shift towards cooler days of fall and the reintroduction of yin (quiet, slow) energy. This transitional period can bring up feelings of melancholy and sadness as the summer winds down. If you’ve always felt a little sad this time of year, you’re not alone.

Late Summer season is associated with the Earth element and the Spleen and Stomach, which are responsible for processing not only food but also emotions and experiences. When your Earth element is imbalanced, you may have more feelings of worry or feel more anxious. Additionally, when the Spleen is weakened, it will lead to overthinking and melancholy.

Supporting yourself with these simple tips below can help improve your mental and emotional well being over these next several weeks:

Get Grounded: Simply walking barefoot on the earth, or sitting outside in nature will help balance our Earth element and bring you back to your center, creating a feeling of being grounded.

Sing: Singing isn’t just good for the soul, it’s good for the Spleen. Sing in the shower, belt out your favorite tune in the car and you’ll move stagnate energy in the body and help harmonize your Spleen.

Warm it Up: Keep your Spleen in balance by limiting cold, raw foods. Think less salads and smoothies and more warm, cooked foods. Moving towards warmer foods this time of year will better support your Spleen and in turn help your emotional well being.

Deep Breaths: Grounding back in to your body after a season of go, go go, will help support anxiety or worry. Take a few minutes daily for some deep belly breathing. Or get on any one of our tables to balance your Earth element and reconnect with yourself.

Acupressure: Stimulating Stomach 36 can lift feelings of heaviness or depression. Help ease digestion and the combat the blues by working this area on the lateral side of your lower leg. Gentle pressure for 1-2 minutes daily can help harmonize your Earth element.

With a few simple rituals, you can better support your body and therefore your emotional well being through this profoundly transitional season of Late Summer. As always, we are here at Therapeutic Bodywork to support you through it all.

Grounded in the Glow of Late Summer

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We are all starting to feel it, the heat is still with us, but something in the air is shifting. The light has softened, the gardens are heavy with fruit, and the pace, though still warm and bright, begins to draw us gently inward. Yang begins to yield to Yin, bringing with it a lingering dampness. Late Summer season is that sweet in-between: a pause between the high energy of summer and the crisp newness of autumn.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, this is The Fifth Season - Late Summer - governed by the Earth element and anchored in the Spleen and Stomach. Earth energy invites us to center, nourish, and ground ourselves. It’s the season of ripening—when we “digest” not just food, but all we’ve taken in over the past months, physically, mentally, and emotionally.

When Earth is balanced, we feel steady, clear, and supported. Digestion flows easily, our mind feels focused, and we move through life with a sense of satisfaction and stability.

When unbalanced, the Spleen’s emotion, thought, can tip into overthinking or worry. This often shows up as fatigue, anxiety, digestive upset, or even a lack of self-care and boundaries. The damp heat of this time of year can also show up as swelling, sluggishness, or skin congestion.

Late Summer is our opportunity to reset and realign, supporting the body’s center so we can move into autumn feeling calm, centered, strong, and grounded.

Ground in the glow of late summer and stay centered with these seasonal tips:

Diet

  • Support Your Digestion – This is the season to favor cooked, warm, and easy-to-digest foods over icy drinks or heavy raw meals, which can burden the Spleen and Stomach.

  • Embrace Seasonal Sweetness – In TCM, the “sweet” flavor (think naturally sweet, not refined sugar) nourishes Earth. Enjoy ripe peaches, melons, cherries, corn, and sweet potatoes in moderation.

  • Damp-Draining & Balancing Foods – Incorporate mushrooms, celery, radish, zucchini, asparagus, spinach, and seaweed to help clear excess dampness from the body. Cooling proteins like turkey, white fish, clams and lentils support balance in late summer heat.

  • Breakfast with Intention – Between 7–9 am, the Stomach’s energy is strongest. Start the day with a warm, substantial breakfast such as congee, oatmeal, or eggs with greens.

  • Daily Digestive Allies – Fire Cider’s: The Digestive and Adrenal Support help strengthen the body’s resilience and keep digestion flowing during seasonal transitions.

Lifestyle

  • Find Your Center – Earth energy thrives on routine. As summer’s spontaneity begins to shift, reestablish regular meal times, restful sleep, and daily routines that ground you.

  • Mindful Intake—Beyond Food – The Spleen and Stomach also “digest” information and experiences. Too much thought or worry can drain this system. Reduce excess screen time, step back from draining news cycles, and choose content that uplifts and inspires. Take some time to sit in stillness. Try our Shower Affirmations Cards: Grounding for a simple way to weave stability into daily self-care.

  • Nurture & Be Nurtured – Late Summer calls us to both give and receive care. Share meals with loved ones, visit your local farmers’ market, or spend slow, meaningful time with people who fill your cup.

  • Calm the Nervous System – Charlotte’s Web: Calm Gummies and Loosely Teas: The Calm offer daily support for stress and anxiety, helping to quiet the mind, ease overthinking, and bring the body back to balance.

Activity

  • Move in the Morning – Between 9–11 am, the Spleen’s energy is strongest, making this an ideal time for gentle but strengthening movement—yoga, Pilates, walking, or light resistance work to keep muscles and circulation vibrant.

  • Seasonal Reset with Acupuncture – Late Summer is the perfect moment to support your Spleen and Stomach with Seasonal Acupuncture. These treatments ease worry and overthinking and anxiety, improve digestion, strengthen immunity, giving you a sense of calm and balance.

  • Seasonal Skincare Reset – Sun and humidity can leave late summer skin dull or congested. Our Vibrance-C Brightening Facial is the perfect treatment to revive and brighten summer’s sun-kissed skin, leaving you looking and feeling firmer, more radiant, and refreshed.

  • Replenish with Magnesium – Our locally made Mg EASE formula blends bio-available magnesium with nutrient-rich grass-fed tallow for deep absorption. Magnesium supports over 300 biochemical functions—including muscle recovery, sleep quality, and stress resilience—making it an ideal ally for the Earth season. Our Magnesium Series includes Magnesium Cupping, Mg EASE Reflexology & Mg EASE Massage.

Late Summer is Earth season: a time to pause, nourish, and strengthen your center. By supporting your Spleen and Stomach, you not only ease digestion but also calm worry, clarify thought, and reestablish the boundaries that help you thrive.

Five Ways To Stay Grounded in the Chaos of August

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Long days, heat waves, and over scheduled calendars can make us feel a little off-balance in August.If your nervous system is feeling a bit anxious or overactive, here are five simple ways to come back to center and ground yourself - naturally.

 

1. Acupuncture for Stress Relief

Stress Relief Acupuncture is one of our favorite ways to anchor the nervous system. Gentle, targeted treatments help regulate energy flow, reduce stress, improve sleep, and reconnect you to your body.

If you’re feeling anxious, foggy, or just “off,” a single session can have lasting effects on your nervous system, bringing you a sense of peace and renewal.

2. Magnesium Therapy

Magnesium is essential for grounding and relaxation - but most of us are  running low, especially in the summer.

Our Magnesium Treatments,  Magnesium Cupping, Mg EASE Massage and Mg EASE Reflexology, deliver magnesium trans-dermally, directly through the skin, helping to  soothe your muscles, ease your mind, and settle your energy.

3. Go Barefoot

It’s simple, but powerful. Take your shoes off, step outside, and let your feet connect with the earth. Whether it’s sand, soil, or grass, grounding (a.k.a. “earthing”) can reduce inflammation, improve mood, and help recalibrate your whole system.

4. Conscious Breathing

A few minutes of deep, conscious breathing can shift your nervous system from fight-or-flight to rest-and-digest.

Our Breathing Buddha features two user-friendly modes, guiding you through calming breathing techniques with gentle fade-in and fade-out color prompts.

5. Stay Hydrated

Proper hydration and electrolytes are essential for optimal nervous system function. Ultima Replenisher provides you with magnesium, potassium, sodium, and more to keep your nerve signals firing smoothly.

Add Ultima to your water to enhance hydration and help keep you calm, focused and centered, all summer long.

 
 

Our Magnesium Series

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Locally made. Trans-dermally absorbed. Deeply restorative.

Magnesium is essential for over 300 biochemical functions in the body - supporting everything from muscle recovery and sleep quality to energy levels and stress response. Yet, most of us aren’t getting enough. Studies show that nearly three out of four adults are magnesium deficient, often without realizing it.

Our signature Mg EASE formula was created to change that. This handcrafted, locally made blend combines highly absorb-able magnesium with nutrient-rich, grass-fed tallow—a time-honored ingredient known for its bio-availability and compatibility with the skin’s natural structure. Tallow doesn’t just moisturize; it helps carry magnesium deep into the tissues, amplifying its calming and restorative effects.

By delivering magnesium trans-dermally—directly through the skin, Mg EASE allows for targeted relief without taxing the digestive system. Every application supports the body’s natural healing rhythms: relaxing sore muscles, calming the nervous system, and promoting deeper rest.

We’ve created three different experiences at Therapeutic Bodywork utilizing our Mg EASE to enhance your session, deepen your relaxation and replenish your magnesium levels:

Magnesium Cupping Session

A modern therapeutic reset rooted in ancient wisdom. We created our Magnesium Cupping Session for anyone experiencing chronic muscular tension, stress-related fatigue, or sluggish circulation. This signature treatment blends the traditional technique of cupping therapy with the targeted application of our signature Mg Ease magnesium + tallow cream for a unique and deeply effective experience.

This session is a dynamic approach to relaxation and reset—inviting the body into a state of release, replenishment, and flow.

Mg EASE Massage

Experience deep relaxation and full-body restoration with our signature Mg EASE Massage, a therapeutic session that merges the benefits of massage with the healing qualities of magnesium. This session is perfect for anyone looking to replenish magnesium levels, relieve muscular discomfort, or simply relax on a deeper level. The perfect enhancement to your massage experience.

Mg EASE Reflexology

This incredibly grounding treatment begins with a warm magnesium foot soak to soften tissue, open pathways, and begin the process of relaxation. Ease into a customized reflexology session using our Mg EASE magnesium, easily absorbed through the feet - one of the most effective application points for trans-dermal magnesium therapy.

This signature treatment supports nervous system balance, muscular release, and whole-body relaxation. If you’re looking to addressing tension, fatigue, or simply craving a moment of grounded calm, Mg EASE Reflexology offers relaxation like you’ve never experienced.

Embracing Summer Rhythms

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This weekend marks the Summer Solstice—the longest, brightest day of the year—and with it, the full arrival of summer on the Cape: beach days, clambakes, late sunsets, garden blooms, traffic, family gatherings, and spontaneous weekend visitors. It’s the season of laughter, movement, leaning into joy, and feeling a little more alive.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, summer is the season of the Fire element—the most Yang time of year. Like the sun, this energy is big, bright, and expansive. It’s about joy, connection, and letting your spirit shine.

The Fire element is connected to the Heart and Small Intestine, with support from the Pericardium (your heart’s emotional protector) and the Triple Warmer (your internal thermostat and hydration manager). In Chinese Medicine, the Heart isn’t just responsible for circulation—it also governs emotional wellbeing. It’s considered the home of the Shen, or spirit, making it central to how we think, feel, and connect to the world around us. The Small Intestine plays an equally important role, helping to sort and assimilate—both physically and emotionally—so we can absorb what nourishes us and release what doesn’t.

When balanced, the Fire element helps the Heart circulate oxygen-rich blood throughout the body, supporting mental clarity, emotional steadiness, and a natural sense of joy. We feel light-hearted and expressive, sleep deeply, digest well, and move through life with ease.

When unbalanced, summer’s intensity can leave us feeling scattered, overheated, anxious, or disconnected from joy. This might show up as restlessness, insomnia, heartburn, nervous energy, poor memory, inflammation, or skin flare-ups. With so much outward activity, it’s essential to pause, reset, and tend to your internal fire with care.

Aligning your habits with the energy of the season can help you feel more balanced, radiant, and clear. Supporting the heart and small intestine through diet, lifestyle, and activity choices will ensure a smooth transition into this vibrant time of year.

Diet

  • Cooling foods: watermelon, cucumber, mint, berries, citrus, zucchini, leafy greens, sprouts

  • Bitter flavors: dandelion, arugula, radicchio, romaine

  • Hydration is key: drink plenty of water—room temp or lightly cool—with lemon, mint, a pinch of sea salt, or our electrolyte drink mix

Lifestyle

  • Honor Your Natural Rhythms – Rise early with the sun to align with summer’s vibrant energy, and allow yourself quiet evenings or restful afternoon naps to stay balanced. This seasonal flow supports your body's need for both activity and restoration.

  • Make Space for Joy – summer belongs to the Heart and the Shen. This is the season to lean into joy—not just the big moments, but the small, soul-filling ones too. Make a summer playlist of songs that make you smile, share slow, meaningful time with people who fill your cup, and truly savor the nourishing meals you eat. Joy is medicine—seek it often and appreciate it fully.

  • Prioritize Stillness & Calming Rituals – Give yourself permission to slow down and savor quiet moments. Whether it’s booking a midweek facial or massage, or simply enjoying your morning coffee outside without your phone or distractions, these restful pauses help regulate your nervous system, calm the Shen, and create space for true relaxation in the heart of summer.

Activity

  • Release Internal Heat – Choose cooling movements like swimming and early morning walks to disperse excess heat while lifting your spirits. Cool the body with an Environ Summer Refresh Facial, a seasonal Acupuncture session, or Mg Ease Reflexology.

  • Open the Heart – Engage in uplifting activities that bring joy and connection, like dancing with friends, singing, group hikes, or movement classes that encourage expression and fun. These heart-opening experiences help regulate emotions, support the Shen (spirit), and align with the vibrant, expansive energy of summer.

  • Get the Blood Moving - Hands-on therapies like Therapeutic Massage or Sculpt + Soothe facials like Buccal and Gua Sha boost circulation, release tension, and restore balance. Gentle, intentional movement like yoga, Pilates, or dance also helps stimulate blood and lymph flow, keeping your body loose, vibrant, and aligned.

Let this summer be a time to feel more joy—not more pressure. When you align with the season’s rhythm and offer your body gentle support, you create space for clarity, connection, and stillness.