Blue Frog Wellness Inc.

10/03/2025

🍂 Metal Element & Autumn in TCM 🍂

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, each season is connected to an element. Autumn is linked with the Metal element, which governs the Lungs and Large Intestine, as well as themes of boundaries, letting go, and grief.

When the Metal element is out of balance, we may see signs such as:
✨ Persistent cough, sinus issues, or shortness of breath
✨ Skin dryness or flare-ups
✨ Constipation or sluggish digestion
✨ Difficulty letting go of past experiences
✨ Feeling stuck in grief or sadness

Why does this happen? 🍁
The Metal element is about exchange — taking in what nourishes us (like air and inspiration) and letting go of what no longer serves us (waste, old emotions, unhealthy attachments). If this natural flow is blocked, imbalance shows up both physically and emotionally.

What can we do? 🌬️

Support the lungs with deep breathing and gentle outdoor movement

Nourish yourself with seasonal foods like pears, root veggies, and warm soups

Create routines that help you release clutter — physical or emotional

Seek support through practices like acupuncture, meditation, or journaling

Bringing balance back to Metal helps us align with the season of Autumn, breathe more deeply, and move forward with clarity.

10/02/2025

Yesterday, I attended the First Responder Su***de Awareness & Behavioural Health Conference in Calgary with Wayfound Mental Health Group.

This event was all about raising awareness, breaking stigma, and finding better ways to support the mental health of first responders who put their lives on the line for us every day.

I was honoured to be there promoting the Ear Acupuncture Resilience Program (EAR Program)—a simple but powerful tool to help manage stress, trauma, and symptoms of PTSD.

It was heartwarming to see how many people are open to new ways of supporting mental health and resilience.

💙 Sending gratitude to all first responders for your service and courage.

09/22/2025

🍂 New Bonus Video: Autumn in TCM 🍂

Autumn is a season of transition, reflection, and letting go — and in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), it’s all about supporting your Lungs and Large Intestine. In this bonus video, I share simple lifestyle tips, foods, and acupuncture approaches to help you stay balanced and healthy through the season.

Watch the full video here: 👉 https://youtu.be/36sV_ILiiF0

✨ Want to experience seasonal support with acupuncture? Book your session here: https://bluefrog.janeapp.com

09/03/2025

🌿 TCM Tips for Protecting Your Health During Wildfire Smoke 🌿

With the wildfire smoke affecting our air quality, it’s important to take care of your Lungs—the organ system most sensitive to dryness, heat, and toxins in the air. From a Traditional Chinese Medicine perspective, smoke can create Lung Heat, Phlegm, and Dryness, weakening our defensive Qi and making us more vulnerable to fatigue, cough, or irritation.

✨ Here are some TCM-inspired supports:

🌱 Lifestyle:

Stay indoors with clean, filtered air whenever possible.

Practice gentle breathing exercises to keep Lung Qi circulating.

Rest well—your immune (Wei Qi) is recharged during sleep.

Stay hydrated - plenty of water with a little lemon will help to detox the pollutants from your system.

🥗 Diet:

Eat moistening and cooling foods to counteract dryness and heat: pears, apples, cucumbers, spinach, mung beans, and watermelon.

Soups and congee are gentle on digestion and help keep fluids replenished.

Avoid excessive spicy, fried, or greasy foods, which can worsen phlegm and heat.

🌿 Herbal Supports:

Chrysanthemum (Ju Hua) tea can help clear heat and soothe the eyes.

Mulberry leaf (Sang Ye) or Mint (Bo He) tea can help disperse Lung Heat.

Licorice root (Gan Cao) tea is soothing for the throat.
(Always consult a qualified practitioner before starting herbs to ensure they’re right for your body.)

Taking small, supportive steps each day can protect your Lungs, boost your resilience, and keep your system balanced until the skies clear. 🌬️💚

08/22/2025

🌿✨ Acupuncture Point Spotlight: SPLEEN 9 (Yinlingquan) ✨🌿

Do you ever feel:
😵‍💫 Brain fog
🤰 Bloated or heavy after meals
😟 Anxious or unsettled
🥱 Sluggish or weighed down

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, these can be signs of “Dampness” in the body — when digestion isn’t moving smoothly and fluids start to accumulate.

One powerful point that helps with this is Spleen 9 (Yinlingquan), located on the inside of the lower leg just below the knee. 🌱 This point supports healthy digestion, clears dampness, and can even lift mental fog and ease anxiety.

💆‍♀️ Acupuncturists often use Spleen 9 in treatments to restore balance, improve energy, and help you feel lighter — both physically and mentally.

✨ Want to try it at home?
You can use acupressure on Spleen 9 by:
👉 Finding the point on the inside of your shin, just below the knee joint, where your finger naturally falls into a tender hollow.
👉 Apply gentle, firm pressure with your thumb or finger for 1–2 minutes on each leg.
👉 Breathe deeply and notice a sense of release and grounding.

🌟 Try this when you feel foggy, heavy, or anxious to help your body re-balance.

Curious how acupuncture can support your digestion, mood, and overall wellness? Book a session here: https://bluefrog.janeapp.com

08/20/2025

🌏✨ Did you know there’s a “secret” 5th season in Traditional Chinese Medicine?

In TCM, Late Summer is more than just the tail end of the warm season — it’s a powerful transition period connected to the Earth Element. This short but important season is all about stability, nourishment, and grounding before we move into autumn.

In my new Bonus Video, I share:
🌱 What Late Summer means in TCM
🍲 Foods & lifestyle tips to nourish your body and digestion during this season
🌿 How to align your energy with the Earth Element for balance & well-being

👉 And if you find yourself overthinking or worrying more than usual, this season may be affecting you — so definitely check this video out!

🎥 Watch here: https://youtu.be/rUX0Jy4fO5M

✨ If you’re curious about seasonal living through Chinese Medicine, this one’s for you! Don’t forget to like, comment, and subscribe to the channel to support more TCM wisdom.

07/31/2025

🌿 NEW VIDEO: How Energy Work, Works ✨

Ever wonder how energy work actually helps you feel better—physically, emotionally, and energetically?

In my latest YouTube video, I explain:

🔹 What Qi (energy) is and how it flows through your body
🔹 What causes blockages in your energy grid
🔹 How energy work helps release stuck patterns from stress, trauma, or daily life
🔹 When energy work is most helpful—and what to expect

🎥 Watch now: https://youtu.be/Kg5uya1IRDY?feature=shared

🌀 This is for you if you're feeling stuck, anxious, heavy, or like your system just needs a reset.

Want to experience it for yourself?

📅 Book an Energy Work Session or a Combo Acupuncture + Energy Work Treatment here:
👉 https://bluefrog.janeapp.com

Let’s move some energy and bring you back to center. 💙🐸

07/14/2025

🌿 New Video Alert! 🌿
Understanding the Zang-Fu Organ System in Traditional Chinese Medicine

Ever been told you can only talk about one symptom per visit at your doctor’s office?
In TCM, we want to hear about ALL your symptoms — because chances are, they’re all connected through one underlying pattern of disharmony.

In this video, I break down the Zang-Fu Organ System, the foundation of how Traditional Chinese Medicine views your body, emotions, and energy as an interconnected whole.

💡 Learn how symptoms like poor sleep, low energy, mood swings, or digestive issues may all point back to a single organ system in need of support.

👉 Watch now: https://youtu.be/aFGE4nPJZUU?feature=shared
(Timestamps included so you can jump straight to the organ you're curious about!)

💻 Curious to see how this applies to your health?
Book an appointment with me here: https://bluefrog.janeapp.com

06/24/2025

💗 Calm Your Heart & Mind with Acupressure 💗

Feeling anxious, restless, or having trouble sleeping? There's a powerful acupuncture point called Heart 7 (Shenmen) — also known as “Spirit Gate” — that can help you ground your energy and ease emotional tension.

Located on the wrist crease, in line with the pinky finger, Heart 7 is known in Traditional Chinese Medicine to:

✨ Calm the mind
✨ Soothe anxiety and nervousness
✨ Improve sleep
✨ Support emotional balance
✨ Ease palpitations or heart-related tension

💡 Try This at Home:
Using your thumb, gently press and massage Heart 7 on your wrist for 1–2 minutes while taking slow, deep breaths. Do this on both sides daily — especially before bed or during stressful moments — to help invite in calm and clarity.

This simple self-care technique is one way to support your nervous system naturally. 🧘‍♀️

Want deeper support with anxiety, sleep, or emotional wellness? Book an acupuncture session at Blue Frog Wellness — we’re here to help you restore balance and feel your best. 💙

📅 Book online: https://bluefrog.janeapp.com

06/20/2025

🌞 Summer is Here—Even If It Doesn’t Feel Like It! 🌧️

It might be rainy and cooler than usual this weekend, but the Summer Solstice has arrived, and so has a brand-new BONUS VIDEO from Blue Frog Wellness!

🎥 “Summer Season in Traditional Chinese Medicine” is now live on YouTube!

In this short video, I share how TCM views Summer as the season of Heart energy, the Fire element, and joy—and how you can nourish your body and spirit during this expansive time of year.

👉 Learn how to:
🔥 Stay cool in body and mind
🍉 Choose the best seasonal foods
🧘🏽‍♀️ Ground your energy and protect your Heart Yin

✨ Whether you're soaking up the sun or curled up with a tea this weekend, this video will help you align with the true energy of summer.

📺 Watch now: https://youtu.be/cLxGb4cU9LA?feature=shared

💬 Let me know what you think in the comments!

With heart,
Vanessa
Blue Frog Wellness

05/20/2025

🌿 The Body Remembers What the Mind Tries to Forget 🌿

If you've ever felt like your emotions are stuck inside you—held deep in your chest, stomach, or throat—you’re not imagining it.

Both modern trauma research and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) agree: our bodies carry what we haven’t processed emotionally.

Pioneers like Gabor Maté and Peter Levine have shown how stress, trauma, and suppressed emotions don’t just “go away” with time—they find a home in the body. And in TCM, this isn’t new.

👉 In Chinese Medicine:

Grief is stored in the Lungs

Anger is held in the Liver

Fear sits in the Kidneys

Overthinking affects the Spleen

Joy (or lack of it) is rooted in the Heart

When these emotions are held too long, unexpressed, or denied, they begin to impact the flow of Qi (vital energy), weakening the organs and leading to symptoms—physical and emotional.

💆‍♀️ This is why treatments like acupuncture, and ear acupuncture are so powerful for emotional and nervous system regulation.

They gently help discharge held stress, reconnect mind and body, and bring the system back into balance—without needing to talk through every detail of what happened.

You don’t need to “get over it.”
You need a safe way to let your body release it.

If you’re navigating chronic stress, emotional heaviness, or feel stuck in your healing journey—this work can support you.

🌀 Healing isn’t just in the mind. It’s in the body. And in the spirit, too.
TCM has known that for thousands of years.

If this resonates, I’d love to share more about how this approach works. 💚

Dr. Gabor Maté elaborates on this perspective succinctly: https://youtu.be/ajo3xkhTbfo?feature=shared

Watch more of Gabor Maté here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFIigLLitqDmBx70a-rY1n035Oz8HumeC One of the world’s most sought after and celebrated physi...

05/01/2025

🧐 "Why does my acupuncturist want to look at my tongue… and what exactly are they feeling for on my wrist?"

If you’ve ever wondered what’s really going on during an acupuncture assessment, this video is for you! 🎥

In Video 5 of our TCM education series, we break down the Four Pillars of Diagnosis in Traditional Chinese Medicine—including why we ask to see your tongue, listen closely to your voice, ask lots of questions, and feel your pulse in specific places. 👅🫀👂

These time-tested methods help us understand what’s happening beneath the surface so we can support your body in returning to balance.

✨ Watch now and deepen your understanding of how Traditional Chinese Medicine views your health:

📺 TCM Diagnosis Explained: Tongue, Pulse and More! https://youtu.be/Ffy09eaNKGI?feature=shared

🌿 Learn more or book a treatment: https://bluefrog.janeapp.com/