All Things Green & Wonderous - Pachamama Convivium

Blessed Losar, dear friends!

We've ushered in the Yang Fire Horse Year, and the double-edge of empowerment vs chaos that this archetype can exemplify. TCM practitioners caution that during a Yang Fire Horse year, Water element will be scarce. We will need to be more intentional about contemplating, meditating upon, and being near or in water this year, to moderate the strong forces of Yang and Fire.

How to keep our nerves and our bodies from galloping off to the land of flames, with no extinguisher? One thing to focus on is to mediate inflammation, especially as the increasing light and fiery activation of spring approaches. Prevail upon your green Plant Friends!

⋆.ೃ࿔* :･🌱⋆.ೃ࿔* :･

My cherished vitality protocols add up to a luminous mosaic. I engage in numerous anti-inflammatory protocols, having lived with life-long inflammation issues. Therefore, it's impossible to say what percentage of success is coming from greens. I'll happily settle for anecdotal noticing: I've noticed, since I was in my teens, that ingesting green foods = more body comfort, and less body and mind angst/inflammation. Green juices, microgreens, chlorophyll extract, green powders, green tea and matcha, and steamed or raw greens, are the emeralds in the lotus for me.

˚˖𓍢ִ໋🍃✧˚.💚⋆

Green foods and herbs are the ultimate moderating force in a world gone haywire on our nervous systems. Calming, cooling without making you cold, and soothing. And who doesn't need soothing right now? Gravitate to the greens and give thanks to our plant friends for giving us comfort and grace to body, mind, and emotions.

🥬🥬🥬

If you suffer from seasonal allergies, try adding more greens, green smoothies, herbal infusions, and chlorophyll to your daily intake about a month before spring allergy season starts, which would be around March 1 here in the mountains of Colorado.

Daily nettle infusions feed the blood, and moderate histamine response. And they are such a deep and nurturing green! If you don't fancy infusions and teas, there are reliable commercial capsules containing nettle extract that you can easily utilize. Make sure and check for any contraindications if you have medical issues or are on medications. Nettles are gentle, but they do contain significant amounts of bio-available nutrients such as iron, which many of us need, but would be contraindicated in certain health situations.

Cut out dairy, eggs, and gluten for a seasonal reset/light cleanse. Replace with soothing green vegies, glucose system-nurturing root vegetables, and hydrating herbal infusions, for a refreshing and empowered entry into the portal of the Yang Fire Horse year. Cut out grains, dairy, and eggs for 1-3 months of reset if you get really profound seasonal allergies---your nerves, sinuses and gut will thank you!

Navigating these hauntingly strange times will require that we provide ourselves and our loved ones with the best possible resources for resilience, vitality, and balance. Let's cultivate the convivium that our body-mind-souls long for, through nurturing practices and traditions.

In Vital Luminosity,

Marie @ PachaMama Convivium

｡ ₊°༺❤️‍🔥♘༻°₊ ｡

Resources, and more information on greens

Great sources of greens in late winter and spring:

Your local farmer's spring mixes.

Wild source: Spruce tips! Soft, pliable, lemony delicious, and packed with vitamin C.

Sources that are easy to grow or find: Baby kale, cilantro, parsley, dandelion greens, tumbleweed sprouts (yes, those nasty thorny things are lovely as sprouts, just like we all are!)

Companies for high-quality greens:

My favorite microgreen company: https://bemicro.farm/pages/about-us

My favorite resource for high-quality fresh green tea and matcha: https://www.tezumi.com/

Tezumi has an excellent youtube channel for fascinating teachings about green tea traditions and usages: https://www.youtube.com/@tezumitea

Here's an article about green tea, related to osteoporosis research:

Mechanisms of green tea-induced attenuation of osteoporosis and skeletal muscle atrophy. The study was published this month!

Several studies have looked at green tea and its potential role in:

• supporting bone density
• reducing inflammation
• protecting skeletal muscle

The research is interesting because green tea is:

✔ easy to add to your day
✔ inexpensive
✔ generally safe for most people
✔ and a clarity-bringer 🫖

So if you already imbibe, bravo!
It is one of the simplest “add-ins” to support overall health — alongside strength training, of course. More clinical trials are needed to determine exactly what green tea has to offer in terms of bone health and how much you need to drink to be beneficial.

REFERENCES

Kwon Y. Mechanisms of green tea-induced attenuation of osteoporosis and skeletal muscle atrophy: current status and future study recommendations for clinical application. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2026 Feb 16:1-19. doi: 10.1080/10408398.2026.2625340. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 41696766.

Kwon Y. YAP/TAZ as Molecular Targets in Skeletal Muscle Atrophy and Osteoporosis. Aging Dis. 2024 Mar 14;16(1):299–320. doi: 10.14336/AD.2024.0306. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 38502585; PMCID: PMC11745433.

Lee DB, Song HJ, Paek YJ, Park KH, Seo YG, Noh HM. Relationship between Regular Green Tea Intake and Osteoporosis in Korean Postmenopausal Women: A Nationwide Study. Nutrients. 2021 Dec 26;14(1):87. doi: 10.3390/nu14010087. PMID: 35010962; PMCID: PMC8746552.

Xing C, Tan Y, Ni W. Tea intake and total body bone mineral density of all ages: a Mendelian randomization analysis. Front Nutr. 2024 Feb 21;11:1289730. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2024.1289730. PMID: 38450242; PMCID: PMC10915007.