By Barbara Foster and Letha Hadady
This year Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14, falls in the first week of the Chinese Year of the Monkey, which begins Feb. 8.
The mischievous monkey brings sudden surprises and job and relationship changes for some. The monkey is associated with metal, so watch out for fluctuations in the stock market and look before you leap. Have your special someone treat you for Valentine’s Day while he/she is still solvent.
Otherwise, here are fun ways to spend the day without spending lots of cash: A romantic dinner, a tonic to gradually improve sexual pleasure, and a relaxing oil massage.
Protect your heart as you dine. Many health experts recommend eating fish high in omega 3 oils such as wild salmon, sardines, or octopus. A nice fish dinner with a crisp salad and red wine are slimming and heart healthy. For people who prefer vegetarian omega 3 oil there is shiso, a spicy green leaf used in Japanese sushi restaurants. Mix a big salad with vegetables of many colors—shiso leaf, radish, grated beets, carrots, lettuce, watercress, endive, fresh herbs, celery and a little apple cider vinegar.
Follow your meal with a heart-healthy home-made liquor. Steep a handful of rhodiola root or empty a handful of rhodiola capsules into an air-tight liter of vodka or gin for three weeks.
Keep the liquor away from sunshine and heat as it steeps. When it is ready, serve 20 drops to ½ shot glass at least an hour after dinner. Rhodiola (called hong jing tian in Chinese) is a heart tonic known to improve memory and, some say, intelligence, while it enhances circulation and reduces chest pain.
Is your romantic life only a fond memory? Has work left you feeling empty, exhausted? Do you or your significant other desire enhanced sexual vitality? Sexual tonics are not always aphrodisiacs. They work over time to reduce fatigue, stress, and back pain.
A herbal tonic that improves adrenal energy will not drive you into the bedroom but may increase endurance, memory, and immunity. One such tonic can be made by combining lusty goat weed (epimedium) and Tibetan goji berries made as a tea. You can find epimedium capsules and goji berries in your health food store. Or order pesticide-free Tibetan goji from http://gojiberry.com/.
Epimedium increases testosterone, which enhances sexual potency and libido for men and women. It may raise blood pressure for some people, especially if used without goji berries, which are a moistening, rejuvenating tonic.
The nourishing combination of epimedium and Tibetan goji berries is strengthening for bones, muscles, and vitality. You might steep the contents of one capsule of epimedium with a handful of Tibetan goji berries in a cup of hot water as a tea daily.
Everyone is different. Herbs only do what they do. The body uses them as it needs. Sometimes we do not need stimulation, just rest, relaxation and a soothing atmosphere. A loving massage is a good way to break the ice and start a romance. Who doesn’t have stiff shoulders from a day at the computer?
Love is oily, sweet and calming like a healing massage. Ayurveda health experts believe the healing effects of an oil massage are like being saturated with love.
Oil massage gives us a deep sense of stability as well as comfort. To promote your own wellness, a 15-minute self-massage of the entire body using a warmed oil is recommended daily before a warm bath. It improves circulation, reduces pain, and promotes complexion beauty. Couple massage promotes a feeling of protection and intimacy.
Just the thing to tame a wild monkey.
Barbara Foster is author of Confessions of a Librarian: A Memoir of Loves (Riverdale Avenue Books) and Letha Hadady is author of Naturally Pain Free (Sourcebooks)