Dr Stephanie Lipnicki, DACM, LAc

I have an immense love for socks. . .Some people comfort shop for shoes. I comfort shop for socks, underwear, and bras. In terms of my day to day clothing, I refer to myself as the Steve Jobs of the Acupuncture world. I find items I like that make me feel good, usually in black and purchase the same thing in multiples. When they stop making them (as happened to me a few years ago) it feels like the end of the world. I’m still on the search for the recently discontinued clothing style I love.

I am listening to Jay Shetty’s audiobook Think Like a Monk and he discusses that dressing the same, having your own personal uniform, and eating the same things regularly frees your mind for more important tasks. And I have to agree.

But back to the socks (I really can’t tell a story without digressing quite often).

So these are my socks:

And yes, there is even a paid of pedicure socks in there. What are pedicure socks? Socks you can wear while your toe nail polish dries that don’t cover the toes.

AND I am really trying not to buy more for a bit. NOT because I don’t want them, but because I wear sandals in the summer and THIS RIGHT HERE is a lot of socks.

Clearly my day to day clothing/ uniform is black, but when I wear socks, they are as colorful as I can get. Because in the words of Nathan Lane as Albert in The Birdcage, “These? Well, one does want a hint of color.”

And where you might think I started writing this for the sole (not even intentional) purpose of sharing my sock obsession, there is a deeper purpose to sharing why socks are important.

Keeping your feet warm is very important. Treating fertility is a topic that is near and dear to my heart. And often with fertility warmth is an issue. I want my fertility patients to keep their bellies and feet warm.

A warm belly is the environment I am trying to achieve when patients are trying to get pregnant. The uterus is called The Palace of The Child and we want a nice warm room ready and waiting.

While balance is hugely important throughout the body to maintain wellness, three key meridians that get a lot of attention when it comes to fertility are the Liver, Kidney, and Spleen Meridians. Not that we Acupunks aren’t treating other meridians, but I needle points on those meridians for every fertility patient.

The Liver, Spleen and Kidney Meridians all start where? Okay a layperson might not know the answer immediately, but they all start on the feet! All 3 meridians deeply impact menstrual cycles and fertility, therefore keeping them warm is very important.

Can you see why I love socks so much?

Now I won’t lie, when the weather is warm and for the bulk of the summer, I wear sandals and my feet are exposed. But when the cold weather hits, I absolutely make sure to protect my piggies.

I DO NOT wear shoes in the house unless they have not been worn outside (probably another whole blog post in and of itself), I wear slippers or socks.

Ok, now maybe you are thinking, I don’t have a uterus orI don’t want to get pregnant. But wait, there is more to wearing socks than keeping your uterus warm.

You know what other reason your belly likes warmth?
FOR DIGESTION.

Guess what organs/ meridians are involved first in the process of digestion? The Spleen and Stomach. The Stomach meridian ends on the feet.

This is another reason why in the Fall and Winter we need to make sure that we are eating foods that are warm in nature and warm in temperature -think soups instead of salads for the Winter (unless you are one of my Peri/ Menopausal patients, a little bit of colder foods actually helps - again, another topic entirely).

AND who says socks need to be boring? Did you see the pic of my sock drawer above?

Follow the seasons when you eat and for the love of socks, keep your feeties warm!