Autumn Seasonal Attunements Newsletter

Welcome to Autumn! What a beautiful and special season it is. Autumn whispers its arrival softly at first with the cooling temperatures and first few leaves on the ground, and by the end of the season, we’re hopefully fully snuggled in and ready for the winter. The changing of seasons can be a little bumpy, however, as we move from the buoyant, outwards yang energy of spring and summer towards the quieter, more reflective yin energy of autumn and winter. The good news is that you can make the ride easier and sweeter by making some really simple tweaks in your lifestyle: what you’re eating, the kind of exercise you’re taking, and the way you’re resting and looking after yourself. Yoga, Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine are here to help us attune to the seasons and make the most of them.

Autumn: Windy season

In Ayurveda, the autumn is associated with the element of vata, air; it is cold, dry, light, moving. The brisk winds are one of the lovely elements of the season, but you may also be feeling a bit scattered and rushed. Signs that vata may be imbalanced in your body include anxiety, dry skin, insomnia, arthritis, stiffness, constipation and high blood pressure.

What to eat

There are lots of ways to pacify vata. Now is a good time to cut down on cold and raw foods like salads and  smoothies, and start eating more warming, fresh, cooked food. Sweet, sour and salty foods are helpful, as are pumpkins, carrots, beets, asparagus, quinoa, rice, mung beans, almonds, sesame seeds, ghee, avocados, bananas, mangoes, peaches, lemons. Phew! Warming spices like ginger, cloves and cardamom are great, as are fermented foods like sauerkraut and miso soup.

Resting and relaxing

Take time to come back to your center – and really listen to your own body to find out the best way to do this. I love walking in Manor Park and noticing the changes in nature, and doing gentle Qi Gong movements in the garden with my bare feet on the grass while before it gets too cold. Keeping warm is vital, and sesame oil is your friend, here; you can use it in cooking, and also as a massage oil for giving yourself abhyanga (self massage). If you’re having trouble sleeping, try rubbing a few drops on the soles of your feet and wearing socks to bed. If you’re feeling scattered, try keeping a more steady routine and regulating sleep times. Essential oils to pop in the diffuser include Vetiver, Neroli, Clove, Orange and Rose.

Take tips from nature

If we look at what’s going on around us, we can see the leaves beginning to get crispy, apples falling from the trees and mulchy soil as everything starts to decompose. We harvest what we need, stocking up, squirrel-style, for the winter, and we shed what we don’t need (the joy of a bonfire!) – knowing that the rebirth of spring will follow. As living beings, we undergo the same inner processes at this time of year. Emotionally, it is a time to gather up what’s good for us, and let go of what we don’t need; nature supports us, in the autumn, by reminding that it can be healthy to let go and shed what no longer serves us.

Love for your lungs

In Chinese Medicine, the autumn is associated with the lungs and large intestine; these are the areas of the body that may need extra attention now. The lungs take in the new (oxygen) and breathe out what is not needed (carbon dioxide), and the large intestine processes and releases waste. Emotionally, grief and sadness are associated with these organs, and it’s really important to let these emotions be identified and expressed, rather than bottling them up – whether you’re dealing with a personal loss, or simply feeling melancholy about the end of summer. There’s nothing wrong with feeling sadness, it is as much a part of our human experience as joy. As with any emotion, we just want to keep it moving and not stuck so we can keep ourselves in good health.

Keeping balanced

The lungs govern respiration, extracting qi (life force) from the air and mixing it with nutrients from food by the spleen, creating the major source of our daily energy (Real Food All Year, Nishanga Bliss). If the lungs are weak, you might notice fatigue, congestion, bronchial trouble and chronic colds. Accordingly, we need to make sure that our mucus is healthy, as it protects and lubricates tissues, nourishes “good” bacteria and helps food pass along the digestive tract. Eating ginger (and drinking ginger tea) can help to reduce excess phlegm, as does avoiding dairy, bananas and too much soy. Teas that support the lungs include Peppermint, Eucalyptus, Oregano, Licorice root, Marshmallow root and Sage.

Breathing deeply

To address all these issues – from a scattered, vata mind to strengthening the lungs – breathing techniques can be incredibly helpful. I’d say that if you only take up one little lifestyle tweak in autumn, incorporate some deep breathing into your day. Deep breathing activates the immune and lymphatic system to remove toxins, phlegm and mucus from your body (*Dr Paul Carter). Take a long, smooth inhale, breathing first into the low belly, then the middle and upper chest; hold the breath for a few moments at the top, then release the breath very smoothly, making the exhale longer than the inhale.

Meditation

Now is a good time to begin a daily meditation practice, if you don’t already have one. You can start gently, by just sitting quietly for a few minutes every day in the morning or before you go to bed (or both!). I recommend installing the Insight meditation app on your phone. It has a timer you can set, as well as lots of different recorded guided meditations. Have a go with the beginner’s meditations by Tara Brach or Jack Kornfield.

Yoga

I like to work with poses that help me feel really rooted: Tree pose and the Warrior poses are great for feeling strong and centered. Autumn is a great time to support the body’s downward-flowing energy, apana vayu, which governs the body’s elimination processes. It is most active in the pelvis and low belly, and when apana vayu is strong and well regulated, we feel deeply grounded. Good poses for this include a low squat, wide straddle forward fold, and bound angle pose. Twists are also a great way to squeeze out toxins, and restorative and yin yoga are supremely soothing. Poses like reclined bound angle (set-up below) will open up the lung meridians gently and relax the nervous system.

Have a beautiful autumn!