Harvesting Health: Ancient Wisdom for Autumn

My favourite season is finally here!!  Okay, almost – it officially starts on Saturday.  I LOVE autumn and everything to do with autumn.  I love the warm days and cool nights, the amazing food (the farmers markets are full of amazing food), chai, soups, all the cozy sweaters and so much more.

Saturday marks the halfway point between the longest and most Yang day of the year (the Summer Solstice) and the longest and most Yin night of the year (Winter Solstice).  Yin and Yang will be exactly equal on Saturday.  After Saturday, Yin will begin to grow as Yang begins to wane.  This is a season of change, a season of pivoting.  It’s an important season because it represents the bringing in of all the work that has been done this year.  This might be work on your health, work on your relationships, work on your home, work on your business, work on something else entirely.

In this season, take some time to take stock of where things are in your life.  Are you happy with how things are going?  Are there changes you want to make?  Notice how these questions and the answers that come up make you feel.  There are no right or wrong answers.

In Chinese medicine, the Metal element rules the season of autumn.  The organ systems aligned with this element are Lung and Large Intestine.  Think of this as a season of cleaning up and clearing out from an energetic perspective and a physical perspective.    

There are six different practices that you can use to help support your health and well-being in the season to come:

Practice Deep Breathing

There are a number of reasons to practice deep breathing on a daily basis; some of these include helping to eliminate cellular waste in your body, calm the mind, calm the body, wake us up and so much more.  

Our lungs are one of our emunctories, elimination pathways in the body, that help us exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide.  As we breathe, oxygen is brought in to fuel our cells and carbon dioxide is released taking cellular waste with it.  The more we breathe with intention, the more we can improve various states within our body.  

Our diaphragm is a muscle just below the lungs that helps the lungs to inhale and exhale.  With every inhalation, the diaphragm drops and creates space for more oxygen to come into the body and with every exhalation, the diaphragm contracts and helps the lungs to release more carbon dioxide.

A really simple tip to help calm your body and mind is to place a hand on your abdomen over your navel.  With every inhale, allow your abdomen to relax and expand; with every exhale gently draw your abdomen back towards your spine.  This will help your diaphragm move more and that will help you to breathe deeper and will help you to naturally slow your breath (without trying) which will help your body know it's safe.

There are so many different ways to practice a variety of breathing techniques that can be beneficial at different times.  Some of these include kapalbhati (helps to clear the mind when you’re feeling foggy), box breathing (helps to calm the nervous system), lion's breath (helps to boost energy and confidence) and more.

Supporting your Large Intestine by Supporting your Liver

Your large intestine is another emunctory to help eliminate waste from the body.  To get that waste out, your large intestine needs a couple of very important things - water, fibre and waste to eliminate.  Your liver helps to process that waste for your large intestine to eliminate.  

For optimal functioning, your liver needs adequate amounts of nutrients including: protein, B vitamins, vitamin C, antioxidants (glutathione and bioflavonoids) and magnesium.  Eating a variety of foods that include these nutrients should help you to get what you need.  Occasionally, additional supplements are needed but it’s best to speak with a nutritionist or dietician before choosing supplements.

Practice Letting Go

The trees are about to show us how beautiful it can be to let things go.

What are you letting go of this season?  Are there things on your to-do list that you want to stop doing?  Is there something you’ve said yes to that you’re now regretting?  

Letting go is sometimes easier said than done, especially when there are social pressures to say yes or do something we really don’t want to do.  Please be gentle with yourself when starting this practice!  The first thing to remember is that ‘no’ is a complete sentence and doesn’t need to be accompanied by an apology.  

If you find yourself saying yes to things you’d rather say no to, give yourself some space before saying yes.  Greg McKeown offers several options for saying no gracefully in his book Essentialism.  Here are a few of these options:

“Let me check my calendar and get back to you.”  By telling the person who’s asking that you’ll check your calendar and get back to them, it creates space between the ask and your response.  This gives you some time and space to consider if this is something you want to do and what trade offs you’ll have to make in order to create space for it.

“The soft no or the no but.”  This option allows you to say no and offer an alternative to soften the no.  It also allows you to say yes on your terms instead of theirs which lets them know what your boundaries are.

“Yes. What should I deprioritize?”  This one is great for work when your boss wants you to do more.  By letting them know that you’re happy to make this new thing a priority if they want and it also lets them know that you’re not willing to work more hours or push your boundaries to make it happen.  By placing the responsibility of choice back on them, they can’t complain when something else isn’t done.

If you’re looking for more inspiration and help in saying no, check out these other articles:  Boundaries, Put Your Own Oxygen Mask On First and ‘No’ as Self Care.

Cleaning Up and Clearing Out

Are there spaces in your home, office or somewhere else that seem to accumulate stuff?  Are there spaces you’ve wanted to clean up for ages?  Have you started a decluttering project only to stop part way through and now things are more of a mess?

All of these are common and there are ways to get the results you want without the mess!

First and foremost, don’t try to declutter everything all at once!  Making that many decisions can be extremely exhausting.  Give yourself time and space to do this work more permanently.  

What I’ve found works are what I’ve dubbed elimination stations.  I’ve created these in various spots in my house.

The first is in my closet.  I have a large-ish laundry basket with a lid in the back of my closet.  This isn’t for dirty clothing.  It’s for a large black garbage bag and clothing to be donated.  I always put the garbage bag in first because it makes it easier to donate the clothing once it’s full.  As I find clothing I want to donate, I pop it in the basket.  Once the bag is full, I pull it out and move it to the trunk of my car, so the next time I’m driving past a spot that takes donations, I can drop it off.  

The second is in the front hall.  I keep a medium size cardboard box in my closet or somewhere else handy.  This allows me to add items that I want to donate.  Once the box is full, it gets put in my trunk and donated.

The third spot is also in the front hall but this is for returns.  This bin or tray is out in the open and is available for packages that need to be dropped off for mail returns or for bags of things to be returned to a store.  If it’s a store return, I put the receipt right in the bag so everything is together, easy to grab and quick to return.  If it’s a package, I make sure it’s taped up with its mailing label on it before it’s placed in the front hall to be returned.

Getting Up with the Sun & Going to Bed with the Sun

According to the classic Chinese medicine literature, this is a season of getting up with the sun and going to bed with the sun.  While it’s not always possible in modern life to follow the sun’s rhythms exactly, consider getting up a little earlier and going to bed a little earlier.

If you’re waking up before sunrise, consider using a UV free Sun Lamp to help regulate your circadian rhythm (your sleep/wake cycle).  Studies have shown that getting bright light exposure upon waking helps to support falling asleep easier at night.

If you’re struggling to get up in the morning, check out these articles on why your snooze button might be messing with you and why sleep matters and what to do about it.

Spice Things Up and Boost Your Immune System

Autumn is a great time to use more herbs and spices in your cooking and baking.  By adding things like cinnamon, ginger, clove, cardamom, nutmeg and anise you can add warmth to whatever you’re making and add some health benefits at the same time.  

Cinnamon is rich in antioxidants and has been shown to help manage blood sugar levels, improve insulin sensitivity, contribute to reducing triglycerides and cholesterol and has antimicrobial properties to help fight infections.

Ginger is best known for helping to alleviate motion sickness, pregnancy sickness, nausea and digestive discomfort.  It also has the added benefits of being anti–inflammatory and an antioxidant.  Studies are now showing that ginger may also help to lower blood sugar levels and reduce cholesterol.

Clove is an antioxidant powerhouse that also happens to have both anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties.  The analgesic properties help to reduce pain through the action of reducing inflammation.  Like many other spices, clove is also antimicrobial.

Cardamom helps to alleviate digestive discomfort by soothing indigestion and helping to alleviate abdominal distension (bloating).  Studies have also shown that cardamom may help with overall heart health and regulating blood sugar levels.  It’s also another spice that’s an antioxidant and has anti-inflammatory properties.

Nutmeg, like many other spices on this list, is also an antioxidant, is anti-inflammatory and helps to soothe digestive discomfort.  Some studies have shown that some of the compounds within nutmeg may help cognitive function by helping to reduce inflammation and stress on the brain which gives nutmeg neuroprotective properties.  Additionally, compounds in nutmeg have been shown to enhance acetylcholine which is a neurotransmitter that’s been associated with memory and learning.  

Star Anise, like ginger and cardamom, helps digestion by alleviating discomfort and abdominal distention (bloating).  Similar to clove, cinnamon and ginger, it’s also antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory and is another antioxidant.

With any herbs and spices, a little goes a long way!  Consider adding these to cooking, baking or drinking them in tea.  Most, if not all, of these spices can be found in most chai blends.  Most chai has the spices blended with black tea, so please be mindful of the caffeine.  If you’re looking for a caffeine free option, look for a chai that’s made with a rooibos tea instead of black tea as rooibos teas are naturally caffeine free.

If you’re looking for more support for boosting your immune system or are wanting to learn how to make a great cup of tea, check out these two articles:  Home Remedies for the Cold Season and The Art of Making Tea.

“Where your attention goes, energy will flow.”  James Redfield

Where will you focus your attention this season?  How will you spend your energy?  What habits will you let go of?  What habits will you start?  This is a season of change!  Allow it to help you prepare for an amazing autumn and an even better winter.

If you’re looking for more support in making these or other changes, a free 20 minute consultation might be the inspiration you need to get the most out of this season.

Andrea